We are always about finding new adventure and explorations here in Belize. Yesterday was no exception. We decided to go visit the Mennonite village of Roseville, right near Red bank. They are most noted for the Scarlet Macaws that nest high above the village. We saw many flying, but unfortunately were not able to see them close enough to take good pictures, so a stock photo will have to do!

There is a river that crosses the gravel horse and buggy path that leads into Roseville. Once we left the highway, it wasn’t long that we realized the road was made to fit the horse and buggies that traveled there every day. Very narrow and lots of lush vegetation closed in, in spots. We passed people on bikes, and walking. Everyone was friendly, waving back, as we pulled over to be able to pass.

The further we trekked back toward the village, the more beautiful it became. You could see the mountains in the distance, a harvested corn field in one direction, a vibrant cabbage patch in the other. All of the farms had bountiful fruits or vegetables. We stopped at several to buy some of their goods. One farm had carrots the size of a child’s baseball bat, and cabbage heads the size of a basketball. The next farm was loaded down with watermelons, bell peppers, and onions, the size of softballs.

After buying enough fruits and vegetables to feed a small army, including 5- 20 pound watermelons, we headed toward the swimming hole. This was a well hidden spot, the local Mennonites and Mayans came to cool off in. We crossed a rock laden river with our vehicles, in places maybe 3 feet deep. The water was lightly rushing around the tires, enough to create that revered soothing water sound, that some fall asleep to. I on the other hand was enjoying the sheer accomplishment of traversing a rocky river bed, though it was tame by comparison, oh the possibilities!

We parked on the edge of the dirt path along side a large garden plot, being tended by three Mennonites, in their traditional clothing of long denim jeans, straw hats, and long sleeve shirts. We walked along the beaten down path, across massive boulders and finally popped out at the edge of the river.

We set up chairs, ate a picnic lunch and then dove into the refreshingly crisp, but not cold waters. On one side was a home made slide, boards lined with vinyl, the other side cradled the rope swing made of several lengths of different materials. The main length being a thin metal wire attached to a strap, and finally to a large tree leaning over the waters edge.

This is when the fun began! We all took turns sliding down the slide, jumping off the rope swing, and lounging in the moderate water flow of the river. Climbing up the skinny tree that was the jump platform for the swing proved to be a little challenging as you needed good balance with out any hand holds. It was comical to watch as each person shinnied up the tree and tried their hand. Some took longer than others. I wont mention names, but it seems there were two in particular that were battling out to see who could eat up the most footage on the camera!

Swinging out over the water and dropping in was exhilarating, even though it wasn’t a massive height. The watermelons we had just bought came in handy offering rejuvenation for the energy exerted from playing in the water. A good time was had by all. If you come, water shoes are recommended, but not necessary. The large boulders in the river are covered in moss. You just couldn’t ask for a more relaxing afternoon, especially once we put the chairs in the edge of the water and sat down for a visit. Finally fresh banana bread was devoured, and then it was time to get back on the road and cross back over the river. We even were graced by the presence of two Scarlett Macaws, flying from tree to tree, screeching their lungs out to announce that they were there. My kinda day!

I tried my hand at putting together a little overview video of the day.

Yesterday we had the privilege and opportunity to visit one of the few orphanages here in Belize. **Caution: LONG Post!** It is located a few miles outside of Belmopan on the Western Hwy.

A couple from our church in Placencia had raised money from the States to purchase some much needed food for the home. We were able to help deliver it and meet some of the children. We met Leoni, the founder of the facility. A passionate, sincere woman that has a genuine love and compassion for the children. She started out 25 years ago out of her home and just kept adding on as she took in more children. She now has help, but for many, many years, she filled all of the roles. She says her passion comes from having been one of those children herself.

Volunteer in the toddler room

Playground in the main court yard.

Every dollar, every waking hour, she pours herself into the growth and development of these children. This home is not funded by the government. It is solely operated from donations, and the generous hearts of people that see the good she is offering these children. Some come from broken homes of abuse, abandonment, or merely the inability to provide basic necessities for the children. This is not a business for Leoni, she truely wants to see these children have an opportunity in life.

2 years ago, the existing facility was built. Every dollar was donated for materials and supplies. Leoni, spent months in the States, asking for donations and telling of the need to help these children. Slowly, the facility became a reality. First the foundation, then the roof, then finally the walls were added. It is a beautiful facility.

We carried in 5- 100 pound bags of flour, enough to get them through about two weeks of baking for the 86 children housed at the facility. The ages range from unborn up until 19 years old, although one staff member confided, that Leoni would never make the child leave upon reaching a certain age. Beans, rice, and cheese were also delivered, along with special boxes of Rice Crispie treats. You can imagine how much it takes to feed 86 children, many of them teens, 3 meals a day!

Some of the older boys helped carry in the food.

Industrial Kitchen!

Currently, there are 10 staff members, and several volunteers that help with all that is involved with raising the 86 children (down from 116 before Christmas). Volunteers have helped establish a truely self sustaining facility. A chicken coop offers both laying, and eating chickens, a barn is being built to facilitate raising a few cows, to produce milk, and meat. With rice and beans the main staples, it is important to offer protein of chicken or beef to their diet.

We were shown around the facility initially by Leoni, but soon she had to have a staff member finish the tour, as she was in pain. She had just undergone surgery, however, she was right back working at the facility. The needs never go away, even when she is not feeling well. She is dedicated. A recent mission group came and built a basketball court for the kids to play. Even more exciting to me was to hear that two local men had volunteered and have been working with the older boys, teaching them trades, such as auto mechanic, auto body repair, and woodworking. These are invaluable life skills that are being taught where these kids wouldn’t ordinarily ever have the chance to be exposed to this.

Most of the children were at school when we arrived, however there were younger kids not yet attending school, that greeted us when we walked in the door. Their smiles lighting up the room. I was hardly able to enter the door before two little boys were hanging on me. I guess at 6’5″, I do look a little like a jungle gym! I sure got my workout, playing, wrestling, and carrying the kids as we walked along touring the facility. AJ, was especially attached to me. He loved wrestling and just hanging on me. Once he calmed down enough from playing, and wearing me out, he would not let go of my hand. I was trying to take pictures and he wanted to do the same. I let him try his hand at the camera. Notice, I made it 3/4 into the picture that he took. Not bad considering the perspective from which he was taking the picture! Angela equally had her hands full, kids wanting to play with her. One little boy, hurt his foot on a closing door, and immediately came to her crying for her to comfort him.

All in all, this was a pretty amazing day. It helps to really open your eyes to the needs of facilities like this. It boggles my mind the amount of food needed to just provide the basics. We were told that flour is one of the main needs. It can be bought here, but it requires alot. They did have someone donating a few bags a month for the past few years, but that stopped this year. Our church in Placencia provides rice and beans as much as possible. They do not have any other regular food donations. They also expressed a need for bed linens, and towels.

We are going to begin collecting as much food and donations as possible to try and help out in the immediate areas (food, and bedding). If you would like to be a part, please feel free to contact me. 100% of any food or donations will be given directly to the home. A 100 pound bag of Flour costs $91 BZ. (it takes about 10 bags a month), 100 pound bags of beans cost $130 BZ, and 100 pounds of rice is $85 BZ. We will make the next delivery before the 1st of April. If you ever get a chance, stop by and meet Leoni and the children. It is an experience not to be soon forgotten!

Playing Kickball

New Chicken Coop

Orphanage Bus

New Gift Shop on Site will sell arts & crafts made by the children.

We decided to search for Davis Falls near Alta Vista Belize. Its a quick ride from Placencia to the Hummingbird Hwy. After making the turn toward Belmopan, its just a few miles to mile marker 14 1/2. Thats the easy part. A large sign marked the turn, announcing Davis Falls 8 miles.

As we turned onto the path that would prove to be the most accessible, I knew it was going to be a fun 8 miles. The path was lined with rocks, presumably brought in to stabilize the path from washing out. We weaved back through grass, orchards, and jungle. There was a little mud, along the way, just enough to splash on the fender wells. We continued on, noticing the fruit hanging low, ready to pick. The citrus aroma filled the air, especially as I made a point to run over the over ripe oranges that littered the road. As each orange squished out, we were getting deeper into the jungle.

Branches hung across the narrow path in places. As the muddy paths turned into deep rutted mud bogs, we were constantly rolling the windows up and down, to keep the mud from slinging inside. Occasionally, it was too late a large smelly clump of mud would splat on someone. I cant say I intentionally forgot to roll up the window a time or two, but I cant say I didn’t either…Then we came to what appeared to be the end of the trail.

Staring right in front of us, was a rushing river. It must have been a couple hundred feet across, probably more. I could see there was rocks in the bottom, so decided why not. We were determined to get to the falls, although it was getting late in the day. Dropping off the edge of the bank the first time was a little nerve racking. How deep was it? Heavy rains lately definitely contributed to the depth. At times, we pushed through 3 feet of water or more. The large rocks formed rapids, adding to the suspense. We just kept steady moving and drove out the other side. Whew! We made it. No problem. Some friends were behind us driving a 4×4 Infinity. At one point, the river washed washed over his hood as he forged across the rapids.

We drove on and had a blast crossing the river some 7 more times, each time with its own challenges. Mix in more mud and ruts, and you have what I call a good time. We actually saw 3 more signs pointing us towards the falls, although they seemed randomly placed. At intersections of paths, you were on your own to decide which way to go. Sometimes we were successful, other times, we had to turn around and find our way back through the mud bogs. We finally stopped for lunch and discussed where we thought the falls were.

The paths were getting increasingly difficult, and while I was ready to take on whatever was ahead, our friends were concerned with tearing up their daily driver vehicle. By this time, we were covered in mud, and completely lost. We made the decision to turn around as we already had been driving nearly 2 hours without finding the falls. The fun part was following the path back, choosing different lines to make it through without getting stuck or hitting a tree as we slid around corners or skidded past stops due to the greasy mud we were driving in. At the last river crossing, we made a stop to go for a swim. We may not have made it to the falls this time, but we had nearly as much fun just trying to get back to them. The river was surprisingly tolerable water temperature. We cooled off and swam for a half hour or so, before leaving to go back to the Hummingbird.

We will be back! The next time, we will find the elusive Davis falls. I cant wait to tackle to trip. If you want to tag along and have a 4×4 vehicle, let me know. As we drove into the sunset headed home, I had to remind myself of the quote that I have been living by since we began travelling Central America, “Its the journey, not the destination”. Today was one of those days that reiterated that to me. Sun, fun, friends, food, off roading what more could you ask for!

This was our first Christmas away from all our families. It was tough, but not as bad as we envisioned since we had plenty of friends around. We had a large gathering at Albert & Anita’s house on Christmas day and spent the day eating, playing games & visiting.

We spent the weekend at Mountain Pine Ridge. I had heard that it had been raining heavily for the past couple of days, so I was excited to see the muddy roads leading up to our friends cabin, where we were going to stay.

We left the paved road heading for the reserve. To my dismay, the roads were dry. Almost dusty. I wanted to test my Land Rover potential climbing to 3000 feet with the ruts and mud, and torrential rain we met the last time we visited the mountains. However the skies were blue, and the roads pretty well maintained. Still lots of obstacles and pot holes to avoid, made for some excitement. And we were able to find some mud holes along the way. Enough to splash mud and spray the windshield.

Part way up, we stopped at Hidden Valley Inn for a tour of the resort. A quaint “little” resort sitting on 7200 acres, featuring countless waterfalls, one at 150 feet tall. The hiking trails spanned over 90 miles throughout the property, all with natural beauty. The main house was actually a personal residence in the 70s. It had a wood burning fireplace, for the cool mountain nights, a restaurant, gift store, and unique bar area, feeling more like an elegant parlor in an old Plantation home. The pool was inviting, surrounded by landscaping, a hot tub, and natural screened in observatory. We were invited to view one of the 12 suites on the property. It was ornately decorated, a bathroom with claw foot tub, private outdoor waterfall shower, and a screened in common area with hammocks, between the two large bedrooms. Maybe we will be back.

We pulled into the cabin, 50 acres of mountains and valleys. The view was picturesque. The pine trees for which the reserve is named,scattered across the ridges inviting us for some trail riding.
We set up our tents, each picking the location that we wanted for views.

A campfire felt really good in the chilly air of the mountains. We sat and visited until well after dark before settling in for some good sleep in the cool breezes.

The next day we got up and made a Belizean breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans, cooked on the fire, and one of my favorites, fryjack. Fry Jacks are essentially puffed bread. Light and soft, I could eat a dozen! Some people stuff them with cream cheese or other ingredients, but they ate great by themselves or dipped in the beans.

We decided to go site seeing, and ended up at Rio On Pools. This is a natural wonder nestled right in the mountains, amongst the river, scattered with waterfalls and rapids. The sun was perfect for getting a tan/burn, and the water was “crisp”. Angela and I waded in up over our knees, enjoying the cool sensations. Adam, Ashley, and the kids waded in before full on swimming. At one point Cayen asked to “slide ” down the rapids. Adam joined him splashing and pushing themselves for greater speeds. Laughter was the word of the day. All enjoyed the few hours we spent relaxing. The sun was perfect as the temps got up into the upper 80s.

On the way back, Adam rode with me so we could hit some of the two track trails. We had fun traversing the ruts, mud holes, rocks and wildlife. We checked out trail after we trail, riding them until they ended, mostly off the side of a cliff.

Scott & Adam took off with the two girls to teach them how to off road! They loved it!!

Back at camp, we got another fire started and began cooking dinner. Ashley had brought some strawberry pie filling, cream cheese, and bread. We made pies over the fire, along with marshmallows. Again the night ended with great conversation, getting a glimpse inside Ashley’s head was an experience!

Another perfect nights sleep, being serenaded by the cool breezes and occasional rain shower.

Breakfast was eggs Ala Mexicana. A mix of scrambled eggs, green peppers and garlic. Nothing beats a good meal whole camping!

We packed up the rover and we’re about to head out, when our friend returned from Spanish Lookout with a western dairies pizza. It wasn’t quite lunch time, but it’s always a good time for pizza!