Part 6, Exploring Yo Creek Village

After a couple of full days of travel we opted to take it easy on March 9th and just spend the day exploring Yo Creek Village.  After a delicious breakfast of journey cakes, bacon and beans we decided that the first thing to explore was the house as we had arrived in the dark the evening before. 

A little background first....George Lebard first went to Belize as a Peace Corps volunteer and met his wife, Irma who was a native of Yo Creek Village.  To make a long, and very interesting story short, George and Irma fell in love, were married, and had three sons while living in Belize.  They built their home in Yo Creek Village and lived there until their boys were preteens.  They came back to George's home state of Nevada and have been living here ever since.  They visit their home in Belize as often as they can, though it's not as often as they would like.  Most of Irma's family still lives in the Yo Creek area.  So, the house we stayed in was the home built by George and Irma.  Next door live Irma's sister Lily and husband Pedro.

The Lebard house was shaped like a rectangular U with a courtyard in the middle of the structure.  There are four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large open living/dining/kitchen area.  A staircase leads up to the second story which was one room with doors on either end leading out onto a HUGE veranda.  Apparently the veranda is an amazing place to sleep under the stars.

You can see that the views from the veranda were amazing.

Looking west.

Looking down on the courtyard fountain.

The second story of the house.

More courtyard.

Our exploration then led us away from the house.  We started out walking down the road directly in front of George and Irma's home, I believe it is to the north (the streets aren't named and the homes have no addresses) and ended up seeing some fun sights.

Looking north from the veranda.

Janet and Brian on one of many rocky dirt roads in Yo Creek.

The road less traveled.

The football (soccer) field.

After walking for a bit we came upon a residence that was getting a new thatched roof.  We stopped to watch the progress and were invited to come closer for a better look.  We met Jose Novelo and some of his friends who were constructing a new outdoor kitchen.  We were all anxious to see thatching in progress as we had stayed under thatched roofs in Tulum.  Mr. Novelo and his family were incredibly kind offering us cake and a drink while we watched.  We were also told about what kind of palm fronds are used (Bay Palms), when they can be cut according to Mayan traditions linked to the moon, and how each frond is carefully placed on the roof's crossbeams to keep out weather. 

Vicente showing us how to divide the leaves of a frond before adding them to the roof.

A thatched roof will last more than 30 years!!!

As we said farewell to the Novelos we walked past one of two primary schools in Yo Creek.  Just walking by caused quite a stir as students waved to us from their classrooms.  We picked out one very enthusiastic kid as Aldomere, Lorena's son, who was probably telling his friends that he knew those Americans down on the road.  Janet approached the school and talked to the pricipal, Maria Elena Blanco, and asked if it would be okay for Janet's students in Cedarville, CA to become penpals with some of the Yo Creek students.

The Yo Creek Catholic Church, the bell and bell tower were restored due to the efforts of Irma and her call to action from the Incline Village Rotary who funded the project.

The Legend Tree....legend is that if you sleep under this tree, the oldest in the village, you will be forever youthful.

Farmland on the edge of Yo Creek Village.

The cemetery.

After a full morning we wandered back to the house to enjoy our leftover dinner for lunch. Janet and Sarah had been told by Lorena that there was a tortilla factory up the road so they were determined to get some tortillas to accompany our chicken, rice and beans. As I mentioned before, none of the roads in Yo Creek are named and none of the buildings have addresses. And as we soon found out many of the businesses have no signs. In fact, most stores in the villages are simply the front rooms of homes with a walk-up window for ordering what you need. So when Janet and Sarah decided to get some tortillas they not only didn't know which house to go to, but they were sorely unprepared for how to order. Luckily, as we came back to the house Brian and I saw Irma's sister Lily and introduced ourselves. She let us know what the correct house was and the tortilla adventure began.

Janet and Sarah headed back up the road toward the north and arrived at the blue house which was the tortilla factory. Two huge bonuses of Belize are that English is the official language and the Belizean dollar is set to correspond with the American dollar with a two to one exchange rate. So you would think that ordering a few tortillas would be pretty simple. When Janet and Sarah asked for 12 the young girl went to the back and then came out and apologized for only having 7, pounds that is! Apparently in Belize if you purchase tortillas you do so by the pound, not by the number of tortillas. Luckily the confusion was ironed out and the ladies came back to the house with one pound of tortillas (roughly 18) for us to have for lunch.

After a siesta we took back to the streets of Yo Creek to continue our exploration.  We ended up at the library run by retired teacher, Mr. Sosa.  We enjoyed sitting down with him and learning more about the history of Yo Creek.  Many students go to the library each day after school and were anxious to speak to us in the very formal English they learn at school saying, "Good afternoon," and "How do you do?"
One student in particular stuck around while Mr. Sosa was talking to us.  He seemed as interested in the history as we did.  Mr. Sosa introduced him as Nataniel Moh, 12 years-old and a regular visitor to the library.

Later on we met up again with Nataniel as well as Aldomere and Lily's son Pedro Saul.  The three boys chatted with us for quite some time and it was clear that Nataniel was quite a charming young man.

A visit in the street.

 

Left to right: Nataniel, Pedro Saul and Aldomere.

 

And my favorite way to relax in Belize...a hammock and a cold Belikin beer.

 

Lorena's cousin Selena came to make us handmade tortillas for dinner. When I asked to try she willingly said yes but broke into laughter at my lack of finesse.

 

Escabeche, onion soup with chicken.

 

The best tortillas I have ever eaten!