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!

 

Part Five - Belize Bound!

From our quick visit to the ruins at Tulum on March 8th we headed south once more on Highway 307 towards Belize.  The road was in excellent condition and all we could see for miles on either side of the road were trees.  Despite the unchanging scenery we did enjoy attempting to translate the many signs along the road.  In every village we passed we had to slow down for the "sleeping policemen" marked with large signs reading "TOPE".  The literal translation of these large speed bumps was "Run into."  Funny and rather appropriate if one happened to sneak up on us.  It also became apparent that the Mexican government really encourages the use of seat belts...."USA TU CINTURON DE SEGURIDAD - SALVADADE TU VIDA." (Use your safety belt, save your life.) 

After a few hours with Dave behind the wheel and Roger and Brian helping to navigate we neared the Mexico-Belize border...before 4:00 P.M. and hopefully with enough time to get the much-needed insurance for the van so we could legally travel throughout Belize.  It took little time to get through the border at Mexico.  We paid our departure fee, had our passports stamped and got back in the van to cross the bridge over the Rio Hondo and into Belize.  We soon realized that our luck may have turned.  The little green building just past the bridge, the one that our friend George had instructed us to go to and purchase our insurance, was closed! 

But, don't worry, dear reader, as we had been told, the people of Belize are kind and helpful people.  A young man noticed our perplexed faces, came over, and told us that the insurance office was closed because it was a holiday. 

In our pre-trip reading we had read about Baron Bliss Day which celebrates Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, commonly known as Baron Bliss (16 February 1869 – 9 March 1926), Bliss was a British-born traveller who willed some two million U.S. dollars to a trust fund for the benefit of the citizens of what was then the colony of British Honduras, now Belize.  According to the guide books Baron Bliss Day is March 9th and for some reason it never occured to us that like the U.S. the Belizean government may observe holidays on the nearest Monday to the actual date.  Thus, our dilemma.

The young Belizean man let us know that there was another insurance office just a few minutes up the road just past the Belize border offices.  So off we went again and the Belizean kid had a few coins in his pocket for a cold drink.

It took longer than we had hoped to get through the border at Belize as we found ourselves waiting with hoards of Belizeans out for holiday shopping in Chetumal, Mexico.  Eventually all of us except Dave had made it past the required immigration and customs hurdles and were outside waiting for Dave and the van to make it through too.  At least it was a perfect opportunity to go back inside and use the restroom before our last hour of driving into the Orange Walk District of Belize.  In fact, when Brian went in one of the customs officials asked him where he was going in Belize.  Brian told him, "Yo Creek."  The official apparently gave Brian a funny smile probably thinking that this gringo had no clue what he was talking about.

When we were standing outside, still waiting for Dave and the van, we saw that the ICB (Insurance Corporation of Belize) was literally less than one-hundred yards from the parking area.  Roger and Brian decided to walk ahead to make sure the office knew a vehicle was coming for insurance so they would not close before 5:00.

Looking back at the border from the insurance office.



Notice the Belizean flag at half staff...one of the most successful businessmen in Belize, Sir Barry Bowen, was killed in a plane crash on February 26th. Sir Barry headed the Bowen group of companies that includes the Belize Coca Cola franchise, the Belikin Brewery (the only brewery in Belize) the Ford Automobile Distributorship, the Chan Chic Tourism Lodge and Belize Aquaculture Ltd. one of the largest shrimp farms in Belize.

Just after 5:00 we were all back in the van with everything we needed to continue on into Belize.  In just under an hour we were in Orange Walk Town and headed west on the very dusty and bumpy San Antonio Road toward Yo Creek Village....previous home of George and Irma Lebard, our friends from Tahoe.

We arrived in Yo Creek and immediately met two of Irma's sisters, Laura and Rosie, who showed us the way to the house.  When we entered through the beautiful tiled courtyard we were greeted by amazing smells and one of the nicest Belizean women, Lorena, Irma's cousin.

Lorena had been at the house waiting for us with a wonderful dinner ready to go. We feasted on chicken stewed in a traditional Belizean spice blend called red recado. Along with the chicken we had coconut rice and beans, coleslaw and our very first Belikin beer.

Our first dinner in Belize...ready for a Belikin toast!

After dinner I called my parents' home to check in with them and the boys only to have my mom say that Ben and Sam were both happy, neither had cried or been sad, and neither had asked about us at all.  What a relief and the perfect way to end the day!

Parte Cuatro: Tulum Day 2 - The Ruins

We awoke relatively early on Monday, March 8th, with plans to have a quick breakfast, pack up, and go visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum before driving all the way south into Belize. We quickly learned that plans for a quick breakfast were not in the stars for us as we sat down to eat at the Retiro Maya restaurant. We waited quite a while for our breakfast (which was delicious) and then waited a bit longer for the bill so we could be on our way.

All ready for the next leg of our trip!

      

Nearly an hour later than we had hoped to be in the van we headed the couple of miles to the ruins where we did a quick unguided tour....basically we walked quickly and snapped photos and tried to take in as much as possible in the hour we had allotted ourselves so that we would have adequate time to drive into Belize and obtain the necesary insurance for our car before the insurance office closed.

The name Tulum (pronounced "too-LOOM") means wall, referring to the fact that Tulum was a walled city, protected on one side by steep cliffs facing the sea and on the other by a wall of about 12 feet in height. Tulum served as a trading port.  The Maya site may have been formerly also known by the name Zama, meaning city of Dawn.

Iguanas lounged in sunny spots throughout the ruins.

El Castillo - The Castle

This is the tallest building of the archaeological site. It may have functioned as a navigational aid, directing Mayan craft through the break in the reef to the beach.

Temple of the Descending God

Side view of the House of the Columns

Obviously we could have used a tour to get the real history of the site but we did enjoy the beauty of the ruins and their location.  This Mayan site is unique in that it is the only one right on the sea.  As we left the ruins after our one hour of allotted time we all agreed that Tulum definitely deserved to be revisited.

But, our true destination was waiting for us so again we loaded up into the van and made our way south to BELIZE!