just because

just because i feel like it... one of the newer traditions at Peace Corps Belize is the mass migration of volunteers to the Gibnuts futbol games. we put together a team to go out and play local teams around the country. it's a way to interact with Belizeans in the form of the most revered sport in the world, while simultaneously allowing us to get out of our sites and see some countryside. it's also a perfect excuse for volunteers to hang out with folks they don't get to see often, and typically involves late night extravaganzas and crashing on each other's floors. the latest game was hosted by Matt and Rebecca in the far northland of Corozal. PCV's ventured all the way from the villages of the deep south, tempted by the promise of a day in Chetumal, Mexico, where can be found highways with overpasses (gasp), a mall, movie theater, and yes, McDonald's. sad to say, but that was honestly our first stop. even those who had sworn off McD's for years couldn't resist the call of the fries. i swear they must lace them with crack.

3 of the 4 horsemen of the Toledan apocalypse roam the streets of Corozal, leaving famine, pestilence and war in their wake. too bad they didn't have such success on the futbol field. but it's never a fair match-up - Belizeans, like most people around the world, seem to be born with soccer cleats on their feet. we poor Americans never did stand a chance...




our gracious host Matt and i getting the best out of a fleeting moment in Mexico...

... and Caracol

a couple weeks after our trip just up the road to Xunantunich, Cameron, Jessica and i rented a car and braved the Cristo Rey road and beyond to Caracol, Belize's most isolated site. the road winds through the villages of Cristo Rey and San Antonio (one of the few villages in Belize where the majority of residents speak Yucatec Maya, as opposed to the more common K'ekchi and Mopan you find in the south), before venturing in to the surprising pine forests of Mountain Pine Ridge. don't know why, but i certainly never expected to find pines in subtropical Belize. shows what i know...


with an estimated 36,000 structures, Caracol is said to be one of the largest sites in the Mayan world. but this being Belize, where funds are scarce, the site is largely unexcavated. it's truly a bizarre experience to look up on a walk through the jungle to realize that the hill you're staring at is in all likelihood a building that a thousand or so years ago housed the ancient Maya or played host to their religious ceremonies. the people living at Caracol have all long since fallen prey to disease, famine, war and European conquest (though no one seems to be sure which), and the jungle has taken over. their descendants live on, but in far reduced numbers, and in small villages scattered around Central America. Caracol alone housed a population nearly half the size of the entire present-day country of Belize. its largest pyramid is still one of the tallest structures in the country.

Xunantunich...

it's been a month of Mayan adventures for me. after having lived here for over a year, it's embarrassing to say that i'd only visited two of the many incredible Mayan sites in Belize. that is, until a couple weeks ago. and it's all thanks to the folks next door. Jonathan, Bria, Cameron and Jessica moved in to the house in front of me a couple months ago while Jonathan was completing research for his PhD in archaeology. they spent their days buried in analysis of Mayan pottery sherds (no, not shards. sherds.) evenings saw us hanging out on the patio, indulging in booze and burritos made with Erva's ginormous tortillas.


they generously shared their wine, and invited me to tag along on visits to Xunantunich and Caracol, two of Belize's most famous Mayan sites. Xunantunich is just up the road from San Ignacio, and can be reached only by a hand-cranked bridge across the Macal River. this is the site's largest pyramid.


Jessica, Cameron & Jonathan take in the view from the top. it's an incredible 360 degree panorama of the site's main plaza, the surrounding jungle canopy, and the villages of Succotz and Benque Viejo. on a clear day you can see Guatemala (which in truth isn't that far away).



the main plaza...













... and Xunantunich's famous frieze.