Paget's Belize Journal - 2001

Spring in Belize - A princess arrives - Finding a place to stay - San Ignacio - Buena Vista neighborhood - Living details - Paget Eats Rat in Belize - A joke, about agriculture - Bananas/a chicken story - Maya Ranch - Sugar cane and Cerros - Observations on flora - Transportation lessons - Corozal Town - Agriculture on the Move - Spanish Lookout - Griga Challenge 01 - Misc. Facts and Lessons - Rain and Washing - Mt. Pine Ridge I - Mt. Pine Ridge II		San Ignacio San Ignacio, where I am now located is in the western part of the country, in the Maya Mountains, about 10 miles from the Guatemalan border. It has a strong Guatemalan, Mestizo and Mayan influence, not so much Garifuna (black Caribe), but some. There also are several large Mennonite communities nearby so you get those charming horse and buggy signs on the roads -- Mennonite Crossing, just like in Pennsylvania. And the great Mennonite produce. It's a hilly town and I will either make good friends with all the taxi drivers or get my cardio workout every time I go shopping. Or rather every time I come home. But the taxi is only US $2. Here is a link to some background information about San Ignacio. This is a much more vibrant community than Dangriga and more prosperous, although about the same size (8,000 --10,000). This is cattle and farming country, so the Saturday market has maybe 3 dozen booths with all kinds of good things and I've even been told that one of the Mennonite communities makes yogurt, so I'm looking. And, like a proper tropical town, they have fruit vendors on a few corners where you can buy little one- or two-serving bags of watermelon, pineapple, mango, papaya for US $.75 each, all peeled and ready to eat. I was very disappointed they didn't have such things in Dangriga, so I'm buying some every time I go to town The stores here are much better stocked than in Dangriga too. I actually found de-caffeinated coffee that wasn't out-of-date and they have some wonderful, local medium-sharp cheddar cheese quite reasonably priced, so food at least, appears to offer more possibilities. There's still nothing like a supermarket though and lots of things you take for granted like pasta (or just plain noodles) are hard to find. And because the Coca-Cola Company has a mortal lock on this country, that's all you can buy in the way of soda -- Coke and Fanta in all its fruity glory. But rarely diet coke and never diet, caffeine-free. Bill, the owner of the Aguanda Resort, who found the living situation for me, says proudly, "We have everything they have in Belize City, you just have to shop around a little." He may be right. San Ignacio straddles a river, the Macal, a branch of the Belize River. Although it's very hot, at least 95 degrees F every day, it cools off at night and the location along a sort of gorge means that there are breezes most of the day and in the afternoons it's quite windy. This is the dry season and the end of tourist season. May is the hottest month in Belize -- something I did not know when I planned this trip. It's still north of the equator, so it should be spring, right? Well, no. But because you can't plant in May and the spring harvests are pretty much in, that's when they have the agricultural fair. I think it's a state fair, Belize-style. I can hardly wait. Next I'll tell you a bit more about the house and the neighborhood. Next