Today the students and I had a break from clinic work and home visits. In the morning there was a presentation put on by the Belizean staff members here at Hillside. They talked about the different cultures you'll see here in Belize such as East Indian, Garifuna, Mayan, and Creole. After the presentation we drove to Nim Li Punit to tour the Mayan Ruins. It was interesting to see the open tombs and step pyramids that date back to 700AD. We also saw the second longest carved stela in the Mayan world.
After the tour we headed to meet the Ixchel Women's group. The Ixchel Women's group gave us a glimpse into their Mayan home and culture. We learned how to grind corn on a stone and make corn tortillas on the traditional comal. They cooked us a traditional Mayan meal which consisted of tortillas, jippy-jappa stew, and chicken. We also had sour sap juice. It's yummy. At the end of lunch we were able to buy some beautiful baskets made by the women woven out of the plant called jippy-jappa.
Then we made our way to Blue Creek. Our Belizean tour guise lead us on a hike to the Blue Creek caves. We hiked through the forest over rocks and hills for about 15 minutes. After reaching the entrance of the cave we fastened our life vests and slipped on our head lamps and entered the darkness. It was an incredible experience having the headlamp as the only source of light in the dark cold cave. It was difficult at times convincing myself that there were no creatures in the water wanting to grab my feet! We swam deep into the cave for about 45 minutes and climbed over multiple tiny waterfalls inside. After our adventure in the cave we had time to swim in the creek and play on the rope swing.
Overall, cultural day was a success!
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