In the spring of 2023, Cael and I decided we wanted to participate in a volunteer exchange program somewhere in the world. We really had no idea where we would go, but we were open to whatever opportunities fell into our lap. 
Lo and behold, we found ourselves on a dairy farm in the middle of the Belizean jungle- just off of the Guatemalan border. 

We landed in Belize City late in the evening. From there, we had the exciting task of getting from Belize City to San Ignacio (the other side of the country) with no car. Navigating the public bus system of a foreign country at night is quite the adventure! Once we were dropped off in San Ignacio, we were swiftly picked up in a big white van by a man we had never met, and were taken into a small jungle village. He, his wife, and their 6 children would be our host family for the next 2 weeks. 

We stayed in a small guest house on the farm about a quarter mile away from our host family's home. We had no A/C, no hot water, and insects EVERYWHERE. We truly were not prepared for the amount of bugs that we slept with every night. As the sun went down, the bugs came out, and just about every inch of our bed was covered in tiny flies that we soon learned to live with.  

In our 2 weeks that we stayed in Belize, we built fences in the hard ground with dull, primitive tools, moved giant rocks to make a pond border, and helped out with various tasks around the farm. The jobs were relatively simple and easy. But heat makes everything feel much harder than it actually is. We usually worked midday in 115 degree F heat with UV of 14. Cold showers and swimming in the Mopan river became our saving grace. There was a rumour going around the village that a local man had spotted a 13 ft crocodile about 1/4 mile downstream from our swimming hole. Once you get hot enough though, sharing the water with a crocodile doesn't sound too bad. 

The hard work was always a blessing though. We always got to end the day having dinner with our host family and they were so incredibly kind and welcoming to us. They always invited us into what they were doing. One highlight was getting to spend time with a Mennonite family that lived high up in the Belizian jungle. They lived very simply and primatively, far from any other village. We got to spend the day with them- swimming in the river and learning their ways. 

We were very excited for our first day off from work because that meant we got to get out and go on an adventure. We hopped on a bus early in the morning heading towards Benque. Right on the Belize/Guatemala border is the Mayan Ruins of Xunantunich. When you're standing at the base of such a powerful structure, it's really striking to imagine the work that went into building this civilization, and to imagine what it must've looked like in its prime, bustling with people.

Our fun quickly turned to concern when we realized we had no idea when the bus was coming back and had no way to get home. This is how we found out that hitch hiking is actually a very common way to get around in Belize. 

We couldn't come all the way out to central America without at least one beach day. We took about 5 hours and maybe 5 different buses (one of which we actually had to fight our way onto) to get to Placencia for a couple days. Eating BBQ made by a local on the beach felt like quite the reward after our two weeks of work. 

We got to venture out into the ocean to see some of the islands as well as some of the local wildlife. Swimming with Loggerhead Sea Turtles and Nurse Sharks was a definite highlight. 

Overall, Belize is a spectacular country to visit. The people are so incredibly kind and welcoming to those who show it back, and there is adventure around every corner. We hope to visit again someday and see more of what it has to offer.