Welcome to Blue Creek! - 8/17/06

Hello all! I am sorry it has been so long since you have heard from me. But now, I am here to be your very own guide through Blue Creek, Belize! If you look to your right you will see a river. In fact, that is the border between Belize and Mexico! Passports and other travel documents neither desired or required! All you need is 10 pesos, $2 Belize or $1 US in order to catch a canoe ride across the river! Once you have crossed, you will find yourself in the small town of La Union, Mexico. Nathan and I go there for a better selection of fruits and vegetables at about half the cost of produce here in Blue Creek. When we first crossed the river, we attempted to stop at the customs office ahead of time, to make sure everything was legitamate. But, we must have shown up during siesta time, becuase the door was locked and no one responded to our knocks....okay....so we'll just be leaving the country then....

As we continue along our tour we are now driving toward Blue Creek itself. Notice the hills, looming ahead? The town of Blue Creek is just at the top of them.

But before we start up the hill to Blue Creek, we will pass the airport on our left. This is where we landed when Nathan and I first arrived in Belize. Wave to Abe, I am sure he's there somewhere, I know it's hard to spot him in the crowd!

Once you have driven into Blue Creek, the first business you will see is the Hillside Bed and Breakfast, owned by the Klassen's. They also own the Hillside Gifts 'n More, where Liz and I have been buying our fabric! Mrs. Klassen has been very helpful and patient with me as I attempt to become a skilled seamstress. She is also a big fan of Nathan! She laughed and clapped her hands together as she recalled her grandson's report of his first day of school and his scary teacher, Mr. Lemanski! The Hillside Bed & Breakfast is a beautiful piece of land where travelers can rest, relax, enjoy horses, a beautiful view, and a wonderful breakfast, all for $40 US! (shameless plug).

Now, stick close as we leave the Klassesn's property, because the last bit of hill is steep and the road isn't very good. Mind the potholes and keep at a safe speed, any number of vehicles may come around the corner toward us. I have seen other pick-ups, tractors, a cowboy riding his faithful steed, a child on a bicycle, or teenagers on scooters or 4-wheelers! Quick, to your right is the Blue Creek Medical center. I haven't been there myself yet (thank you Lord), but Liz told me that the nurse most often recommends that you, "drink more water dear, you're not used to this climate." But, since it turned out she had Typhoid Fever, drinking more fluids wasn't exactly going to cure her.

Now we are at the top of the hill and find ourselves in the heart of Blue Creek. The building on your right holds the Credit Union, one of the local hardward stores, one of the grocery stores, and our apartment! The hardware store is to the left of the white truck and the market and Credit Union are on the right. The Braun (pronounced Brown) Family ownes the market, and here is their second oldest daughter, Justina, manning the register. This is where you can usually find her. Her parents pulled her out of school in order to help out with the family business. She is a very nice girl who always greets us with a smile.

There is another store in town, called La Rosita, which is located a little further down the road. If you will get back into your vehicles and follow me...we have so little to do and so much time...wait, stop, reverse that. Now, we don't have time to stop, so we will just look at it out our window as we pass. The store is owned by an elderly couple, who live above it. I do now know thier names, but this is where we get our water, because it is cheaper here than at the market near our house.

There are also two resteraunts in town, Travelers and Tres Banderas (Three Flags.) Travelers is owned by the Rempels and is so close to our apartment we could walk there is less than 3 minutes. Mrs. Rempel offered me a job as a cook one evening as we sat eating dinner. I thanked her and told her I would be happy to work for her as long as she could teach me how to cook. She repied in a very exasperated voice, "I don't have time to teach you, I am too busy, that is why I need a cook!" I apologized and thanked her for the offer but told her without a lesson, I did not think I would help business much.

The other resteraunt, Three Flags, is located further down the road. It is owned by a couple with a TON of adorable children--one of their daughters is in Nathan's class. The food is good and the atmosphere is GREAT!! It's an outdoor restraunt covered with a thatch roof and it is absolutely packed in the evenings! They keep the iced tea coming and the rice and beans combined with a cool evening breeze make this our favorite place to eat outside of home.

That just about concludes our tour of Blue Creek. Our final stop is the Archelogists Camp, located right along the highway. As we have mentioned in previous posts, Ancient Ruins are found all throughout this area, and teams of Archelogists come to live and work for several months each year. These white buildings are what they call home while they do their work. The oldest Myan ruin found to date, La Milpa, is located just outside of Blue Creek. Nathan and I haven't had a chance to explore any of these historic sites, but I hope to be able to soon.

Well, the tour is now complete! I hope you enjoyed seeing our new home and you have a better idea of while daily life is like for us. If you want to visit, book a night at the Hillside and we'll treat you to a meal at Three Flags! We can take a day trip into Mexico, just be careful not to upset the border guards!

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?