Day 6: We win the Survivor reward challenge

Alas, we had too short a time in Chan Chich. And we could have had an extra night for free. Bad planning, but who knew?

So away we go. The most practical way to get from Chan Chich to Black Rock Lodge in the Kayo District is to fly. So we flew -- in a tiny 4 seater plane. Worth the cost just to have that experience. And it really didn't cost that much.

The 15 minute flight took us over the rain forest which seemed to stretch on forever. But then the farms started to appear and the areas of freshly burned forest which would be productive for the next three years until the soil was exhausted.

Most of the farming is done by Progressive Mennonites. They came from Canada and the U.S. in the late 50's. The Belizian government allowed them to settle as long as they agreed to grow food for the country. The arrangement seems to work for all. More than one Belizian told us (proudly) that Belizians prefer to have other people work for them. Hey, why not?

When we land we find out that the lodge had misunderstood the date of our arrival. 7/6/2010 is very similar to 6/7/2010. We were expected the next day. But not to worry, there was room. In fact we were the only guests at the lodge for that night. A very strange feeling.

The lodge is situated on a steep hill overlooking the Macal River and opposite impressive cliffs covered in rain forest. Really beautiful, although the white noise of the rushing river got to me after a while.

To be honest, we were both a little disappointed in the acommodations after Chan Chich, but there were lots of things to do and it cost way, way less. We could afford this place!

Survivor Reward: E and I are both fans of the show Survivor and in the evening we experienced our own version of the tribal council and reward challenge. We stepped out of our cabin to go to the lodge for dinner and freshly lit kerosene lanterns lined the jungle path to the lodge. We started humming hte theme song.

When we go to the lodge, little tea lights were lit on every table, our places were laid and the staff were waiting to serve us. Since we were the only guests it was a little overkill, but hey, go with the flow! And the dinner was delicious....

Belize Trip Back Blips
Day 1: Lost Luggage and Laminai
Day 2: The Ruins of the British (and Mayan) Empires
Day 3: Journey to Chan Chich
Day 4: Jungle Oasis
Day 5: It's a jungle out here
Day 6: We win the Survivor reward challenge
Day 7: Floating down the river to infinity
Day 8: A Military Escort
Day 9: People Watching
Day 10: Toilet Humour
Day 11: Tikal Immersion
Day 12: Roxie and the Machete
Day 13: Communing with Tikal
Day 14: Slash and Burn
Day 15: Swimming with Sharks
Day 16: Passage of the Mangroves
Day 17: Exploring San Pedro
Day 18: Lost and Found