Stay away from RED ANTS!!

Tabor and I arrived without incident in Belize yesterday (Wednesday) at around 11am. We got through customs with minimal invasion, and proceded to the airport, which is essentially one big room with ticket counters (for Continental, Tropic Air, and Mayan Air). A separate terminal holds American Airlines.

We checked in for our 'connecting flight' on a Cessna Grand Caravan. And yes, it did frighten me that the airplane and a Dodge share the same name. You could, however, fit more people comfortably in the Dodge, even without the third row seats.

Before departing, however, we went to the airport restaurant for our last cheeseburger and fries for at least a week. Oh, and a Coke "light". Not diet. It kind of tastes like Tab, if you're old enough to remember it before it was an energy drink.

So we fly without incident (minor turbulance, and some minutes of being enveloped in clouds) from Belize City to Dangriga. The dangriga "airport" consists of a landing strip (don't overshoot it or you'll be in the Caribe) and two building, each about 10x12. One is the "terminal" for Tropic Air, the other for Mayan Air. It's the funniest thing -- the pilot lands, drives toward this little one room building on stilts, buzzes around, and lets you out - but you have to crawl over all the people sitting behind you, which for tabor and me, was everyone. Lots more room in the minivan, I assure you, but we still had 12 people in there!!

Oh, and "baggage claim" -- some guys grab your bags from under the plane and throw them over a split-rail fence. Then you walk down the 30 foot-long driveway to your car!! It certainly is different. I didn't ask about their frequent flier plan.

The good news is that plane trip saved us about 3 hours in a van. The plane ride was about 12 minutes. Good trade.

Ray Neu, the missionary here, picked us up (by the split rail fence) and we went to the local market. This is best described as flies, fruits, and fun in the humidity, under tarps. We got some great stuff, though. Delicious pineapple that we had with lunch today, mangoes, and tomatoes - completely free of e Coli. (I hope). Then, to the grocery. There were some things that we are used to seeing, including Betty Crocker frosting, and things we aren't, like weird parts of chicken in a freezer. Oh, and it's not like Walmart's freezer with the glass doors to look through. It's 3 of these big freezer chests lined up, with a hand made sign telling you what's in it. Shrimp, chicken, beef, french fries, and ice cream. But not necessarily visible. You have to dig for it! There was not a "Lean Cuisine" or Healthy Choice meal in sight!! Boy, am I in trouble!

We arrived at the camp to familiar faces, and settled in. Tabor and I are in our own little dorm, instead of one of the big dorms down the hill. The caretakers, Ray the missionary, and the dining room are all within 50 yards of us. That's a little safer than us being down and around the bend.

Today, we helped clean the windows of the house, scraping off concrete and paint, so that the 'burglar bars' could be put up. Tabor got tired of that after about the second window, so after lunch, he and Ray filled 5 gallon buckets with rocks to fill in the mud puddles in the drive. Not only does it keep you from getting stuck in the mud, it hopefully will prevent mosquitoes from breeding there. Not like they don't have plenty of OTHER places.

Which leads me to the next topic of the day - bug bites. I have no idea how many I have, but apparently, bottle flies think I am very tasty. You can't feel them biting, but they draw blood, so you know they've been there. I had no fewer than 7 sites on my right shin alone, and three on my elbow. I'm trying to figure out why elbows are so tasty, but I haven't a clue.

Mosquitoes - probably at least 20 bites, and the 100% deet was not that much of a deterrent.

And fire ants -- yeah, not pleasant. I stepped near some while I was working, and before I knew it, my feet were covered, and I was bitten at least 12 times. I don't mind the bugs here - I've seen the scorpions and lots of spiders, and even leaf cutter ants - I just don't like the ones that attack me.

After we finished working, we came back to the house, and Felize, the camp caretaker, came knocking on our door. We heard earlier in the day the call of toucans (yes, those toucans), and he had us come look! There was one in a tree near the house, but pretty high up. It's call sounds a lot like a frog, and it was calling for neighbors, because in a matter of about 20 seconds, there were 4 toucans in a tree! It was so cool!!

Unfortunately, my camera is not powerful enough to get a good picture, but Felize lent us his binoculars, and Tabor figured out that we could take the picture through the binoculars.

It's 8pm in the jungle, and I am exhausted. I am looking forward to the shower, even if it is cold, and crawling into bed. Tomorrow, we will be up at 6am, breakfast at 7, and on our way to Silk Grass to teach some women at the local church about Bible storying. I am a little nervous about it, but I think it will be just fine!!

Leah and Tabor