Trip diary (Bruce McNellie):
May 23th met Quinn at the hospital with Steve and Bobby Yarborough. Taped the trunks and took two vehicles to Houston. Met Eric Lawrence and Karen Collins we checked in. Poor Quinn got a ticket for leaving his vehicle unattended when we were dropping off the trunks.  TACA allowed us to check in 12 bags. The flight was later than usual, leaving at 2:50 and arriving in Belize at 4:30 pm.   Met Winston and he checked us in without incident. Gave him his shoes. We did not have to open any trunks, the first time we have not to in a long time.  Crystals had three very nice vans this time and we stopped back by the main office to get ice chests. Getting in so late put us the last people leaving the airport.   We drove using the Hummingbird Highway and arrived in Dangriga around 9:30 pm, making good time. As usual the place was pretty and the breakfast was good.

Left the hotel around 8 am and stopped at the orange grove on the way. The owner cut down Mangos for us and gave us 2 bags of oranges. Made him take $8.  Got some good pictures of the 'Gibnuts', small furry pig like critters he raises for pets. He said that the Mayan rulers used to eat them.  The drive was the best yet. The southern Highway was paved very well for the first 32 miles, then it was rough, but too bad. Then it was paved again for about 8 miles, and then dirt and it was very rough, then the last five miles to Mary's was paved and it is paved from there to Punta Gorda. Got to Mary around 12.  Saw Esther's baby and ate lunch with them. They are so nice. Also ate huge frozen yogurts that they make.

The hurricane took off their roof with them in it, it sounded very frightening. Mary and Junior are building a new home behind their current home, about 100 yds back.  They lost their breeze way and built a room for Esther and her husband. We unloaded the medical trunks, planning to pick them up the next day so we would have more room for the group's bags. We arrived in PG at 1:15 and met with Elizabeth Enriquez, who described herself as the administrative agent for the hospital. She said that Dr. Raju, with whom we had an appointment, had been there that morning, but he was gone now. She said that in the future we would need to work with http://www.belizemissions.com and register our medical people with the hospital in Belize City (I since found that we can register through the site and it may be easier than what we have been doing.) Ms. Enriquez pretty much supported where we wanted to go, except for Jicama (the village west of Dolores), which she said had been visited earlier in the week by a group who came up river from Crique Sarco. One of the hospital district's staff told us about Santa Rosa, a small village north of San Vincente and a 'sister' village (Lemon) just across the border that we could visit or send people from Santa Rosa to Lemon to have them come to Santa Rosa.   We set on these villages in this order: Sunday, Santa Rosa and San Vincente; Monday, Jalacte and Pueblo Viejo;  Tuesday, Dolores and Otoxha; and Wednesday, Golden Stream and Indian Creek.

We hung around Punta Gorda until the rest of the group arrived. We were pretty worried due to the fact that the plan e was getting in to Belize City so late that the group might not make the plane to Punta Gorda.  But they said they were in the air by 5:30 and got to PG by 6:30 or so.  Bruce, Eric, Karen, and Bobby left Quinn and Steve in PG to pick the group up. We got gas and picked up the rest of the trunks that we had left at Mary and Juniors and went to take a van to Oscar, our guide. We took him a large chain saw and Vincente an electric sewing machine for his wife.  Oscar and his youngest daughter drove us to Blue Creek. Oscar and Vincete agreed to drive to San Vicente and walk in to Santa Rosa to arrange for our clinic on Sunday and have mules for the medicines.

We went back to get gas and pick up the rest of the trunks and got to Blue Creek before dark. It was really different. We used a deck of playing cards to control for the baggage carriers. It worked well. We paid a dollar a bag. When the kids complained that they carried heavy bags, I told them that we were paying for their time, not their strength.  It worked fine. The walk up to the lodge is mostly in the sun, at least you can see the sky when last year, much of the canopy kept the trail in deep shade. Many of the larger trees were snapped in half.  The trail was still in good condition.

Ignacio and his helpers had dinner ready for us and afterward we met with Ignacio to arrange a cave tour for those who wanted to go the next day.  Blue Creek was a mess. The shade was gone in many spots and it really was not recognizable. The canopy tour was damaged and not accessible due to the safety wires being torn away. Most of the really tall trees had been snapped into. The first cabin on the left had been destroyed by a large tree and was completely gone. The cabin on the right up the hill from the main lodge, had its stairway gone. Most of the cabins suffered roof damage and they had lost all but 7 mattresses.  There was plenty of room for the 17 of us. Craig and Cyd decided to move a bunk bed set on the front porch of Bob and Delores cabin. Charlie's mom had an emergency and he and Jan were not able to come in until Sunday.

Saturday, June 25, 2002: On Saturday morning, Quinn, Tammy, Bobby, Joe, and I drove to Otoxha and drove on a new road within about 5 minutes from Dolores. We got stuck turning around and trying to get to the side of the road to park. It was an easy walk from there, though muddy. About half of the road to that point is rocked. We arranged with some of the villagers for us to come on Tuesday and asked one of the boys in the village if he could see if they could have 2 mules meet us.  On return to Otoxha, we met the health care worker, who said that he was now the principal for the school in Dolores. He said he would arrange for mules to meet us as far as we could get depending on the weather for Tuesday.

We got back to Blue Creek and swam and cooled off. They had already restored electricity and we each had fans for the rooms.

Sunday, June 26th, 2002: On Sunday we got up at 4:00 and got to the vans by 6 to try to get to San Vicente early.  The van Oscar was driving developed a leak on the right front brake. Oscar tried to tape the line but it would not hold the pressure.  They parked it in Santa Elena and rode with Quinn, arriving in San Vicente around 8:30. Quinn, Bobby, Eric, Karen, and Joe, left with Oscar. Vincente stayed with the rest of the group in San Vicente. The health care worker and several interpreters stayed with us the entire day at San Vincente. They had a new building that was really nice to work in. Shortly after we arrived, a military truck with twelve armed men arrive and struck off to the northwest. They came stumbling back up the  hill about two hours later with their guns across their chest back by us and climbed into the truck and left. Even though they were part of the Belizean Army, it was disconcerting to see them pass with their guns passing by us as they walked to their trucks.

The reception in Santa Rosa was good. They seemed very glad to see the group. Quinn and company treated 75. It is very close to the border. The school teachers are provided from Guatemala and only Spanish is spoken in school. Lemon is very close, just across the border and some of that village came to the clinic. The group that did the clinic in San Vincente were pretty busy, serving 164.

About mid afternoon, Bob Seamons and I drove one of the vans back to Santa Eleana with the notion of somehow fixing the van with the leaking brake line. We missed it the first time as a large bus had parked on the west side of the van, hiding it from us. We went as far as Roy's before we gave  up realized that we had missed it. On the way back we got some information about a mechanic shop and got some parts and brake fluid. When we found it, we cut the brake line and stuffed a screwdriver into the hose and clamped it down and added fluid. It drove ok, but just pulled to the left if you braked too hard. We then drove on into Mary's to see if Junior could fix it better. He said that the whole assembly had to be replaced on a Chrysler van. So we decided to live with it. On the way back we noticed that one of the vans was not cranking well and smoke was coming from under the hood. Junior looked it at. The problem was the connections to the battery were corroded. He cleaned them for  us and it was fine after that.  Bob then drove on into Punta Gorda to pick up Charlie and Jan.  I got gas and drove on to meet the rest of the group who were stuffed in one van.  We met before San Antonio, shifted passengers and returned to Blue Creek.  About 7 pm Bob arrived with Charlie and Jan.

Monday: June 27th, 2002: On Monday, we went first to Jalacte. The health care worker was no where to be seen, but we got permission to move into the old community center which is now being use as a school. Around noon we went on to Pueblo Viejo. It began to rain and due to the health clinic being used for some storage, we set up in the old community center where we use to work. Not many came due to the rain, but we saw two very old men, who said they were 94 and 95.  When Quinn saw the 94 yr. old for his knees, (he spoke English well), Quinn told him that his knees were only designed for 93 years and he had outlived the warranty.  The man thought that was really funny an we all had a laugh when ten minutes later the 94 yr. old came in with the same complaint.  Quinn took off an infected 'cyst' on an 18 month old toddler. It was really rugged. When we got back to Blue Creek, took the van Bob had driven the previous day on to get gas. While getting gas, I met three people from England and found that they were staying in Otoxha and were to be back there the next day. Monday was a national holiday and they had been touring by hitch hiking. They were planning to hang a hammock in the jungle for the night. I offered them a meal and a place to stay and a way to get to Otoxha the next morning. Tim, Jess, and Kate were with TrekForce a program similar to Raleigh International. They have to raise about 5000 dollars to participate and TrekForce puts them in villages and has them work. They spent two months in Golden Stream building a fire break, six weeks in Guatemala in a language school, and the last several weeks in Otoxha teaching primary grade school.  Jess had stepped on a thorn and Quinn looked at and treated her foot.  They ate with us and stayed in the cabin up high on the hill.

Tuesday, June 28, 2002: This was an early morning, up at 5:00. Tim, Kate, and Jess accompanied us to Otoxha and the girls stayed with Quinn and the rest of the group that had walked to Santa Rosa and Tim went with the group that had worked in San Vicente. Charlie and Jan stayed in Otoxha. Otoxha was slow. They found out that another group had been there three weeks earlier.  Dolores was a hike, but only about half of last year. We got stuck going up a hill and had to push ourselves back onto the road. It was pretty hairy. Tammy drove us out of the mud. The people were ready for us at Dolores and we were pretty busy. The health care worker was very helpful and we tipped him for the first time ever. Toward the end of the clinic, Rachea, Allison, and I went to one of the huts and got to see the women grinding corn and making tortillas. While there we found a 16 yr. old lying in a hammock whose sister said she had not walked in three weeks. She had a hard, hot knot on the back of her left thigh. Tammy came and gave her a shot and some antibiotics.

The walk out was hot, but not too bad. We had a couple of close calls getting out and had to get the group to push the van back on the road. Just before the river, we slid into the bank and again had a close call, it was very very slick. We joined the group, said good by to Tim, Kate, and Jess and returned to Blue Creek.

We played cards and a 'cute' game Charlie taught us called 'buss'. We had a good time the last night at Blue Creek. I paid Ignacio and arranged for the same situation for next year, the nights of May 23rd through the night of May 28th.

Wednesday, May 29th, 2002: Broke camp and got to the road about 7:00. Drove on to Golden Stream and worked in the same church as in years past. About noon we moved to Indian Creek. This was the busiest day by far for the dentist. They were quite busy. We got the school principal to break school and we saw many children. Quinn fixed an ingrown toenail for one of the teachers. We used the time to separate the remainder of the medicines for the hospital. We were able to keep a good deal of medicine back in trunks at Juniors for next year. We left forms, two lanterns, two gas stoves, cooking pots and gear for two groups and some medical supplies in the shed just south of Mary's home.

We quit around 4:00 and went on to Mary and Juniors. As usual the meal was great. The group had a baby shower for Esther, Derrick and the baby. We took lots of pictures and got to meet some of Junior's relatives.

We arrived in Punta Gorda about 8:30 pm and Travelers Inn had 8 rooms, but one was not air-conditioned (poor Eric and Karen), they elected to stay with only a fan instead of joining the guys in the big room.

Thursday, June 30, 2002: Breakfast was fun as several of the group went into the kitchen to help the cook get our food to us faster. We made the flight with no problem. Steve decided to fly with the group instead of driving back with us. Joe and Barbara flew directly back to Houston. We took the trunks and records back to the hospital and gave the medical supplies to one of the nurses. I opened the trunks and went over each of the types of medicines with her and got a receipt.

We stopped by Mary and Junior's on the way out and said good bye. We made record time, 3 hours and 45 minutes driving time. We should think about the whole group driving next year. Now that we know that Blue Creek is ready for us, we could drive the entire way and still get to Blue Creek before 11:00 PM. It would make for a long day, but some could sleep on the way down and it would save a good deal in the flight from Belize City to Punta Gorda and in gas in picking the group up in PG. If the http://www.belizemissions.com deal works out, we may not even have to go into Punta Gorda at the first of the trip as we usually do.

We stopped for about 20 minutes at the Blue Hole on the Humming Bird Highway. We got a Susuki for the trip to Guatemala. We left our trunks and Bobby's cot with Crystals. We had no problems at the border and got to David Kuhn's La Casa de Don David's before dark. It was great to see him and his family. He put us up in his newest rooms, the ones with hot water. We ate, rested, showered, and slept good.
 
Friday, June 1, 2002: We got up about 5:30 and drove to Tikal. We were one of the first cars into the park. We parked and walked through the diorama and on to the left of the museum taking a back way into the park arriving at Group G first. We then meandered through the Grand plaza and made our way to Temple IV. 142 steps up to the top via the 'stairway/ladder' about wore us out. Got some good pictures. On the way we saw several Coatimunda, spider monkeys, a white tailed dear, a weird critter that looked like a small pig crossed with a hamster, and several parrots.  We went to the museum and then went to the Jaguar Inn and had something to drink. We met the manager that we had met earlier at David's, Edmund. He is 28 yrs. old and runs the inn. His father runs one in Santa Eleana. I offered to let him take the digital camera and put up a web site for him. http://www.lacasadedondavid.com/inndex.html

We returned to David's for lunch. It was very hot in Tikal and we were pretty much finished for the day by 11. You ever notice that when you get up at 4:30 that the day is very very long?

We drove on into Flores that afternoon and shopped and checked email and left our laundry off. We returned to David's for supper. We ate well. We met a psychologist and his wife from South Africa. He had been at the University of Texas in El Paso on a Fulbright scholarship.

Saturday, June 1, 2002: We went fishing with David's brother-in-law. Had we know how far it was, we may not have gone. It was a lake near a ruin called Yaxha. We brought gas and paid the park rangers a fee to use their boat and two of their guides. It was a long narrow boat that had a shade over it (made of black plastic). They took us on a three hour tour. We caught three fish big enough to keep and David had his staff cook them for us. We all had fish that night. We were too hot and tired to try the ruin. When we got back we went on in to town. On the way we followed a sign to a 'canopy walk' called Skyway. It was run at least by one English speaking person. They are planning to put in a resort that focuses on very high suspended bridges between several mountains. They had some monkeys and a parrot on the grounds. We agreed for some of us to try it the next day. We then went on into Santa Eleana and made the market. The little leather shop has closed and we could not find anyone who knew where it had moved. The market was huge and a maze of trails.  We had fun. Drove around and explored some. On the way back we shopped some at the wood carving shops.

Sunday, June 2nd, 2002: I stayed with David and worked on his computer. I had brought a high gain antenna for him to try with his cellular phone. We were eventually able to get his computer to dial up the internet and were on for about two hours. His phone service is spotty and will likely make any connections iffy. He is hoping to get a land line installed soon. When the guys got back we said our farewells and headed back to the border. We crossed about 2:30 and visited the butterfly farm. It had rained and not many were moving, but the herb and plant exhibits were nice.   We checked in the Venus Hotel in San Ignacio and at at Eva's. I exchanged web site information with the Venus hotel and Eva's but I've not heard from them as yet. We had a pretty nice room. The floors of the hotel are now tile and it was much cleaner than in the past.

Monday, June 3rd, 2002: Drove to Belize City without incident. Filled up the car and got breakfast. The trunks were in one of the vans in the parking lot. We got them out and filled and retaped them. We later found out that we were going to have to reopen them, but we talked them out of it. Something to remember next time. We met the rest of the group. All seemed to have had a good time. Allison caught a bill fish and they all ate it. No serious sunburns, thank goodness. Charlie, Jan, Bob, Dolores, Cyd, and Craig had already departed for the US on Sunday, so it was a smaller group headed back on Monday.

We had a good flight. The parking goes up each year and each year I vow to figure out a way around it each year but forget.

Arrived home safely. A good trip with no one hurt and no lingering maladies. Treated a total of 960 patients.

Pictures from this year's trip

mcnellie@mailcity.com

For more information on other years'trips, Belize 2000

For information on travel in Guatemala and visiting Tikal National Park

For information on a great hotel near Tikal, Guatemala