Where in the World is Mr. Lavoie?: Day 4: Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls...actually do it, it might change your life!!!

It's 10:30pm and there are two other groups here at the hotel and yet...I have two bars of wifi internet service. Lets see how long that lasts...it should also be mentioned that my photo uploading skills have not improved, and so, my photos for tonight are limited still. It is very frustrating!!!

Today, as is common for these tours, was another one for the ages. We awoke early and have a pretty great breakfast. The Cahal Pech Resort provides a breakfast buffet that makes the Biltmore's look pedestrian. The scrambled eggs had spinach infused into them and they were quite tasty. The potatoes were roasted to perfection and they provided an accompaniment of beans. They did a great job with the pancakes and even had syrup (something I couldn't find in the Biltmore). I was very surprised to see them cooking fresh corn tortillas too. I spread some marmalade on them and devoured every bit. I think my two favorite items were fried plantains with re-fried beans and sour cream. This was obviously a local cuisine and I'm anxiously awaiting them tomorrow. The other favorite was a breakfast burrito. It was equally tasty. I am not sure what the kids ate, but I am pretty sure that they tried all of the different options.

A snapshot of my breakfast, before I found the fresh corn tortilla.

After breakfast, we took off to the fruit market one more time. The vendors had fruits, but also souvenirs. I cannot disclose their purchases on this blog, but I think many of you will be happy with their choices. I took off and found the same vendor I bought fresh mango from yesterday and grabbed another sampling.

Getting fresh coconut.

The market.

Marketing in St. Ignacio.

The next stop was to Xunantunich. It is another Mayan Ruin, but it was much larger than Lamanai. This city would have had about 10,000 people living in it during its heyday (circa 800). In order to get to the city, we needed to cross a small stream by using a ferry.

Ferry riding across the river.

Human powered ferry!!! A couple of us took turns at the wheel.

Unfortunately there was only 1 of these vans. We were hoping to see two yutes!!!

The Mayan ruins were very impressive. Helping us explain the ruins to the kids was a local guide named Omar. He told us about the life expectancy of the Mayans and the rituals they performed at sacred times. Omar told us of a game played by the Mayans that ultimately led to the victor's execution. There were two ball courts at Xunantunich. The teams were made of two people and they tried to get a ball through a small hole on the side of the court. It is a little like basketball. The games, however, could last all day and depending on the reason for playing, the winners might find themselves at the top of the Main Temple to face execution. To them, however, it was a great honor. Mayan afterlife consists of 9 steps of Hell and 13 steps of Heaven. The winners, who are killed, are allowed to skip all of the steps and go straight to heaven.

For us, the Main Temple was something to be respected. There had been a slight rain in the morning and the steps were a little slick. Being a little afraid of heights (maybe a little more than a little), the climb up was nerve-racking. The kids were mostly fearless. The temple was higher than we had climbed at Lamanai and from the top we could see Guatemala. I am sorry for the lack of photos, but I cannot upload those ones specifically.

The Main Temple from atop the Royal Palace.

An archaeologist hard at work.

An ancient Mayan king would have walked through these pillars to perform rituals.

Mayan Selfie.

The Royal Palace with most of the group on top.

The view from the top. Guatamala is only 10 miles away.

On the topic of pictures of not uploading, our next two stops don't have any pictures. This is quite upsetting and I will probably make adjustments tomorrow if the wifi situation improves.

We went to a popular restaurant in St. Ignacio for lunch. It was called Hodies. The place was huge and so were their portions. For lunch, we had chicken, rice, and beans. You'd think we'd be sick of this meal by now, but it is so good that no one complains. They also had milk shakes and the report was that they were really good too. I settled for a Diet Coke. I am so adventurous.

After lunch, we departed for the Pine Ridge Mountain forest. Stuck somewhere in this forest, about 1.5 hours away, there is a big rock. Water falls off of this big rock and forms a deep natural pool below. This is called the Big Rock Waterfall. It is customary for people to jump off of this rock and into the deep pool. Who are we to mess with customs. The road was terrible. It was so bumpy, that my fitbit recorded nearly 10,000 steps...I've taken it off to try to adjust for the discrepancy. Someone played the theme to Jurassic Park...I'm providing it for your convenience.

Most of the road was dirt. Warrior earned his name as he traversed this thoroughfare and made his way to Big Rock parking lot. The jungle surrounding the road was straight out of the movie and when we finally got to the parking lot, we needed to walked down a huge hill. The stairs were rickety, but stable enough for even myself to get down with out too much fear. When we reached the river bed, we were taken away. It was breathtaking. The waterfall was about 50-60 feet tall and the sound of the rushing river was soothing to my ears. As I approached the falls, I could already see kids jumping into one of the pools. I have a couple videos of this, but I cannot upload them now. I reached the jumping spot and took my place in line. It was at this time that I realized that I was not at big rock. I was about to jump 10 feet into a refreshing pool, but the kids were swimming to a different rock hanging over a different pool. I think, when I first noticed it, that Krissy was taking the plunge about 20-25 feet down. One by one most of the kids took their turn. Some took longer than others to finally leap into the base of the waterfall. Those who didn't jump participated by providing words of encouragement to those who were jumping. Albert, Omar, and us Chaperons provided additional assistance and made sure that safety was a priority. We spent a good amount of time swimming and enjoying the day. The weather held out for us and we eventually had to make our way back to Warrior and our bus.

Dinner tonight was fried chicken and mashed potatoes. They also had steamed vegetables, bread, and the traditional chicken we've been offered. It was really good. That's one thing that I am happy to be excited about. The food has been way better than I expected. After dinner, when the kids were playing cards, it started to rain. Our hotel's common area is open air (That's why I was attacked by so many bugs last night). When the rain started, it really started. We are in the middle of a rain forest and it is clear why. When it pours, it pours. It was thunderous. It was so relaxing. Then, it stopped. The humidity remained, but the weather cleared up.

Tomorrow, we leave the rain forest and travel to an island. We will be stopping at the zoo on our way. It should be wild. I am not really happy with tonight's blog. The frustrating part of this hotel is the internet situation. I would love to upload all of the exciting videos we have and supplement them with our great pictures. Alas, it was not possible.

Mr. Lavoie, currently crossing his fingers and praying to the Mayan God of Wifi for a better connection tomorrow night.

UPDATE: For some reason, I am doing much better this morning than I was last night. My technological frustrations have waned and things seem to be working without issue. I've uploaded more picture and even a video. Maybe I was just exhausted from a day of adventuring, but I wasn't really happy with the way the blog had gone last night. It is really represented in the title of Day 4's blog. I made a reference to an old TLC song, but then I said, it could change your life. My intent was to wrap the blog up with a message about life changing events...I was in no mood last night, so here goes. We face a ton of adversity in life, but it is how we respond to that adversity that defines our character. Yesterday, we came across a waterfall and a rapidly advancing river. For some of us, this challenge was not that significant. For others, it was one of the scariest things we've ever encountered. This jump, for those who made, is representative of something more than an adventure. It is symbolic of how one should face challenges. We should jump right in. We should face them head on. Not all of us faced that fear yesterday, for a variety of reasons, but that isn't the point...we are all on this trip and we are finding new and interesting ways to face our fears. Whether it was zip-lining or trying new food, every single kid on this trip has changed their life in one way or another. These are the reasons why late nights and early mornings during our vacation times are worth it. We are teachers and we've committed our lives to the betterment of the students in front of us...whether in a classroom at Saugus High School or a classroom at the base of a waterfall. I'm proud of these kids and can't wait to see how they continue to change their lives. I hope they never stop chasing waterfalls.