First Day in Barton

I got the feeling my driver, Tosh, wouldn't take crap from anyone. I wouldn't have been much safer if I was in an armored truck. She told me she was the only female driver in the country and if I was a boy, she would have dropped me off before we reached the outpost. "You're a lady, so we take you all the way to the front steps," she said. She knew a lot about Belize (being a native) and she told me stories of the craziest people she'd driven around.

It took a good three hours to get from the airport to Barton Creek (where I was going). She picked up a couple people right after we left the airport and dropped them off in San Ignacio. We also made a detour into the capital, Belmopan, to get a small generator which someone was supposed to meet us in San Ignacio to pick up. They didn't come right away, so we left it on the side of the road with the other passengers we dropped off...I guess you can only take things so far.

It downpoured at least three times since I've been here. Once, I was caught in it while clearing out a fallen tree from under the barbed fence. Three horses are usually inside the fence, but they must have gotten out because I haven't seen them yet. The rain felt so good. And since I was soaked all ready I took a shower in the creek :).

There are vines that climb all over the lodge, the creek sounds like a waterfall because of the rain, I heard monkeys earlier, the boys pointed them out. A low growling sound. But they said they never really get too close to us because of the dogs. There are hammocks strewn all over the place and today everybody is just lounging.