Spring Break

Since I am working in a school I get two weeks of Spring Break. Julie and I decided to go to San Pedro and it was really nice, to say the least. We both saved some money for a couple months so we stayed at a nice hotel called Banana Beach. We got a free breakfast every morning and brought food from Belize City so we did not end up spending a lot of money on the trip. I took her out to a nice restaurant and the food was out of this world. She got a bleu cheese, walnut and pear salad with shrimp skewers and I got stuffed chicken breast with sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese and garlic potatoes. San Pedro is probably the nicest tourist destination in Belize. The island is filled with high class resorts, red bricked roads and golf carts. It’s touristy but not overwhelming. I enjoyed the vacation and hopefully will visit again. If my brother and his wife come down to Belize, we will probably go to San Pedro for a few days.

I saw two sporting events while on vacation: The Masters and the NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship: Miami vs. Boston University. I enjoy watching the Masters every year and this year it definitely made me feel like I was in the states. As for the hockey game: Miami was up 3 goals to 1 with 1 minute and 30 seconds to play. Boston pulled their goalie and proceeded to score 2 goals in 42 seconds sending the game into overtime. Miami ended up losing in overtime. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. I thought Miami was finally going to win a national championship in something but no no. Better luck next year.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Close Proximity to Murder

One thing that takes some getting used to down here is being in close proximity to crime. Never in my life have I been able to stand at my place of residence and point to where murders have taken place. Just last month at the Bachelor Hotel (a huge hotel that does not seem to have any guests), which is a block away from my house, the owner let 4 people into the front office because he thought they were going to rent a room. Well that wasn't the case. They proceeded to corner him in the rental office, torture him, stab him repeatedly and then slit his throat. This all happened within 200 yards of my apartment. The robbers/murderers apparently wanted some money and the man (who in local newspapers is referred to as “Chinee man”) refused to give them any.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

La Ruta Maya

I did the La Ruta Maya Canoe Race/Challenge this past weekend, which is one of the greatest accomplishments in my life. Over 170 miles of paddling from Western to Eastern Belize.

Pre-Race
Joel and I arrived in San Ignacio around 11 am to do some last minute shopping/preparations for the race. Jacob arrived with the boat, paddles and life jackets at around 4:30 pm. Not knowing what the race really was about we thought we were going to be fine with out 150 boat, child like life jackets and our 3 wooden paddles, I repeat wooden paddles: 1st one was 10 pounds and approx. 5 feet tall, 2nd one was 8 pounds and 4ft tall and the last one was relatively light weighing in at approx 2 pounds. Let the record state that half of the boats in the competition are simply there to have fun and complete the race, the other 45% are there to compete while the other 5% are trying to win. The difference between those trying to win and those having fun is as follows: carbon fiber paddles weighing less than 5 oz., canoes that weight less than 30 lbs, year long training sessions, slim life jackets and pit crews that swim out to their boat and drop supplies in if necessary. We did not have any of that. We had the heaviest boat in the competition, the heaviest paddles, we didn't practice, huge life jackets and we carried all our food and water in our boat.

Day 1
Getting used to paddling because we had never paddled together before. We look obnoxious because we are the only team using wooden paddles. Day one was just exhausting and I am convinced we were the hardest working team in the race that day due to the weight in our boat and paddles.

Day 2
Wow I was sore so I took a Ibuprofen. Mistake. This allowed me to not feel my soreness so I could paddle harder and therefore I was more sore the next morning. Half way through the 69 mile day we convinced the safety crew to give us their lightweight paddles and we switched out the ten pound beast appropriately called BEN HUR. 2 wooden paddles one light paddle. This was the longest day of the race and it wasn't that bad. I think we just got into a grove and zoned out.

Day 3
I was really sore to start the race but got through it. Julie's 4H boat had dropped out of the competition so I asked if we could use her boat's light weight paddles and they said yes so this was our first day with relatively light paddles. This was out first full day of sun and the river was really flat with not very many rapids.

Day 4
Our best day by far. It was only 25 miles, but the wind and ocean current were going against us. I was in front and the middle for the first 3 days and we decided to switch it up so I sat in back steering the boat. I think this had something to do with our strong finish. I felt more comfortable controlling the ship and we seemed to swerve a lot less.

Looking back on the competition, it was as if we were running a marathon without training: not an easy task; despite the grueling conditions of the race, it was enjoyable and worthwhile for a number of reasons. Next year I hope to have a lighter boat, lighter paddles and pre-race training that includes rowing a canoe.

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Please Help Out My Peace Corps Project

As many of you may know, I am working as the Program Coordinator of the It's Up To Me Program. I thought it would be a good idea to try and get some of my friends and family involved, so here is your chance. The link below is an opportunity for you to donate to my project. Please click the link below to find out more:


http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/its-up-to-me-program

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Putting Things in Perspective

We got this video in training this week:

http://www.miniature-earth.com/

Click on Enlgish to watch the video......If the world were reduced to 100 people this is what it would look like.........

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

Things I could go for right now

I do not miss the U.S. right now, but there are things I could go for. So here is a list of eleven things I could go for right now:

1. Subway - I'll take a foot long turkey breast on honey oat, all veggies with ranch and chipotle sauce
2. Golfing
3. Tennis - I am actually playing tennis at the US Embassy next week.
4. Book Stores
5. Driving - I walk or ride the bus everywhere
6. Snickers - the dog........Snickerrrrrrrrrrrrssssss
7. Wendy's - Jr. bacon cheeseburger with no tomato
8. Frank's Red Hot
9. Seasons - Winter has not been apart of my life in quite some time now
10. The American Flag - its weird how much you miss it when you don't see it flying everywhere
11. The excitement of watching sports that arent soccer - i enjoy soccer but not 15 channels worth

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss

La Ruta Maya Canoe Race

In March I am competing in a 4 day canoe race called the La Ruta Maya with two other Peace Corps volunteers. It is a gruelling competition and teams from all over North America compete. The race starts in San Ignacio (west) and ends in Belize City (east). The race is 170 miles:

Day 1 - 49 miles
Day 2 - 60 miles
Day 3 - 36 miles
Day 4 - 25 miles

We are required to have a support crew and a sponsor, in which we have already taken care of. I am really excited for this competition and have been working out religiously. I will let you all know how it goes.

http://www.larutamayabelize.com/main/default.aspx

Far From Home,

Christopher Wilkins Weiss