Lana's on the Reef Tobacco Caye

... can speak to you in their and mine native language.... The belizian green!
"Mon, Ya cant keep clean if you aint got nunna dis Belizian Green" was an all to familiar chant. Of course due to the fact i am rolling my own (barely infact but ill come on to that later) everyone assuemd i was skinnning up joints freely in the streets, i made friends pretty quickly!

Interlude: I am so close to running out of tobacco that the next post will probably be post nicotine crash, dont be ...

... we would be the only travellers sharing the island with the handful of locals who lived there. In peak season apparently the place would be completely full but given it was out of season we had stumbled upon a piece of paradise we could pretty much call our own for the next few days.

We had a small wooden hut on stilts over the sea, with a hammock strung out front - prime position to watch the sun come up. We were kicking ourselves we hadn`t bought more cash to ...

... Failing that we sat in the Café where they all hang out and were approached by a guant toothless man who reckoned he could find us a boat (although he made it very clear he was after a tip) after some time he assured us he had a boat for us. Took us to a boat, gave us one life jacket and told us to get in. He then asked for all the money (his tip plus the fare) We refused to hand over the fare but gave him a $5 tip and then were left in the ...

... I said TOTALLY worth it.... We have since then left Antigua and moved through a bunch of really amazing places. We started, last weekend, by going North through Guatemala to a town called Lanquin. Some of our fellow students from Antigua came with us, which was alot of fun. From Lanquin we did a day trip to a place called Samuc Champey which is one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world. And it really was! In the park we had to climb this really steep pathway, picture ...

... by a jovial Yank. On the way back to Tobacco Caye we stopped to allow one of the passengers the chance to do a spot of fishing. Our guide, a fisherman by trade, also took the opportunity to drop a line in. In no time at all he had caught 6 snapper, all of which lay on the floor of the boat, gasping for air while Jo and I looked down on them feeling very guilty. He would of caught two more larger snapper but for an opportunist ...

... for this. Last night at this time, there were sound asleep and most of them slept more than 12 hours overnight. Tonight they are up, playing some serious card games with the staff at our centre. While headaches ran rampant from the sun, heat, and probably dehydration, their spirits are high and they are in good health. God is starting some amazing things in their midst, and we are so blessed to be a part of it.

... in on the pushes and feeding fins of the bonefish and you have to be quick and accurate to catch the attention of a permit. Cody hand-made each fly specifically to imitate small invertebrates found in the area. The "Merkin" crab pattern, half & half clousers and "Black death" patterns work best in this area (along with a lot of skill and luck!). Whether you are a beginner or world-class angler, you will certainly find yourself in fly-fishing paradise at Turneffe Island Lodge.

... so there wasn't much community stuff for us to join in on. So at the hospital I did some clinics, internal medicine ward rounds and a&e. Also had an awesome day when some American doctors from the Shriner Clinic flew over to hold their annual children's orthopaedic clinic. They examine kids with all sorts of problems and if they think it's surgically correctible fly them to America for free and do the surgery. So we saw all sorts of interesting cases and the docs ...