SUNDAY, continued -

Everild (James says this is the correct spelling of his name, it was on the van, though we remembered his name as Avril with an E so that's how I spelled it in my mind) said the group in front of us was from Northern Belize, which was interesting. It wasn't just rich Americans tourists doing this trip. Though the outpost was owned by Americans, which seemed odd. They had a couple of blond kids running around, one of which, Logan, took a shine to Molly and Sally. And vice-versa. He was a little cutie. Here's a pic:

Anyway, after a bit we loaded into the two canoes and set off. We brought car batteries with hand-held spotlights to light our way, one per canoe. It was a pretty amazing trip, very quiet and peaceful. The cave was hundreds of feet tall most of the time, but occasionally we had to lie flat in the canoe in order to pass under hanging stallagtites. Very cool. We canoed in for about an hour, then turned around and headed out. It was really cool turning off the lights and floating in the dark for short stretches. One time I turned the light back on just in time -- I was about to hit my head on a stallagtite.

So, after our cave expedition, we swam at the swimming hole, had a yummy lunch at the outpost, and hung around in hammocks. Sally and Molly met a cute American guy who was living & working in Belize, and was accompanying a group to the cave that day. Maybe he had something to do with horses? Not sure. Some checkers were played. We chatted with Logan about his stuffed monkey. Then it was time to go. On our way back we took another road through the Mennonite community. Lots of orchards, mostly. Everild stopped the van and told James to get out and pick some fruit by the side of the road. When he got back in with cherry-type fruits for each of us, Everild said that he sent the white guy because the Mennonites might shoot at him, whereas James was probably safe. Hehe. The fruit was a kind of sour cherry -- interesting.

So, back in San Ignacio, I was tired. Molly, Sally and I decided to go back to the Tropicool for a nap, but James headed down to the river with Everild. There were a bunch of people hanging out near the "low bridge," at a bar made out of a canoe. Eventually James ended up driving around a bit with Everild and another guy, spotting Iguanas in the trees. James, any details you want to add? I had a really nice nap. :-)

That night was pretty quiet. We went to Martha's for dinner - they have a nice patio with xmas lights and greenery all around. I had pizza with pineapple. After, we checked out the scene at Chingo's again. The same dude was playing music, and we talked a bit with him. A friendly drunk guy came over and sat with us. He was hitting on Molly, calling her Blondie and Barbie. His friend said he was a "player." And also apparently an ex-soccer player, perhaps pro? We were discussing where to go next after San Ignacio, and he suggested Caye Caulker. For some reason, this seemed to resonate with us -- it just sounded like it would be a fun place, cheaper and easier to get to than Placencia or Tobacco Caye, which is off the coast near Dangriga. I think we turned in early that night...?