Elder and Sister Sandberg had mission business in Dangriga on Sunday, so they invited us to go with them. We met in Belmopan Saturday morning and left one of our vehicles at the Belmopan Chapel.
This is the chapel Elder Pattee dedicated about 2 months ago.
Elder Sandberg arranged for us all to stay at Pelican Beach Resort Saturday night, which is right on the beach at Dangriga. Here we were able to change into casual clothes.
The Caribbean is just yards away.
Elder Sandberg had also hired a boat and driver to take us out to South Water Caye as soon as we arrived at the resort.
It took only about 20 minutes to get there. As we arrived at South Water Caye, we were happy to see how beautiful and clear the water was.
Unlike young elders and sisters, senior missionaries are actually allowed to go swimming and snorkling. But first, we had lunch.
The water was beautiful. You can see Belize's famous barrier reef nearby in the background of this photo. South Water Caye is located right on the reef itself. The reef is second in size only to Australia's barrier reef. Divers from all over the world love it.
On our way back over to the Pelican Bay Resort, our captain found some men diving for lobsters.
This lobster was added to the rest of their catch.
Next he also took us to see Frigate Isle. It is a tiny island populated only by birds. There were large "Man-O-War" (frigate birds) with a wingspans of 6 feet. There were also birds called brown boobies. Some of them had white heads. The frigate birds can only surface dive, so they depend on the boobies to provide most of their food. Apparently the Man-O-War, or frigate birds, grab the boobies and shake them around enough to get them to regurgitate their catches of fish. (Boobies can dive very deep.)
Later, back at the Pelican Bay Resort, we saw hundreds of these blue crabs. They are huge--about the size of 2 fists, and they are very blue in color. People like to make soup out of them.
On Sunday we attended church in this rented building that Dangriga uses as its chapel.
About 25 members were there.
Juan was more than willing to pose for us.
We took this cute family home from church.
They live here--not within easy walking distance of the church.
On our drive further south to Punta Gorda, we saw banana groves. We are not sure of the purpose of the blue bags.
These bananas are for shipping and were picked quite green.
We then drove to Punta Gorda which is located very south and along the Caribbean. We stayed just long enough to drive through the town. Then drove back up to Placencia.
We stayed in cottages on the beach at Placentia Sunday night. Elder and Sister Pattee stayed in "Trigger Fish Cottage". The Sandbergs stayed in "Tiger Fish Cottage" next door.
Each cottage has a front porch and hammock
And an amazing view from the front door. Placentia is known for its beautiful sandy beaches.
Monday was our preparation day, so we took our time driving home. We saw many thatched-roof houses. Thatch is made from palm fronds and lasts for years.
We arrived home in time to get the laundry done and prepare for the next day. We enjoyed the opportunity of seeing parts of Belize we had not visited. It was also enjoyable to spend some time with Elder and Sister Sandberg. Time to get back to normal missionary life.
1 comment:
how amazing. i wish we had the money to come visit. its so beautiful. we love and miss you! xo. j&j
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