Sunday morning, with the sun shining brightly and the temperature already at 35 degrees, we said goodbye to our fantastic hosts, Maurice and Monique. There had been the odd minor annoyance, a few wet days, Anu's two nights of teething tears, Dan and I getting eaten by Mosquitos on our first morning, but all in all, we really enjoyed our time in Caye Caulker and left with promises to return.
We took the ferry to the mainland and waiting for us at the terminal was Derrick, our driver, for the journey to San Ignacio. We packed everything into his jeep and off we went, thankful for the comfort and air conditioning. It was an expensive alternative to the taxi/chicken bus/taxi 5 hour journey we would have had, and this option meant we could have a two hour stop at Belize zoo, mid way. Derrick came on with us to show us round, and due to his keen eye we saw all the wildlife there, even the animals lounging in the undergrowth. Cats of all kind, huge birds, furry pigs - we saw them all!
Then back on the road towards San Ignacio! We arrived at Cool M Farm and no one was there! We dropped our bags at the gate and sat in the shade of a tree, out of the heat. 30 minutes later a big car pulled up and out jumped our host, Janet, from Yorkshire, who clasped my hands in hers and said with a laugh 'oh you poor things, how long have you been waiting?' She brought us in, introducing us to her daughter and granddaughter and showed us to our gorgeous cabin, which had been built by her German husband when they arrived here 30 odd years ago. To our surprise, the family are Mennonites. We knew there were Mennonite communities living in this area and were interested in learning more about them, and now what better opportunity then living with them on their farm. The location is amazing and the farm provides Anu with lots of interesting sights from cows and chickens, mango and lime trees.
It will be a lovely few days!