The morning started early at 5:00 a.m. as we arrived at the airport and made it through security without any issues. The flight itself was uneventful, which made the travel portion of the morning go smoothly. When we landed, we walked directly off the plane and over to the terminal. The airport is small and undeveloped enough that we were able to simply walk across the runway area to the building, which was a different experience from the larger airports. From there, we made our way outside without too much trouble.
Aide (pronounced eye-day) and Orlando, the CELA representatives who will also be our guides for the duration of the trip, met us outside and picked us up in a van. From there we began the drive up to San Ignacio in western Belize, which is where we will be based for the duration of our stay. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant on the side of the road where we were able to try some of the local cuisine, including rice and beans. While we were there, we also got a small glimpse of the surrounding nature. There were many different flowers and plants around the restaurant, which gave us a first look at some of the local vegetation.
After lunch, we continued along the main road from the airport toward San Ignacio. There is only one road that connects this part of the country, so the drive gave us a good sense of the terrain and landscape of Belize. Along the way we were able to see practically what we had learned: that Belize is roughly the size of New Jersey but has a population of only about 420,000 people. Because of this, the country feels much less populated than places of a similar size elsewhere. Even the “city” we are staying in feels relatively small and quiet compared to what we may typically think of as a city.
Once we arrived, we had some downtime to settle in and rest a bit before attending orientation. During orientation we learned more about Belize, including some cultural background as well as important safety information for the duration of our trip. After orientation concluded, we went to supper together, which wrapped up the first day of our arrival. Overall, it was a full day of travel and first impressions, and it helped give us an initial sense of the place where we will be spending the rest of our time during this trip.