Field Trip to Belize

EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Fifteen, Number Three
May / June 2006

Religious Ecology

Much to my surprise, we spent three nights in a camp created by a Christian ecology group near Blue Hole. Blue holes are natural formations caused by a collapse of the earth over an underground river. They are common in Belize and were considered sacred by Mayan priests. One of the largest has become the site of a Belizean National Park just west of Belmopan, the nation’s capitol.

The Jaguar Creek camp where we stayed was started by Target Earth. It has over 700 acres of land nestled in the Mayan foothills. Highlights of the experience at Jaguar Creek were pristine sub-tropical rainforests, rivers that appeared and disappeared suddenly in the forest, beautifully appointed cottages, excellent food and a caring and informative staff. Another interesting feature is that the entire compound derives the majority of its electricity from large solar panels. All of the toilets are composting as well.

But we didn’t just sit around enjoying the beauty of the rain forest. Given Fred’s high energy level and eclectic tastes, this was hardly an option. We also toured the vast Mayan ruins of Tikal, the largest of many Mayan ruins scattered throughout Central America. With over 800 structures identified so far by archeologists, it is estimated that at its peak Tikal had a population of 100,000 people. The site was settled for over 1,000 years before collapsing suddenly around 900 A.D. The cause of this collapse is one of the great mysteries of our times and the subject of a new movie, Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson.

Mayan priests evolved a complex calendar that regulated virtually every aspect of Mayan life. The calendar revolved around 20 year cycles with the end of each cycle being marked by major ceremonies. The priests created cycles within cycles and the largest of these cycles ends on the year 2012. Hence much of the recent interest in the Mayan calendar!

Finally our trip brought us to the famous Belizean cays, located a few miles off the east coast. Here is found the second largest coral reef in the world (after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef). The snorkeling was excellent as was the fresh fish we had every night for dinner at Tobacco Cay. A local collection of performers playing punta for hours into the night added to the experience. Punta is a style of music invented by escaped African slaves living in the area.

To help bring in a religious element to our experience, each night our group engaged in a discussion of the deeper meanings of what we had seen that day. Personally speaking, these talks were often the highlight of the day and made the whole tour much more meaningful.

At one point in our adventure, my 15 year old son, who rarely has much good to say about his father, turned to me and offered his heartfelt thanks for inviting him on the trip. With that and some great conch shells, what more could one ask from a vacation!