Belize and Guatemala: Playing with one’s peers

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Lamani Mayan site

My friend Heidi and I spent 10 days in Belize and Guatemala on a Road Scholar tour. Rated “spirited”, the 13 participants hiked, swam, crawled, and snorkeled with not a lot of downtime. Unlike many of my past trips, I was in my own age group with others ranging (in my estimate) from 65 to 75 years old. I was proud that, other than the guides, I was the only male who still had hair on his legs.

Supper with our travel companions

Some highlights:

Climbing a temple 

Exploring Mayan ruins. Besides the massive Guatemalan site of Tikal, we also spent time hiking through Lamani and Yaxha sites. While not as extensive as Tikal, the smaller sites were quieter and proved to be just as interesting. Our excellent guides led us on hikes and encouraged all of us to climb to the top of a pyramid or two to gain a commanding view of the region. One guide recommended the book Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston and I read while on the tour. Had I read it before the trip, I may have been more careful when strolling through the jungle. 

 Tackling the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave. The program describes the activity:

Jungle and river walk/hike about 45 minutes. At cave entrance swim a short distance through the mouth of the cave to enter site. Cave floor mostly wet/rocky. Some wading in ankle-to-shoulder-deep water required. In fragile sections, participants will need to remove shoes so as not to damage the cave floor and/or artifacts. … This arduous but rewarding activity will begin with 45 minutes of hiking that includes river crossings and wading in knee-high water. Once at the cave entrance, we will swim through the opening and start a 3.5-hour journey in the cave. This activity will require endurance, strength, agility and balance. 

Yup - the description nailed it. Cameras were not allowed so to see photos of this amazing place, you’ll need to visit the web. What is not mentioned are the extremely narrow passages that less-limber tall people like me found challenging. It was quite the experience!

 Not my photo but a good idea of the cave experience. Except it was much darker

Snorkeling the cayes. We spent two days in Placencia on the coast, taking short drives each day to the harbor where we boarded a small boat that took us to islands (Laughing Bird and Moho) from which we snorkeled. I was saddened by the amount of bleaching shown in the coral formations compared to my last snorkel in Costa Rica in 2019. The wind was strong both days, the boat rides rough, and the shores comprised of sharp rock and gravel. My dad would have questioned my judgment to do this.

Checking out the fins and masks

Enjoying the wildlife. Over the course of the trip, we saw monkeys, iguanas, bats, crocodiles, coatimundi, and lots and lots of birdlife. One of my biggest delights was hearing howler monkeys emit their ferocious roar at both Mayan ruins and at our lodging. You’d swear you were about to be attacked and eaten by a very, very large animal. At the small Belize Zoo - devoted to providing homes for rescue animals - we also saw tapirs, jaguars, and other endemic beasts.

 

Our cabana at Jaguar Creek

Staying in ecolodges. Two of the four resorts we stayed at billed themselves as eco-lodges. My favorite was Jaguar Creek. With a feeling of being deep in the Belizian jungle, our “bungalow” was reached by a wooden walkway, had fans but no AC, no TV or phone, and mosquito netting over the bed. Howler monkeys provided our lullaby each night. 

Crossing the swinging bridge, Ixpanpajul Nature Park

The trip has other interesting aspects including a hike in a park with high swinging bridges, a visit to a botanical garden, and a foot crossing over the Belize/Guatemala border. Our meals were interesting (rice, beans, and chicken 80% of the time) and our van transportation comfortable, if rather long some days. Our fellow travelers were a congenial group with no stragglers or trouble-makers. I guess most of us read the program description before signing on.

Sign at Belize Zoo.

I’m not terribly sure I need to go back to this area, but I am glad I did go this time. (I am up to 62 countries visited now.) There will be more Road Scholar trips in my future.

Sunrise in Placencia

More photos here.

Tikal from the top

Traditions burned into memory

AP Photo Fire destroys the historic Lutsen Lodge. Star Tribune, February 6, 2024.

“It's all happenin' at the Polar Bear lounge”

My friend and I along with our sons would sing this original ditty each time we entered the bar at Lutsen Resort. Just outside the entrance was the very large stuffed polar bear after which the lounge was named. Cary and I would order beers; the boys would order Roy Rogers. And we all looked quite manly perched on our bar stools, quaffing our pre-dinner cocktails. We were "Les Hommes du Nord"!

A visit to the Polar Bear Lounge was just one of the many traditions we established on our yearly spring trips to the North Shore. Often taking advantage of the long weekend provided by school Easter break, Cary and his two sons and I with my one son would stay in cabin G2 in the Sea Villas, just a mile or so from the lodge. The villas sat on the shoreline of Lake Superior, with pounding waves often providing a dramatic view from the dining room windows. I got the bedroom. Cary got the living room couch. The boys got the loft. We usually swam at the pool. The boys would scramble over the shoreline rocks. Given whether Easter came earlier or later, we skied the nearby resort or hiked one of the many sections of the Superior Hiking Trail. We took meals at Blue Fin, the Angry Trout, or Coho Cafe.

But Easter morning breakfast was always eaten at the Lutsen Lodge where we could indulge in the hearty buffet while looking at the foot bridge crossing the Poplar River. On the shore, trout fishermen cast their lures, often successfully. Not only did we eat breakfast each Sunday in the Lusen restaurant, we sat at the same table each time. Except one morning, the table had already been taken by another family. The boys were not happy.

Their unhappiness was a vivid reminder of just how important tradition can be to people -especially children. Traditions are reassurance that in a quickly changing world, some things will remain the same: the fun we have with our friends, the love of our parents, the comforts of a small cabin visited but once a year.

Like many other Minnesotans, I was deeply saddened to learn of the fire that destroyed the Lutsen Lodge this week. The polar bear, the buffet table, the game room, the log paneled lobby - all now ashes.

But memories, strengthened by tradition, cannot be incinerated. I hope Lutsen will be rebuilt in a way that provides happy experiences for young and future wilderness explorers. 

 

Les Hommes du Nord (circa 1991)

How much living space does a person need?

The assisted living apartment like my mom's is 452 square feet.

Each time I read an article in the paper about Minnesota’s “housing shortage” crisis, I can’t help but think about all the wasted living spaces we currently have.

While I know there are families that probably need more square feet, most of my interactions are with people who live in homes with too much unused space. The older adults who I drive are mostly single and often live in what look to be three or four bedroom homes. Of which, I am guessing, two or three bedrooms rarely get used.

On retirement, I downsized from a 2900 sq ft house to an 850 sq ft townhome. I did a thorough decluttering. Except when family is visiting, rarely miss the extra space. I do have two bedrooms, the second smaller one I use for an office/guest room, but I am happy with my single bathroom, single kitchen, single living room, and single car garage. My “man cave” suits me quite well. 

My siblings and I moved our mom into an assisted living apartment last fall. Her accommodations shrunk from a small house to an apartment half the size (see photo above). So far, the reduction in living space has not been an issue for her. Might all single adults be able to live in a home of less than 500 square feet? How much room do couples actually require?*

Do we older adults tend to hang on to spaces we don’t really need for far too long, keeping young families from being able to afford homes that give them room to thrive?** I usually attribute my mom’s hoarding tendencies to having been a child during the Great Depression, but we Boomers don’t really have scarcity of the basic necessities as an excuse for our love of “stuff.” And I expect it is our beloved belongings that keep many from moving to smaller quarters.

One governmental push to reduce the shortage of available housing has been to subsidized “affordable” housing units. I suspect they are building places with three bedrooms and two baths since this seems to be the standard anymore. Might a better tactic be to increase the number of very small homes - apartments, townhouses, etc. - to which those now living in big, older homes might move?

It seems we have lots of space in the housing market - it’s just not very well used!

* I've been reading Roberts' novel Shantaram which is set in the slums of Mumabi. Another whole perspective on "needed" space for human beings.

**The current housing market makes it difficult to downsize to save money since prices and interest rates are high.