La Ruta Maya- getting there

It seems as though I am constantly saying, "Wow, it has been crazy the last few days..." The last few days are no exception.

On Wednesday both Johnny and I were trying to line up a vehicle for the race. The one he had lined up was in the shop. I hadn't heard from PASMO. And I tried to get ready for La Ruta Maya by packing and talking to some friends. My friend Shirley and I were talking about meeting for ice cream with the ACER (Ambergris Caye Emergency Rescue) team when I mentioned the Ruta Maya. We ended up visiting with Jason who would be working with BDART team for the race. Jason gave us a list of things to take with us. I had thought about all of them except for the socks. My packing didn't go so well. I had to pick up two tents from a friend of mine before I could get all of my stuff in my backpack. Unfortunately I wasn't able to visit Enes and her family that night. I called the rep from PASMO. She had not checked her email to find out that we did not have the truck. She was supposed to call me back to arrange to meet. In the mean time I had a wonderful dinner with Ethel and heard about her crazy day. Exhausted I went to bed shortly before 2 am.

Thursday I was awoken by Sterling's voice. Not what I was hoping for... It was 7:45 and we needed to transport a patient. A guy had possibly broken a hip. I was tired but remembered my Dad's dedication in the cold and rain despite being tired as he worked with Walkertown's Volunteer Fire Department. Besides, if I needed help I would want someone to drag their self out of slumber to come to my rescue as well. So I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. Dug through a packed bag for my medical supplies. Sterling said to bring them all, I did, all but the neck brace. I made it to the Island Ferry dock by 8:15, the time we were supposed to leave, and jumped in a boat with Sterling and two others. Hours pass. We have gotten him to the Hyperberic Chamber in town for x-rays, arranged for a flight, Tina and I accompany him and his wife to Belize City, we have lunch, and return to San Pedro... I had expected to be back in plenty of time to make the 2:30 boat as planned with Shirley. We arrive at 2:00, I still have to pick up tents at Belize Diving Adventures, and pack. (Leave it to Enes and Everette to come through for me in a pinch!) Veronica who works with Danny and Tina drove me to pick up the tents, we picked up Tina and Kath, then they dropped me at the intersection of Caribena and Pescador (Middle Street). I walked home expecting to see Shirley in my house with my bag, keys, and phone but she was not there. She arrives shortly afterwards with her mom on a golf cart. Hallelujah!!! We make it to the dock as the boat speeds away. Argh! As frustrated as I was, this turned out to be a blessing. I was able to check email- no PASMO did not contact me, pick up a pair of shorts, a long sleeve shirt, and a raincoat, get a scoop of ice cream from DandE's- YUM!, and I was able to pay my electric bill. On the way back I got a phone call that said I was needed at a dock to assist with a possible drowning victim. A boat was at the dock, Shirley got there less than a minute before I did, we jumped on, we moved to the next dock for our gear, then headed to the Island Ferry office (once again). The guys weren't told what we were supposed to do or where to go. So we loaded up the boat with supplies and headed back where we had come from. We called to check the progress- we were no longer needed. We made it back to the Caye Caulker Water Taxi dock but they were already gone, again.... Then we thought about the Triple J. We turned to see their boat quickly heading toward us and Caye Caulker. We insisted that our driver catch up with the boat, we had to make it to the City on this one! We chased the boat down like a bunch of pirates and boarded. We took a taxi to the bus terminal and told our story to the driver. He laughed and said he will tell his next guests that he hauled around two female pirates. Luck was on our side. We only had to wait about 5 minutes for the express bus to Benque to show. We boarded and enjoyed the ride. In San Ignacio we were greeted by live music in the streets and people everywhere. The town was packed. People in the street warned us that there were no rooms to be found- something I would have done. We thanked them for their concern and showed them a restaurant I know, then head down the street to Ashley's. On the way we ran into Johnny, Marcel, and Todd. They were the only crazy PCVs paddling this year. Johnny asked me about the "butt pads". I had completely forgotten the foam cushions from Kate! Johnny was distraught! (ok, maybe not really, but almost) We went shopping and had dinner. I solicited a group doing missionary work for a ride for the Ruta Maya. They were thoughtful and discussed it and came back with an offer to carry part of our crew. Not something we were hoping for, but was still thankful for. Thanks to Catherine, I had a comfy bed and a hot shower one more time before the race.