Welcome to Paradise! This is Belize, where I studied the management changes of the Belize Central Prison. I was part of a group of researchers conducting oral history interviews with the prison staff to help document the changes at the prison since it was taken over by a non-profit group, the Kolbe Foundation, in 2001. While there, we saw some beautiful scenery and incredible animals--sometimes both at once!
For instance, this is a picture of the Belize River near where we stayed. Beautiful, quiet, peaceful. . . but there is a hidden danger in those waters.
After unpacking, a small group of us traveled down to the water, sat on the edge of the covered dock, and dipped our feet in the river. I admit, I was too concerned about leeches to keep my feet in the water for too long, but the water was cool and the air was hot, so we were thankful for the respite from the heat. One of my fellow researchers even thought she felt a large fish bump her foot at one point.
We had a fun time splashing around, telling stories, and discussing the interviews coming up. About an hour later the entire group was sitting around the dinner table and receiving some last minute instructions for the coming day. Our local guide gave us some do’s and don’ts of the area, and I suddenly became very glad I had taken my feet out of the water at the dock--the large fish that had bumped into someone’s foot might have actually been an alligator!