Every year this weekend has a big canoeing event called La Ruta Maya. Over four days, 90-odd teams of 3-man canoes race down the river, racing a distance of 170 miles in total. Yesterday they finished their stage in Burrell Boom, a village upstream, but we bypassed the festivities and instead went further north to the Community Baboon Sanctuary- a protected area where not baboons, but Guatemalan Howler Monkeys, are to be found- and to climb and your shoulders and feed! This was a fantastic experience- Belize is known for its ecotourism and this was one example.
Today however, with the final stage of racing finishing walking distance from my front door, I was all in it for the boats! I felt at home in a throng of people on a bridge standing for hours to cheer on a few boats- the heat was slightly less familiar, and my shoulders got a bit pink due to insufficient suntan lotion.

self-explanatory!
Spectators thronging the bank, with umbrellas for shade and the smoke from a very tasty, very good value BBQ!
It's small, I'm afraid, but look! the two boats are practically touching! and this is less than a minute from the end of a 20-odd hour race! wow...
Looks awesome glad you're having fun :)
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