Trip to Caye Caulker

The final reunion event was a day trip to Caye Caulker on Sunday.

At the Caye

Judith Bodden, née Usher; Linda McCarthy-Remkes; Olga Barber, née McFadzen; Ruth Garbutt-Tillett; Victoria Codd, née Day; Vincent Neal, née Gill

Carli Scott; Elena van Leer, née Mendoza, Ester Heusner, née Hernández; Ivy Leslie-Blease; Jennifer Neal, née Brown; Joyce Perdomo, née Gough; Lydia Balderamos Loskot; María Scott, née Villanueva; Rita Stuart, née Young; Rosilia Ordóñez, née Vega; Ruby Vásquez

Adrian Roe, Derick Gongora, Gary González, Stan Martínez, Wayne Espat

Again, our special guest was Linda Lewis, Derick Gongora’s sister, SCA graduate and member of California Reunion Committee.

Planning

The organizing committee in Belize was responsible for planning a Sunday outing for the reunion. The logistics of trying to plan a trip with such a large group was daunting. Just getting a commitment for how many people will attend is hard, and hoping to get that information in time to arrange for group transport is risky. After discussing the problems, the committee decided that each school would plan whatever kind of Sunday picnic they wanted.

Marta Wood, née Ordóñez, invited the SCA alumnae to picnic with their family and friends at her family farm. The PHS group was talking of a trip to Caye Caulker, but had no definite plans. No one from SJC wanted to take responsibility for organizing a trip. SCA had to scrap their plans when Marta’s family responsibilities took her out of the country during the reunion weekend.

Shortly before the reunion, the committee came up with a plan that pleased everyone. The reunion would include a trip to Caye Caulker for members of the Class of ’69 from all three schools, plus family and friends. But no organization or coordination would be necessary! Those who wanted to join the fun would make their way to the Caye by water taxi. We would meet up there and enjoy they day. This plan gave the picnickers the flexibility to take a boat at whatever time suited their individual schedules. It also accommodated those who wanted to pack a picnic lunch from home and those from out of town who had no facilities for preparing a lunch. Anyone who preferred not to fix lunch ahead of time could buy lunch at one of the restaurants on the Caye.

Generous Offer

At the dinner-dance, Ester and her husband Francis offered to take the group to Caye Caulker in Francis’ boat. If we could get at least 40 people to sign up, Francis would take us for a per/person cost that was a fraction of the water-taxi fare. As the dinner-dance got under way, Joyce and Judith scurried from table to table to see who was interested in the trip. Luckily, they were able to get the requisite 40 to commit to the trip with advance payment. Francis arranged to pick us up at the Fort George pier at 10:00  AM on Sunday.

Off to the Caye

The morning was beautiful as we assembled for the trip. Many in the group were sporting our new reunion T-shirts. Vicente Vernon (SJC ’69) was not able to join the trip, but he came to the Fort George pier to see us off, wearing his reunion T-shirt.

The trip to the Caye was smooth and quick. Those who had come with Francis met other members of the reunion crowd at the Caye. Rosilia had come earlier and was staying with her parents, who live there. Adrian and his family had gone to spend the week at St. George’s Caye with Elena and her husband, Bob, as their guests; they all arrived in Adrian’s boat to join the fun. At the Caye, Joyce, who had come with Francis, met her family members who had come in a separate boat.

Leisurely Lunch

Once at the Caye, the crowd broke into smaller groups that sauntered off in different directions: some to get refreshments, some to stroll the length of the Caye, some to check out restaurants for lunch.

Since we arrived at the Caye close to noon, lunch was the first order of business for most of us. Several groups headed to the Tropical Paradise Hotel and Restaurant, which was reputed to have good food. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed. Those who arrived first headed back to the center of the island. As they passed other groups on the way to Tropical Paradise, they spread the word that the restaurant was closed.

We all enjoyed a leisurely lunch, whether it was eating a sandwich from home in the shade of a palm tree, or enjoying a hamburger, or a tasty plate of rice and beans, or a bowl of escabeche at a restaurant.

Relaxing Day

Throughout the day, the various groups of picnickers came together then divided into different collections as we walked along the path, found swimming holes, got refreshments, or stopped to sit and talk.

Some of the images of the day:

• Ruby with the golf umbrella she had borrowed from Ester, so that she and those near her would never be far from cool shade.

  They were trying to escape the sun’s rays or, as Rosilia’s grandmother used to warn them as kids, el ojo del sol.

• Wayne, whose shoulder bag was a small cooler so that he and those near him would never be far from a cold beer.

  Was Wayne always the class comedian? He kept us entertained throughout the day with his quick wit and one-liners (in addition to the Beliken beers).

• Jennifer zipping past in the golf cart she had rented for her stay at the Caye.

  Our picnic at the Caye was the start of a longer Caye vacation for Jennifer and her husband Leroy. They would spend the night at Caye Caulker, then head to Ambergris Caye the next day and spend another night there.



• The SJC guys reminiscing over lunch about the pranks they played on one another in school and the dives they visited after hours.

• Gary swimming along the shore with snorkel and mask so as not to miss any interesting underwater scenery. (As it turned out, the most interesting scenery he found was out of the water—a tourist sunbathing topless on her hotel pier.)

  Gary’s wife, María Elena, took his snorkeling adventure in stride, saying calmly, "He can’t see much without his glasses!"

A brief shower in early afternoon caused everyone to run for shelter. It was just enough to freshen the air without dampening our spirits.

At the end of our stay, we headed back to the pier for the return trip to Belize. Everyone had spent a lovely day at the Caye. Unfortunately, some of our "girls" had an unpleasant encounter with a couple of rude tourists, but they were able to laugh about it afterward without letting it spoil the day.

Back to Belize

On the pier to see us off were Rosilia, who was visiting her parents, and Jennifer and Leroy, who were staying at the Caye overnight. They waved goodbye as Francis eased his boat away. As the boat faded into the distance, Rosilia and Jennifer chatted for a while about their families. Rosilia shared a brief history of Caye Caulker and its people and her childhood days growing up there.

Francis stopped at the reef on the way back so that those who wanted to snorkel could do so–Gary had not brought his snorkeling gear in vain after all! We then headed for Belize. The trip back gave us an opportunity to hear what everyone else had done at the Caye and to chat with those whom we had not talked to earlier in the reunion.

The trip went smoothly until something jolted the boat, making a loud noise. Francis throttled back the engines and went to investigate, then reported the bad news, "Shaf brok; prop gaan!" Although the broken shaft and loss of its propeller meant a major maintenance expense for Francis, it was no threat to our safe return. The boat has two engines; we limped along easily on one.

The End

Because the trip back took longer than expected, we approached Belize at dusk. We were treated to the sight of the City coming to life as more and more lights twinkled on. We reached the Fort George pier in the dark with the almost-full moon lighting the sky and casting a beautiful reflection of the water.

On the pier, we waved goodbye to Francis and Ester, thanked them for taking us to the Caye, and wished them luck in finding a safe mooring for the night. The rest of us exchanged hugs and farewells and headed off in various directions. Most of us were tired after a long day, but a few were energetically making plans to extend the reunion. They would freshen up then reconvene at the Smoky Mermaid Restaurant for dinner.

One thing we all agreed on—the reunion had been a wonderful experience! The organizers were so pleased with the fruits of their labors that they agreed to plan a 35-year reunion in 5 years.