Have I ever mentioned how cool my brothers are?

An email to my parents from Shane that they forwarded to me.

hey

just got back from the canoe race and we've already started classes. i'm pretty exhausted to say the least. the canoe race started at 7am onfriday, and i don't think i stopped paddling all weekend. i thought it was goingto be a little more laid back, but we didn't even stop to eat or drink until wehad arrived at the finish line, 8 or 9 hours later. very intense, and a lotof paddling. we ended up covering 50 miles the first day at 7:57 hours, 60miles the second day at 9:38 hours, and about 6 hours the third day covering 35 miles.

We flipped our boat on the first day, but we fit in as most of the racing canoe are real narrow and would flip in the beginning. It was very strenuous, and the camps at night were crazy and hard to sleep though, butwe made it. I can say that i've canoed across a country.
the week before was good as well. we went to a research station in themiddle of the jungle in the maya mountains. this is about as far off the beatenpath as you get.
we got a chance to do some birding each morning (yes, i never thought i would be a birder, but binoculars are my new best friend).

Other highlights included exploring 2 miles deep into a cave and taking latenight jungle hikes looking for animals like peccaries (wild pigs) and jaguars.On the following day we stopped at a mayan ruin called Caracol. It wasmassive and size and very beautiful.
The wildlife was also amazing. I was climbingan unexcavated mayan ruin, trying to get closer to a pack of howler monkeys,when i almost stepped on a 10 foot long boa constrictor laying out in the sun.

Our other field trip brought us to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.More night hikes and searches for jaguars. A group of 3 students quickly saw a large cat one of the nights there, but i was not as lucky. There were beautiful waterfalls there that we were able to swim in. On the last day,we had a chance to hike up to a high bluff that provided a beautiful view of nearby Victoria Peak, the second largest peak in Belize. It was abeautiful and fun trip.

Well, the week ahead is going to be a busy one. Sustainable Community Development is this weeks topic. In addition to studying the broaderthemes of development, we'll also be doing a case study on how the cruise shiptourism impacts the country. Our professor is really interesting and has done alot of research down here ecotourism, so I imagine it will be very insightful.

well, i have plenty of readings to do...and i've written for long enough.
i'll try and send this to nancy and the grandparents.
i'll try and call somenight this week. any nights work better than others for you guys? alright. i have to go for real this time.
tell everyone i say hello.

love,
shane

Koyaanisqatsi

(The trip site)