iguanamountain blog

WINTER IN BELIZE, And Whispers

This is Climate Change for old folks. The months of December, January and maybe part of February are lovely with cool nights and temperate days. The sunshine is warm and feels good after being in air-conditioned cars and shops, which feel like some kind of cold-storage. I travel with a sweater.

Then in this season, IT RAINS! Very intense, heavy rain that can soak you to the skin in 30 seconds. Some folks call it the 'rainy season'. But it doesn't rain every day. The benefit is that everything is green. Rich, vibrant green. Now let me tell you about our jungle experience yesterday.

About five years ago we went to visit and photograph our friends' mother's original home. It is located maybe three miles from the main highway. The one-lane dirt road wound around and up a hill. The mother had passed away and the house was abandoned. There were some enormous trees close by and the brush was beginning to regain some height after decades of being trimmed. The house, constructed of river stone, had thick walls and a wood and corrugated steel roof. My friends remembered the site fondly from their childhood.

Now, we returned nearly five years later. There is a gurgling stream that winds around. The road has to cross the water twice where culverts had been installed. The second crossing was gone; washed away during the last hurricane. A few well-placed rocks and we only got slightly wet shoes crossing. From there on the road had disappeared. The jungle had moved in and reclaimed the road bed. Vines, brush, palms, stickers, flowers...you name it...it's green and growing. The grass and stuff on the ground was about knee-high. Overhead, the branches and young tree limbs required constant ducking.

The road bed is still firm and solid underneath it all, and a machine can come and clean and trim it all. The path into the house was about half a mile of sometime quite dense growth. The path was opened by machete. Whack, chop, slice...at least room enough for a human to pass.

When we arrived, the group was totally shocked. The large branches from the big trees brought the roof down. Scavengers had removed all the windows and doors, including the frames. Only the large, top-of-the-wall beams remain. The stone shell remains intact. However, the building is almost invisible, being wrapped in vines, small trees and broad-leaf plants.

Only five years and the Earth recovered and reclaimed. We have discussed retuning and restoring what was a rather, large comfortable stone house in a paradise setting. The giant tree needs some trimming and more respect for it's ancient lineage. The hillside behind the house drops down to a rushing  year-round stream and a magnificent view once it's cleared.

The setting and experience of meeting the relentless power of the plant world, reminded me we are visitors here and no matter what we do, the Earth will replenish herself...or we will learn to merge into her rhythms once again, and stop trying to isolate and separate ourselves.

Just imagine...to be in a place where you cannot hear a machine, a passing truck, three million automobiles, the refrigerator, the neighbor's air conditioner, the construction site. City dwellers never experience total silence, ever.

The silence of a wilderness is close to the whisper of God's love. Listen!
>>>iggy
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