Monkey (River) Business

Original airdate: May 28, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 3 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

The damage done by the earthquake is most obvious in the nearby village of Monkey River, half an hour by boat from Placencia.  The town dock is several feet underwater, houses are tilted or sunken, and concrete sidewalks are cracked. There is mud everywhere, the result of ground liquefaction.

Our intrepid heroines and their guide for the day, a muscular, wifebeater-wearing Belizean named Alrin, have just stepped onto shore when a small aftershock strikes. Most of the village’s 200 inhabitants are out and about, talking about the temblor and surveying the wreckage, and this latest tremor causes much consternation.

Our fearless females and Alrin reboard the boat and head upriver. Immature little blue herons fish in the shallows. Social flycatchers flit from tree to tree. A troop of howler monkeys loudly lays claim to its territory.

Alrin pulls the boat up to the bank.  “We had rains a few days ago. You have insect repellent?”

The moment Miko and Eden step onto the trail they are assaulted by mosquitoes in numbers that they have never before encountered in all of their travels. The buzzing bitches are everywhere, and Eden swats at them madly, her hands covered in blood – no doubt her own – but they are relentless.  Ears, neck, arms, the palms of her hands – all sustain bites.

Despite her long-sleeved shirt and a plant-frond flyswatter, Yumiko, always a bug-magnet, is not faring any better.

Alrin points out native flora and explains their medicinal uses, but Miko and Eden are beyond caring. Even the monkeys they encounter fail to interest them.

They are thrilled to return to the boat some 20 minutes later, where Eden and Miko proceed to doctor the dozens of bites they have suffered. Eden notes with alarm that Miko’s right eye is swollen nearly shut while Miko observes that Eden’s arms have turned purple around the elbows.

“Let’s hope that malaria medication we’re taking is effective,” Eden mutters grumpily.

The trio slowly motors its way downriver and out into the lagoon. In the shallow green water where the sea grass grows, they spot manatees. Mosquito bites forgotten, our intrepid heroines watch in amazement as three of the endangered creatures surface within 5 feet of the boat.

Eden’s desire to jump in and swim with them is strong, but she manages to restrain herself.  Someday, she thinks wistfully. Someday. 

© Eden Feuer

Shaking Things Up

Original airdate: May 28, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

The massive earthquake hits at 2:24 a.m., jolting Yumiko and Eden awake.

The building shakes and lurches wildly. There is an ominous creak and the power goes out with an audible hiss. Frantic voices call out in the darkness.

As abruptly as it began, the shaking stops. Our intrepid heroines grab a flashlight and stumble out onto the Sidewalk, where Placencia’s rattled residents and visitors are congregating, desperate for information.

“Anyone hurt?”

“Can you see if there’s any damage?”

“I’ve lived here my entire life and never felt anything like that!”

“I just used my cell phone to call a friend in the States, who says the quake’s magnitude was 7.1. The epicenter was off the coast of Honduras, 140 miles from here.”

There is nervous talk of aftershocks and tsunamis, but there is little anyone can do. Aftershocks can occur at any time and, given Placencia’s remote location, mass evacuation in the event of a tsunami would be impossible.

Well, Eden thinks, if we are going to die, at least our last day on Earth was a really good one.

Indeed, Yumiko’s 40th birthday had been spent snorkeling amongst Laughing Bird Caye National Park’s fantastic formations of fan, fire, brain, and elkhorn coral as colorful reef fish darted by, lobsters peeked out, and conches and sea cucumbers made their way slowly along the sandy seafloor.

Upon their return to the village, our dynamic duo had moved their backpacks into an air conditioned room and headed to the Barefoot Beach Bar for drinks. Well into the evening, they sat by the ocean, watching the coconut palms sway in the breeze and chatting happily with new friends over panty rippers, Monkey River mudslides, and mango daiquiris.

The situation is what it is. So Eden and Miko do the only practical thing – they go back to bed.

© Eden Feuer