I've been meaning to upload this for a while now...

My favorite thing about living in Belize is moments like this. The simple joys of an outdoor lifestyle.

And my least favorite thing about living in Belize is how all electronic equipment gets destroyed by the humidity. My camera has now died on me. That's another $900 down the drain. I loved that camera. The colours were so crisp, the video was great on it...oh, I will miss it so much. I don't think I'll ever buy anything that flash again. It just isn't worth it here.

Oh, and Karen won the bike race (for those of you that don't read her blog)
And obviously, we're very proud of our champion!

To hell and back (biking the muddy road to Caracol)

Well, Karen's made it through those hard days. We saw her race through Roaring Creek today and she was third when we saw her (out of everyone!)

We'll see her again tomorrow at Caves Branch.

Sorry, I have to leave it at that right now. May blog more later with pics.

Karen's most challenging day yet.

Today will be tough for Karen. She has to bike from Jaguar Paw to the temples of Caracol up in the Mountain Pine Ridge. Most of the way will be uphill on a road that has turned into an extreme mud bath. To drive to Caracol takes over 2 hours and is hard to do on days like these, when the road has turned to slush from days of rain. So how they will manage on bikes, only God knows. I wouldn't be surprised if no one manages to make it till the end.

Still, our crazy Karen is determined to finish this race and not only that, but to actually win it! (at least from the women)

We went to see her yesterday afternoon and this is what she told me:

On day one she came first. She beat both the men and the women, although the reason she beat the men was that they missed a turn and biked the wrong way for 1 mile. Karen even raced passed this guy who is apparently this famous biker (leave it to me to forget his name). Anyway, not only is this guy famous, Karen's bike is even named after him. So she beat him on a bike that carries his own name. Isn't that funny? I'm so proud of that tough little cookie of ours.

Yesterday, apparently, was horrendous. They biked through mud for most of the day and felt like they weren't getting anywhere. Many of the bikers have decided that the race is just too tough and have either pulled out (even one of the serious Belizean cyclists has packed it in and has decided to stick to road biking from now on), whilst others have chosen to just ride part of the race each day and to get into the support cars after lunch. Karen says that she can't even imagine quitting, no matter how hard it gets. She is in agony though and would give anything for a more comfortable saddle, but of course there isn't much that we can buy here in Belize so she'll have to just 'sit it out' (poor girl)

Once she gets through today, she (and the others) will be fine. The rest of the race is much more bearable. So everyone....send her your thoughts, prayers, psychic energy, whatever you can...'cause she will need it today.

Also, does anyone want to up their sponsorship pledge if she manages to actually win this thing?
Let me know. Of course, it's all going to a good cause, The Jaden Foundation. This money will help keep this year's sponsored children in both the private school and the public schools (with the private school being the biggest financial stretch, of course)

There are several ways to donate, just send me an email if you're interested in doing so.

Thank you all for your support.

Karen is doing great!!!!!

Just got a call from Karen & she says that the race is going really well. Not only is she doing the tour, she's actually racing it to win. Right now, she's leading the women and is even beating some of the men. You go girl! There were 23 people in the group to start with and one has given up already. We'll go and see Karen tomorrow afternoon. This is all so exciting!

Karen's bike race starts tomorrow!

Isn't funny how it's always so great to be traveling, yet it's just as great be home again at the end of it all?

Yep, we're back and I am so happy to be sleeping in my own bed again. I had become a bit of an insomniac those last few days in Aruba, which started with AC problems in our bedroom and then just became a general 'not able to sleep' problem. So annoying! But anyway, last night I slept wonderfully again. Shame that the baby woke up at quarter to five though.

Anyway, we did have a fantastic holiday in Aruba. The place is actually starting to grow on me. And of course I love being with my mum and my sister. And I love seeing them interact with Lucas and Aidan. It's only now that I have my own children that I fully realize how important family is. If only we could be nearer to all our family (those in Aruba, England and Holland). But for that to happen, we'd have to pull continents together. Got some muscle anybody?

So, as the title of this posting already said, Karen's Temple to Temple bike race starts tomorrow. David is driving her to Placencia this very moment for the start of the race.

Karen has actually become a tat nervous about it all. Especially as so many people are sponsoring her (with the proceeds going to the Jaden Foundation). She is scared that either she or her bike may not make it. I'll try and blog in the coming days how she's doing. Wish her well!