Canoe La Ruta Maya Belize

Well folks, it’s official, I am now a competitor in La Ruta Maya canoe race. This is a 4 day, 3 night event of grueling paddling in teams of three people per canoe down the Belize river from San Ignacio to the sea in Belize city.

I’m going to be paddling a canoe for 4 days straight, zigzagging across central Belize in crocodile infested waters for 170 miles (Approx. 274 kilometers). The race starts this Friday and finishes on Monday.

Am I crazy?! Possibly, but then maybe I’m just determined to push myself to my limits and step outside my comfort zone to see what I’m really made of.

I’m certainly not doing it alone. There will probably be over 100 other canoe entrants, and each one will have 3 person teams.

My own team is made up of Canadian Vancouver Islanders. 2 Dragonboat Divas that have been competing in dragonboat races and even won first place in Prince Georges first competition. These 2 Divas (Arlene Gerein and Elly Ruge) are pumped up and ready to rock! Then there’s me, the martial arts performer of chain and staff fire spinning.

I think we’ve got what it takes to pull through and finish the race. We’re not trying to win by any means, but just have an adventure of a lifetime. We decided to be “Team Chillaxing”, and take it easy as we enjoy the pleasant scenary along the way, eat energy balls, watch the birds, the iguanas, and of course the crocodiles as they swim around the canoe waiting for us to tip over.

We’ve been practicing on the Mopan river which is a tributary upriver from where we start the race. These pictures show Elly and I on our first attempt at the actual race route starting at the lower bridge in San Ignacio.

This is going to be a fun challenge, and since we’re in the Pleasure Craft division, we’ll be with the many other competitors that just want to have some fun. Check out La Ruta Maya Belize website!

La Ruta Maya follows the ancient route that the Mayans took to trade their wares with the many cities and villages along the way.

I’ll let everyone know how I fare in a follow-up post next week.

Wish Me Luck!

~Jambhala

P.S.- Thanks goes out to Remax Belize Property Center, and Better In Belize Ecovillage for sponsoring our team in the race.