CAYE CAULKER, Day 14

Today was our last clinical day on Caye Caulker and the team worked shortened hours from 9am until 12 noon.

Barb holds one of Miss Lola's eight puppies

Miss Lola

The puppies play at Miss Lola's

Barb, Jackie and Caitlin were able to wrangle a vicious dog, the mother of yesterday's eight puppies, at Miss Lola's place near the south end of the island. "We walked around the corner and she tried to eat me," said Barb. "After she decided not to eat me, she hid under the stairs. So we blocked the stairs off and with some careful wrangling - Caitlin putting the rope around her neck and keeping her in - Jackie managed to stab the Dormitor in her...we brought her back in the golf cart." After spaying the mother, the group returned to Miss Lola's where they fed the puppies and checked their incisions.

Dr. Jennifer spays the mother dog

Dr. Jennifer with Monica during the spay

After cleaning up and organizing the supplies, we were treated to a special lunch prepared by Madi and her family. Drummers from local restaurant Herbal Tribe played traditional island songs while we drank punch in the sun and celebrated our two weeks of hard work. This was followed by an entertaining belly dancing performance by teenaged twin sisters.

Drummers from Herbal Tribe perform on the beach

Twin sisters after their belly dancing performance

Taking advantage of the warm weather, the team went swimming at The Split as a group for one last time. The late afternoon was spent packing and tidying up the apartment.

The team dressed nicely and enjoyed a relaxing dinner at Herbal Tribe. On the way home, members of the group witnessed an incident that put them on edge.

Donna described what she experienced during the walk home: "Caitlin, Carmen, Jen and I were walking back from the restaurant. We were the first ones to leave, at about eight o’clock - we were really tired. We were on the main street and I was ahead of them a little bit. And all of a sudden up ahead – maybe 50 feet – there was this guy. He was standing but he had both arms out with his gun pointed towards us." Another man, standing nearby, was shouting at the man with the gun. "We all turned around and started walking to a side street. One guy grabbed Caitlin by the arm and said, 'Don't go. Don't go! It's not a real gun.' And then we continued down the side street, rushed off," she said.

A number of team members, including Corinne, left the restaurant shortly thereafter. "A guy had a machete when we came up - another person."

This was the first and only instance of violence the team witnessed during its stay on the island. According to Kenny, troublemakers sometimes visit the island from the city, often in connection with drugs and gangs. As it turns out, both the man with the gun and the one with the machete were arrested later that evening and taken by boat back to Belize City.

"We were really nervous and scared about that and I think that’s why I didn’t sleep well," said Donna.

Thankfully, no one was hurt or injured from our team, but it did put a few on edge and perhaps made our imminent voyage home a touch more appealing.

Another gorgeous sunset

The sun sinks on the horizon