In other news, for over two decades, the holiday weekend in March has been set aside by many Belizeans as the time to head to the riverbanks to watch the La Ruta Maya River Challenge. Teams of paddlers row their canoes 175 miles over the course of four days, along the river route once used by the ancient Mayas for transportation and trading. It's a countrywide tradition that promotes Belizean history, sportsmanship, culture, and environmental importance.
And early this morning at 7:00 in the foggy shadows of the Hawkesworth Bridge, the race kicked off from its usual starting place in San Ignacio. Our news team caught up with it along its western route. Courtney Menzies has this story.
The Cayo District was buzzing with excitement this morning as onlookers gathered to watch the first day of the 26th La Ruta Maya River Challenge.
It's one of the most anticipated annual sporting and cultural events for Belizeans, pausing only during the pandemic years. But in its second year post-COVID, the crowds were bigger and the energy just as electric as ever.
57 teams joined in this year, and they were not short on supporters - fans tracked the race as it travelled, shouting encouraging words, blowing horns, and sporting their team's colors as the canoes paddled by.
And as usual, the race kicked off at the Hawkesworth Bridge in San Ignacio, which the town's mayor says is not only a great family tradition for the residents, but also an economic boost.
Earl Trapp, Mayor, SI/SE
"As per normal, like my friend here will always say, the west is the best and basically I was amazed at seeing so many people this morning, more than last year, and now I'm following the race and to see so many people following La Ruta Maya, you can feel the spirit, people are out here cheering and supporting this historical event, something that we must cherish forever, one that we had our ancestors use this same pathway to channel and move goods for us so I see the spirit out here, the spirit of unity, the spirit of support and it's more than just that, what I see here is more a family affair, one that is out there that families come out as one and enjoy."
"As the mayor of this beautiful municipality, I'm very grateful that this race starts in San Ignacio because we are considered the number 1 inland tourism destination and because of that, we depend on tourism so whatever happens there in terms of stimulating the economy, it definitely brings people to a community and what I noted this morning was key. I mentioned to my friend that, man, I'm really happy to all the vendors that came out to sell their produce this morning because all the tacos stand, they had a big line, a big queue, so definitely everybody gained from this and I hope that as we go along downstream that people will take advantage and especially in times that we are living, hard times, come out and sell your food."
But the race also bring awareness to the environment, and how important it is to keep our rivers and surrounding areas clean.
And the Coast Guard teams this year were repping the environment, and importance of climate change awareness.
Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"We have two full male team and two full female team. They're paddling in support of the UNDP and the UNDP mission internationally in terms of climate change. So we're promoting awareness to the environment, one of the team actually is registered under the name Net Zero, that's to bring awareness again to the climate issue we are currently facing across the world and the other is 1.5, you know the struggle that Belize is going up against, the odds against these bigger countries in order to minimize the carbon footprint. So that's what we're promoting here today behind all the fanfare, behind all the hype, that's the message we want to deliver here."
"La Ruta Maya is something on our annual calendar of events, it's boats, it's water, it's people in the boats in the water so that's who we are and we want to be a part of this, we want to socialize with the community, we want to engage and have fun and at the same time compete and of course send the message of our what we're involved with."
And it was neck and neck as the competitors paddled furiously to the finish line on this first stage. Though it was close, there could only be one winner, and Guava Limb came out on top on the first day - and they say it's due to being "slim and trim."
Javier Guardado, Team Captain, Guava Limb
"We feel very tired right now but proud of ourselves."
Courtney Menzies:
"Did you expect to come in first?"
Javier Guardado, Team Captain, Guava Limb
"Well not really but we came with the mentality to come in first, all is in your mind. I think we had the advantage because we are the lightest team and well we trained very hard and I think the training counts for a lot in the end. You need the stamina, you need to run, and train very hard and this is the leg we trained mostly so this is the leg we trained."
"We got left at the start so we had to chase, when we caught them, we got left again, so it was a lot of chasing all the way. But we managed to still come in first."
Reporter:
"Do you think you'll the stamina and endurance to carry forth and to come in first?"
Javier Guardado, Team Captain, Guava Limb
"Yes, well, tomorrow is the longest leg but tomorrow is just trying to race smart, try to stick with the top teams and take it easy and reach to the end with them."
And Lucas Oil was right on their tail, but though they placed second, they shouldn't be counted out just yet.
Clayton Cobb, Team Captain, Lucas Oil
"It was a very hard day, we're a little bit tired but we'll just rest and hopefully we will be ready for tomorrow."
Courtney Menzies:
"Even though you came in second today do you feel like you can make the big win on the last day?"
Clayton Cobb, Team Captain, Lucas Oil
"Of course, we had a plan today and it was almost perfect. Moving in tomorrow, we'll just try to rest more and see what happens."
Courtney Menzies:
"Guava Limb, do you feel like they gave you a run for your money?"
Clayton Cobb, Team Captain, Lucas Oil
"Yeah, those guys are pretty good. Today we had to be careful with them because it's shallow waters and those guys are very slim so that means that they can move well on low waters so we had to be careful with them and it was good how it played out, it's just in the finish, we slipped and that cost us the first day."
And while the first leg of the La Ruta Maya is always the hardest, these teams have three more days to make up lost time. This year's river champ will paddle in to the Belcan Bridge on Monday.
The Guava Limb Team consists of 19-year-olds Javier Guardado and Andres Cabb, and 15-year-old Daniel Cruz.
The oldest paddler in this year's race is 80-years-old, and the youngest is 11.
