You Better Belize It!

Even with the rain, bugs and humidity, I had a really enjoyable week in Belize. For those of you who don't know, it's a former British colony that's in Central America -- so people spoke English and the flight wasn't too long. I started off in the Cayo district of the country -- this is the lush jungle area of the country and stayed at the campsite of this really nice eco-lodge, Chaa Creek. My "tent" was a wooden structure with a screens and a tarp roof. I had kerosene lamps for lighting inside at night, as well as my headlamp. But what I loved, was the deck -- complete with my own hammock. While I may have been "roughing it," the staff at the campsite was great, as were the communal meals. And it wasn't really roughing it, since the bathrooms, showers, and dining facility had electricity. The actual lodge was a 5-minute walk away along the Medicinal trial, which labels ands explains the uses of the various trees and plants for various aliments. While I was in Cayo, I mainly visited Maya ruins, which were amazing. Tikal in neighboring Guatemala seems to the big draw, but I went to the Belizean site of Caracol, which despite a bumpy ride and requiring going with a military caravan, was quite fascinating. Again, I think the success of this trip was owed to a good group and an excellent tour guide.

Apparently, I was in Belize during a holiday, which meant that most people (including me) were worried about my taking local bus transit to my next destination, because no one was certain of the times. It actually turned out really well. I grabbed a bus (a repainted school bus) in San Ignacio to Belmopan and only had wait 5 minutes for the bus that would drop me off at Caves Branch Lodge, my 2nd eco-lodge of the trip. I had signed up to stay in the bunkhouse, kind of like a hostel room that had outdoor showers, which was very Gilligan's Island, but again still in the jungle, except with no hammocks and lots of bugs. Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate and a lot of what I was hoping to do while I was there didn't happen. I did sign up for a Waterfall tour inside a cave. It was a fun trek to a cave and then we entered the cave, snaking our away along side, but mainly in the brook/stream/small river of water, climbing over rocks and crawling under low rock overhangs until we reached a series of waterfalls. I made it up the first small one, but couldn't climb my way up the big one. Still it was fun, and while those of us who couldn't make it up that fall waited, it was actually the one time on this trip that I got cold (I found it quite enjoyable). We even had lunch in the cave, complete with white linen tablecloths. I was supposed to stay 2 nights at Caves Branch, but I had had enough and caught the bus to Dangria late that afternoon and crashed at Val's Hostel.

From there I made it to South Water Caye, a great island right along the South Water barrier reef. I could swim from shore to some excellent snorkeling sites. This was my last eco-lodge, Pelican Beach Resort, and I actually stayed in a cabin right on the water, which on my first day got a great water breeze, and a deck with a hammock! (Do you notice a theme?) I'm not the biggest beach fan, but it was really beautiful, it was a small island, and I could kayak. I even saw a ray (both while snorkeling and while in the boat -- did you know they could leap out of the water?) Even the day it rained was an opportunity for me to sit in my hammock and read. It was the restful part of my vacation.