I forgot to mention that when we arrived in Flores, literally two minutes later our friend Jasmin turned up at the same place. She planned to hop over to Belize straight from the Tikal trip, so we thought we’d join her.
We arrived in Belize somewhat stressed after an annoying border crossing – the Guatemala stamp thing caught up with us and we got fined. Add to that you cannot change money at the Guatemala/Belize border other than getting poor rates from dodgy guys who look like toads! But then the stress dissolved once the Caribbean vibe took over. Friendly people and reggae music. Its all you need!
Our first stop was San Ignacio, a small village about 30 mins drive from the border. There we stayed at a family run guesthouse, got showered and cracked open the rum. The world was a much better place!
The book mentioned Caving. What’s Caving? Another annoying word, like Birding? The three of us booked ourselves on a tour to Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) which is a tour which takes you 45 min hiking through the jungle, and then 3 ½ hours of swimming and climbing into a cave, where at the end you get to see original Mayan artefacts and skeletons. If that sounds cool, actually doing it was unbelievable!
Easily the best adventure I’ve ever been on. Swimming into the mouth of a cave and exploring up into the darkness was an exhilarating experience I’ll never forget. Also, playing notes on stalactites was something I didn’t know you could do. Our guide kept it very entertaining, but kept a check on reality – unlike at Tikal! At one point, waist deep in water, we all turned off our lights and put one hand on the shoulder of the person in front. Then we walked in total darkness, only hearing the odd bat squeak nearby. But it wasn’t claustrophobic or scary at any point. Just brilliant!
The guide book didn’t sound all that enthusiastic about ATM, but if you’re anywhere near Belize, you’ve got to do it! How there aren’t any disclaimers to sign beforehand, I don’t know. If this place was anywhere else, it would be roped off and there would be no touching of anything, and most definitely no camera flashes. The health and safety brigade just haven’t reached Belize yet!
On the tour we met a fun Italian girl, who insects seemed to love, and an Australian guy (who lived in London for a long time and now lives in New York) called Stuart. After all using clay rocks to give ourselves war paint, we were officially bonded!
The next day, Staurt kindly lent us his 4x4 and while he took a tour over to Tikal for the day, Sophie, Jasmin and I caught a military convoy off to Caracol to see some more Mayan ruins. The military convoy has been in place for a couple of years and has put an end to Guatemalans nipping over to mug tourists. So, we became part of the rich and famous for a while and had an armed escort through the jungle. The terrain was rough and the speed kept high. You wouldn’t want to do it in anything other than a 4x4.
Mayan ruins are always impressive, but perhaps we’ve done enough of them for a little while. Mind you, this ruin was home to a Howler monkey called Jack, who was abandoned by his family and lives with the people who look after Caracol. Very cute and it was fun to watch him play fighting with the local dog! A monkey and a dog play fighting? Something you don’t see everyday!
On the way back we stopped off at Rio on Pools for a dip in the refreshing water. Thus far, Belize has been full of amazing adventures, great food and warm people. It comes at a financial cost though. Prices are often on a par with the UK, so our budget has taken a bit of a pounding!
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