Belize

Hello Paul this time I get to write all about Belize,

Various guidebooks and friends had not been complementary about Belize city and I was glad we only spent one night there, the city was hectic and overwhelming straight off the bus. We stayed in a relatively cheap hostel, the Three Sisters, which was clean and handily in the centre of town. We left Belize City after one night and travelled to San Ignacio, stopping at Belize Zoo on the way. The zoo is more a conservation site for problem jaguars but had lot of other native animals too and was a great way to spend a couple of hours.

San Ignacio is in the west of Belize, near the Guatemalan boarder and surrounded by Mayan sites and jungle. We took a day trip to Caracol, a Mayan site, which still lets you climb the temples. Whilst at the highest point overlooking the jungle in both Belize and Guatemala a storm moved in. We had to get down amidst thunder, lightening and torrential rain. The trip included a visit to a huge, spectacular underground cave which was formed in the same way as the cenote we visit in Tulum. The final stop was to a waterfall situated at the bottom of a steep raven where we swam in fairly cold water. It was all fun until it got dark and then climbing back up became difficult and the noise in the jungle became daunting.

There are two Mayan sites, Caya Pech and Xuantunich, which are close and easily reached from San Ignacio, the second was more impressive, but at both there was no one around and we were able to climb and explore on our own. Walking back from the ruins people at our hostel Hi-Et had told us to visit the butterfly park. While it was good I preferred walking around the surrounding grounds that contained information about the medicinal uses for native plants and trees. Apparently they can cure almost anything or kill you - depending on how much you eat.

Back in town on our final day we hired a kayak. It was amazing to go from town into the real jungle complete with snakes, monkeys and toucans. We paddled back to see Belize celebrating 26 years of independence from Britain with a large parade followed by a party in town and lots of dancing.

The next day we left San Ignacio and headed for the tiny Caribbean island Caye Caulker, an hour boat ride from Belize City. Caye Caulkers main source of income is “lobsta” and there is plenty cheaply available which I have eaten lots of. The main reason to visit the island is for diving and snorkelling – I have passed my open water dive certificate and Rae has enjoyed some slightly hot snorkelling, burning her floating bum. Just off the island is the 2nd largest coral reef in the world and there is an amazing amount of fish and underwater life. I saw sharks, stingrays and loads of fish but Rae was luckier and saw turtles and a manatee too. We are currently in a great hotel, the Tropical Paradise, but we briefly attempted to stay in one of the two hostels on offer. We quickly relocated after Rae was bitten many times and the general cleanliness of the hostel wasn’t very pleasant.

We leave paradise in a few days after lots of sun, rum and diving for Miami briefly and then on to Costa Rica where we have joined a volunteer scheme to work with turtles. Rae is very excited as see loves turtles and is pleased we are going to do something worthwhile on our trip.

We wont have the internet for a couple of weeks, the turtle place is in the middle of no where, so our next blog will be from Equador. Paul