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Our Belizean Trip:
(Posted to Belize Forum 3/20/07) Permission to republish by the
author.
Sorry for the delay in writing our
travelogue, I’m not very good at it but I wanted to share our experiences as
new travelers. Our only other out of country travel experience was in Hawaii on
our honeymoon 24 years ago and to Disneyland with the kids 10 years ago. Ken and
I are both 50 and Steve and Amera are 18. Some of the costs I mentioned will
probably be outdated.
I discovered Belize only by surfing the net. Came across the forums and fell in
love with the country through everyone’s perceptions and observations. Oh, and
just so you all know, this trip is my dream, no one else really knows anything
about Belize – let’s just say they are blindly following.
We broke up our 2 week vacation into 3 parts, the West (Cayo District), The
North (Corozol District) and Amberquis Caye for the last leg of our journey. It
was my hope each district would give us a good well rounded look at Belize.
Well two weeks is not nearly enough time. We flew into Belize City, cleared
customs with no problems. In a matter of 15 minutes we were heading out the
doors literally running after a young man who grab our luggage and promised to
find us our ride. He did a fine job, helped load our luggage ($5 US was what he
got for a tip; he had a smile on his face, so I guess it was good enough).
As uneventful as our flight was, our trip to Cahal Pech was an eye opener to say
the least. Everything that is living, seems to be on the road with you, our
driver has the pedal to the metal and were dodging and passing on curves at
speeds that had me praying all the way to the hotel (I’m not a religious
person mind you but praying seemed to be a good thing to do at the time). We
went through 5 or 6 police checks, yes they had rifles or machine guns strap to
their shoulders which surprised me but we were always just waved through, no
problems there, actually it was a relief just to slow down. So far, my husband
hasn’t said a word since leaving the Belize Airport. We get to the road that
leads up to Cahal Pech and are doubtful that we will make it up the hill through
the ruts and just the steepness of it. Of course, it was no problem for our
driver. We arrived at our hotel around 7:30; it took about 2.5 hours to get to
the hotel from the airport. Considering all the check stops, I say we made
pretty good time. The driver apologized for the long drive, said it should have
only taken 1.5 hours or so. (Yikes!!)
The staff at Cahal Pech was very nice and helped us to our room. Well, the first
thing my husband does is lock the door, only to find the lock isn’t all that
great and rather flimsy. He has a look on his face that I should have captured
on camera, he says, Gaye, “what the hell… guns, police, check stops,
Kamikaze driver, my grandmother could break into this room, I don’t know about
this”. I told him he was just going through a little bit of culture shock and
to chill, give it a chance. In the morning you’ll see the beauty of the
country and you’ll start to relax.
The next day we had a great breakfast, courteous service and I met my first big
hairy brown spider, well, big to me anyways, I have this spider thing, don’t
like them at all, my husband sits there while I’m freakin’ and just smiles.
Glad to see he’s coming around.
We rented a car from Cayo Auto rentals ($75/day 7th day free incl. everything)
and decided to brave the roadways and check things out. We were heading out of
San Ignacio on our little drive and passed by the ferry to Xuanatunich. I wanted
to do some exploring on our own, but he was still somewhat leery and wanted to
book with a guide, the check stops really freaked him out. I finally convinced
him we were never going to have a good time if he doesn’t step out from behind
closed doors so he finally turned around. As it turns out, we ended up with a
guide any ways, (I wish I could remember his name)he was there at the ferry
offering his services and we agreed. We gave him $50 Belize and learned a lot
more than if we did it on our own. About this spider thing, I had my second
encounter… with a tarantula, no less, …in the ladies washroom, …on the
back of the door, I didn’t notice until I sat down, I swear, if it moved, I
would have run out there with my pants down falling head over heals. Thank god,
it didn’t move. Ken went in there with a big smile on his face and took a
picture of the thing. He’s really starting to have some fun here.
There were 3 things I had my heart set on, Zip Lining, Cave Tubing and Tikal.
Our son and his girlfriend were coming in 3 days so I wanted to save the Cave
tubing and Zip lining until they got there. We booked Tikal/Flores through Cahal
Pech ($100 US each and includes a very good lunch, travel and entry fees) and we
left the next day. I didn’t think I would ever wish for our Belizean driver
back but I did that day….
Tikal is awesome, do not miss this tour. It’s a beautiful hike to the ruins,
the tour guide talked about the flora and fauna, we seen toucans, and howler
monkeys.
Getting a little bit off the topic here but I have to mention our first real
wake up call to get into shape happened while we were huffing and puffing our
way up one long grade hill through the jungle, we were passed by a Guatemalan
Family and their grandparents like we were going backwards, now, I could be
wrong, but I would guess the grandparents were in their 80’s, at least,
everyone in our group had to take a double look. After that we picked up the
pace with a renewed vigor inspired by an old Guatemalan couple – go figure.
We arrived at a small city of temples and various other ruins, we explored a few
of them and just sat on top of one of the smaller ones, you could visualize what
a bustling metropolis it must have been at one time. It’s quite overwhelming
and sends your imagination into overdrive. We continued on our hike and arrived
at Temple IV (I believe) and looked up, way way up, I really wanted to climb
this one, but man it was a long way up, Ken and I looked at each other, pondered
for a moment, then decided we didn’t come all this way to sit at the bottom,
so up we went, a few rests along the way, it wasn’t so bad. The reward at the
end of the climb makes it all worth while, the view was incredible and to hear
the howler monkeys from up there made you wonder if you weren’t on some other
planet. I was surrounded by beauty and it took my breath away. We didn’t see
all of Tikal, that would have taken a couple of days for sure, but we did see
Flores. It’s a quaint little island of shops and cobblestone streets, we saw
kids playing their game of soccer, some with no shoes on, if you can imagine
(ouch!). We got back to the hotel and were totally exhausted but content and
were looking forward to supper and relaxing at the bar with a few drinks beside
the pool.
The next day we would check out San Ignacio, get to know it well so we could
show the kids around when they arrived.
They have two bridges in San Ignacio, one bridge goes one way and the other
bridge goes the other way, simple right…..well….. We didn’t see any signs
and there was no one on the bridge, so we started down the bridge and met up
with 15 cars at the other end. I suppose they seen what we were going to do so
they waited for us. Some of the people in the first car were just laughing, the
driver shook his head, probably thinking “dumb gringos”, and Ken was
starting to back up when the guy in the first vehicle makes everyone back up so
we could get off the bridge. Believe me, that wouldn’t happen where I come
from. We thanked them and they waved very nice people. We found a parking spot
and decided to walk and explore the town. I’ve got to say, I love… the old
people sitting on the street, talking and sharing stories, wish I could have sat
and listened. I love …the people driving down the roads, they have no street
signs, no traffic lights, no one ways (except on bridges, but that’s only
sometimes) no speed limits, yet everyone knows who has the right of way and who
doesn't, no road rage. I love… the police officers walking about like it is
there day off, just talking to people and being friendly. People are greeting
people as they pass by, even in their cars, we’ll call it a drive by greeting
“hey Antonio how are ya man, see ya Saturday” …. The old women on the
street come up to you with their grandchildren in tow, selling whatever they
have crafted, you tell them no thank you and they smile, say good day and carry
on, no hassles.
We sent the hotel to pick up the kids, not that I wanted them to freak like I
did, but it gets dark around 6:00 – 6:30 and it would have taken us forever to
drive from the airport to the hotel. Ken agreed and for just $54.00, it’s
worth it. When the kids arrived, well, it was another Kodak moment. You could
just tell they had a few stories to tell. It was too late to do anything at that
time, so we all had supper and a few drinks together. The kids jumped into the
pool and we all hit the sack around midnight.
We booked our cave tubing through Maya Walk. It was a good thing we kept our
receipt because they made a booking error and figured we owed them more money
but it was soon straightened out and we were on our way. Our group of 10 people
varied in age from 10 years old and up to 50 years old, that being Ken and I. We
brought our Canadian Tire river shoes that worked out just great, but wear socks
with them so you don’t get blisters. One of the others rented water shoes at
the site (I believe it was only a couple of bucks), they weren’t as heavy duty
as ours but they did the trick and worked out much better than wrecking his good
runners. It was a great hike through the jungle, it rained the night before so
it was quite wet and the last leg of our journey was on a much narrower path and
very muddy (for this reason you may not want to wear sandals and it was during
this part that our heavy duty river shoe out performed the lighter ones when it
came to having more grip). We kept up the pace because if we stopped for any
length of time, we were swarmed by mosquitoes, so far, no signs of malaria
(touch wood). We were careful not to step on the leaf cutter ants as they
journey beside our own path and sometimes crossed it. They are amazing, marching
along in single file right directly behind one another, each leaf they carried
on their backs were all cut the same way as the one in front. Our guide brought
us up to the top cave which they don’t normally do but he was trying to get us
some quiet time through at least one cave. Unfortunately, we picked a day the
cruise ship tours come in, he said we will probably meet up with them after
going through the top cave at which time we’ll stop and let the cruisers go
way ahead. When forum members say don’t pick the days the cruise ships come
in, try really hard not to pick that day. I don’t know who guides the
cruisers, but he allowed them to leave all their plastic water bottles on the
side of the river. What a shame. Anyways, our float through the first cave was
awesome and quiet but once through that cave we caught up with the cruisers.
What a racket. We pulled to the side of the river and let the cruiser get well
ahead of us. After we could no longer hear them, we proceeded to flop our butts
back into the tubes…. Oh, if only you guys could have seen it…. my husband
went for a loopy loop backwards into the river off his tube…it seemed to take
quite a few seconds but once he got his feet back under him, he shot up from
under the water like a cannon ball. Arms straight up in the air and eyes
bulging, realizing he was going to lose his tube he makes a flying leap and
manages to catch his tube. Well, everyone was just pissin’ themselves
laughing, another Kodak moment missed. We had a wonderful time, wouldn’t have
missed it because of the cruisers but we’ll try real hard not to pick the same
day again. The kids enjoyed it and could have hiked back up the jungle and done
it all over again if time permitted.
We left Cayo District with so much left undone (this is what happens when you
book ahead) and headed for Corozol. Ken did a wonderful job driving, by the time
we were an hour or two on the road, you would think he was raised there. The
only giveaway would be the fact that we always forgot about those speed bumps.
We booked at Tony’s Inn, a very nice place. Everywhere was decorated in X-mas
lights. It was quite beautiful. They have a nice bar and restaurant, where we
ate and drank most of the time. Their rooms are roomy and clean. Our plan was to
do the Lamani Tour, check out some developments and do a day at Chetemul Mexico.
We booked Lamanai for the next day through Tony’s Inn. The cost was $180.00
for 4 adults and included the entrance fee, lunch and pop, and of course, our
wonderful guide. We drove ourselves to Orange Walk.
I loved Lamanai. Antonio out of Orange Walk was our guide and I would highly
recommend him to anyone. We boarded his boat right from Orange Walk, which gave
us an extra 15 or so minutes on the river. Since no other boats were ahead of us
at this point nothing had been scared away. We saw more wildlife along the river
than we could have imagined. Crocodiles, iguana, turtles sunning on the giant
water lilies, jesus bird, jesus lizard, bats, birds galore, if you can picture
fireworks against a night sky, that is what the flowers looked like on some of
the trees along the river. We were shown the Mennonite colony and sugar mill.
Antonio was very knowledgeable and as we found out very passionate about the
ruins and the ancient Mayan people. Along the trails of Lamanai, monkeys and
toucans were seen. The kids missed out on Tikal, but they couldn’t imagine
anything being any better than Lamanai.
Antonio offered a lunch of chicken, rice and beans. Ken and I both decided that
there were no way we were eating chicken that was kept in a cooler with no ice
for half a day. But, I‘ll tell you, by the time lunch rolled around and after
doing all that hiking, we were starving. Everyone else in our group was eating,
so… caution to the wind, we dove right in. It was the best damn chicken I ever
ate and how the heck did they keep it hot. Doesn’t matter….it tastes soooo
good! No stomach aches afterwards
On the 24th Ken and I wanted to see some developments, so we got Mel from
Paradise Found Realty to show us Cerros, it seemed a long way from Corozol,
mainly because of the roads. They are very rough. We drove onto the hand cranked
ferry to cross the river, it was quite warm and I couldn’t imagine having to
crank that ferry back and forth all day long. Just ask Steven, we did a second
trip with the kids and he cranked the ferry across, he had to change arms a
couple of times, and he is a very strong young man. The ferry runs 24 hours and
they work 12 hour shifts. Cerros is a diamond in the rough. I love Northern
Belize and I think Cerros will become a great community. You never know, we may
buy yet. I would like one more long stay in Belize though before I committed to
buying anything, after all, the laid back life style that you may crave for on a
vacation may not be what you would embrace for 3 – 6 months at a time. One
thing I would like to mention. We should have at least offered something for
gas, since we were there just to look and investigate. He was very nice,
informative, and we took up a lot of his time and just before Christmas no less.
We will not be so inconsiderate next time.
We did not go to Chetemul Mexico because the only day we could go before we were
off to Amberguis Caye was Christmas Day and we really didn’t feel it would be
worth it to spend money on the exit fees when there probably wouldn’t be much
open in Mexico anyways. It was bad planning, we needed more time.
Amberguis Caye was the favorite for the kids. They liked the night life, the
beach, the ocean. We snorkeled. Steven and Amara did the Resort Course for
Diving. I got certified with Ched at Reef Adventures. I was quite nervous; I
mean scuba in a pool is quite a bit different than scuba in the ocean. All of a
sudden you feel so little. Anyways, I expressed my feeling to Ched and told him
he would have to hold my hand, (one of my fears was to be left or lost, I was
such a baby). Well by golly, when we got down there HE DID hold my hand and that
gets him the BEST DARN DIVE MASTER EVER AWARD! It took maybe 2 min. of hand
holding and the fear was over, I was in awe, never have I experienced anything
so beautiful. I have to say, although certified, I by no means feel confident
enough to go diving without a dive master. I was so taken by the beauty of the
ocean, I didn’t have a clue where I was, if it was left up to me to find our
way back, we would have definitely been lost. Next lesson of course was using
the compass.
One other thing about Reef Adventures, Ken and I, Amera and Steve and one other
couple plus 3 employees were the only ones in the boat. It gave us lots of room
and attention. We passed a boat, I can’t remember what diving outfit it was,
but they were packed in there like sardines. We used them again for a day trip
to Caye Caulker, it was just our family, and it was great.
We stayed at Paradise Villas (booked through Cap’ n Ron) although we never
met, all my e-mails were answered quickly, he gave us tips on good places to
eat, things to see and do, etc. Accommodations were good, I would have liked a
balcony or patio but none was available. Location was great. Not as crowded as
some areas. There was a store 2 min down the road where you could buy groceries
and what not. It had a nice pool, small but nice beach, and great pier. You
could snorkel around the pier. We even had a stingray come and visit - probably
checking for dinner in the sea grass.
Party boy, Steven, met a lot people from Belize, one guy even came to the
airport to say goodbye, also met up with a few people from Calgary. Needless to
say, he didn’t want to leave, he had the time of his life. He’ll be saving
the bucks to go back again, I’m sure of it.
Steven would like to add one thing about the dangers of partying hardy. Don’t
pass out on the beach; you’ll be eaten alive by sand flies. Our boy went home
looking like he had a case of the measles. For some reason there were no bites
on the face, if there was I’m sure the airline wouldn’t have let him on the
plane.
To briefly sum it all up and this is only my opinion, being the more adventuress
type - Caye Caulker is quaint but to small for me and although we thoroughly
enjoyed our stay on Amberguis Caye, I loved Cayo and Corozol. There is so much
more to explore on the mainland. To me, the islands could have been any Jamaican
island or Honduras Island or Hawaiian island, very beautiful but where’s the
culture, perhaps if I could have spent more time, but on the mainland, that to
me was Belize. I cannot say anything about Southern Belize, there just wasn’t
enough time to see it all. There will definitely be another trip. I’m hooked
and dying for more.
The kids both agree that they would book another trip to Ambergris Caye and
would probably be happy with just booking a couple of adventure tours to the
mainland. Mind you they haven’t seen southern Belize yet.
Ken likes to follow and mainly R & R through his vacation, you know, maybe
drive around and look at some things, but he did enjoy the snorkeling and cave
tubing, which was new to him. He would definitely go back to Belize as well.
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