i'm not sure about canada, but mexico has been getting a lot of bad press recently in the united states. the violence going on between the drug cartels has gotten out of control in some of the border towns (not near me here, don't worry!) and governments have put travel alerts up for traveling down here. while there are definitely some places in mexico that i would definitely not go right now, i feel, in general, quite safe.
i read an article this week that put mexico's violence into perspective:
*mexico's murder rate is five times less then jamaica and half of brazil.
*when looking at the murder rate in latin america's most violent countries, honduras has a rate of 61 murders per 100,000 inhabitants while costa rica and mexico have 11.5 per 100,000 people. in comparison, washington dc has a murder rate of 31 per 100,000 and new orleans has a rate of 74 per 100,000.
*over the past 10 years, mexico's murder rates have been consistently dropping.
all this to say. mexico is a huge country with lots of very safe places to be. it is no more unsafe here then it is in many other large cities in the US.
don't worry about me!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Go Slow.
The motto of Caye Caulker is “go slow” and nothing could sum up this laid-back paradise better. We did not actually arrive very slowly – we almost missed our water taxi and were running with our suitcases to catch it – but we quickly fell into the rhythm of hippie island life. We were in Caye Caulker for about three days, and we did not do much at all except savor our remaining days in Belize.
Going slowly for us included:
-Lying by the pool in our cute little flower-filled courtyard at Seaside Cabanas
-Finishing a good read (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in my case)
-Eating ice cream for lunch
-Going to a hotel (Iguana Reef) on the back of the island every evening, buying a drink, and watching the sunset (even if it was completely behind the clouds) with the melodious blackbirds singing their tune
-Walking down to the split and drinking a beer at a picnic table with our feet in the water
-Sitting for long breakfasts of fresh fruit and toast
-Mom and Auntie Diana getting up early, me sleeping an hour or two longer
-Mom and Auntie Diana going to bed early, me staying awake a couple of hours longer to chat with Fili
-Meeting our friend Pam from Vancouver everywhere that we turned
-Taking pictures of houses on stilts and funny signs around town
-Watching the other travelers arrive on the island, unaware of the bliss to come
-Laughing over a great bottle of wine at the island’s only Italian restaurant, Don Corleone
-Ordering copious amounts of mouth-watering seafood at Habanero’s (now up there with the best travel meals of my life), and still ordering dessert
-Smashing my crab legs with a metal hammer and cutting board – sweet relief!
-Walking barefoot on the sandy roads without cars
-Having the worst breakfast of my life at the Happy Lobster and not caring one bit
-Not going snorkeling when Mom and Auntie Diana did (I’m not good at saying no)
-Smiling as locals said good morning as they passed on their bikes
-Jumping in the ocean and getting salt up my nose
A quiet ending to a perfect two weeks. Memories with two of the best ladies in my life that I’ll remember forever. A country that is already calling me back.
Going slowly for us included:
-Lying by the pool in our cute little flower-filled courtyard at Seaside Cabanas
-Finishing a good read (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in my case)
-Eating ice cream for lunch
-Going to a hotel (Iguana Reef) on the back of the island every evening, buying a drink, and watching the sunset (even if it was completely behind the clouds) with the melodious blackbirds singing their tune
-Walking down to the split and drinking a beer at a picnic table with our feet in the water
-Sitting for long breakfasts of fresh fruit and toast
-Mom and Auntie Diana getting up early, me sleeping an hour or two longer
-Mom and Auntie Diana going to bed early, me staying awake a couple of hours longer to chat with Fili
-Meeting our friend Pam from Vancouver everywhere that we turned
-Taking pictures of houses on stilts and funny signs around town
-Watching the other travelers arrive on the island, unaware of the bliss to come
-Laughing over a great bottle of wine at the island’s only Italian restaurant, Don Corleone
-Ordering copious amounts of mouth-watering seafood at Habanero’s (now up there with the best travel meals of my life), and still ordering dessert
-Smashing my crab legs with a metal hammer and cutting board – sweet relief!
-Walking barefoot on the sandy roads without cars
-Having the worst breakfast of my life at the Happy Lobster and not caring one bit
-Not going snorkeling when Mom and Auntie Diana did (I’m not good at saying no)
-Smiling as locals said good morning as they passed on their bikes
-Jumping in the ocean and getting salt up my nose
A quiet ending to a perfect two weeks. Memories with two of the best ladies in my life that I’ll remember forever. A country that is already calling me back.
Going Underground.
Monday and Tuesday were our last full days at the Lodge. Since we were on a package, we were given two more day trips that were included in our fixed price. My Mom and my Aunt are pretty adventurous ladies but they also have their limits. My mom had wanted to come river tubing since we had decided to come to Belize – apparently it is all the rage here. My aunt was pretty agreeable. I wanted to go on a raging caving adventure but we had to meet in the middle – part of the deal was that we had to go on the same excursions. So, after much deliberation we decided on two caving adventures. There are many caves in Belize because of the limestone rock that is prevalent there. Both were very different but each was unforgettable in its own way.
Caves Branch: Like I said, my mom had wanted to go river tubing since we had decided to come to Belize. When we asked for a description of this day-trip, we were told it would be ‘a relaxing float down the river with some moderate cave climbing’. Our expectations were blown from the very first moment. An ancient Belizean man named Mr. Buckley came to pick us up from Chaa. He was a tall man, with white hair and a white beard, dark skin, and he had a gift for storytelling. Before being a tour guide, he had been a member of the British Army, now he was a ‘retired’ guide slash Justice of the Peace slash driving historian. On his way through town he even stopped so we could see his house and his Guatemalan wife. He was not overly central to our cave experience, but he was by far the most interesting guide that we had while in Belize. There are only 5 highways in Belize: East, West, South, North and Hummingbird. We needed to get to the Hummingbird Highway for our adventures at Caves Branch. Caves Branch is actually also a hotel owned and operated by a Canadian named Ian Anderson. He owns the land where the caves are, so his company is the only one that can run tours. The hotel where we were put on a bus was a bit unnatural in our view – it felt like fabricated jungle. We boarded on old windowless school bus with a gaggle of annoying children who were seemingly given free reign to scream and shout. We were so far, not overly impressed. We were fitted with an inner tube, and immediately we heard the cackling laughter from a large gothic-dressed lady who I will be referring to as Bat Lady. Bat Lady thought it was hilariously funny that her husband’s enormous belly barely fit around the inner tube. We were deliberating – would it be worse to have Bat Lady or the annoying gaggle of children in our group?
As it turns out, the guide who had been driving our bus led our group. He looked young enough to be my son. We were given Bat Lady and her husband, but the kids went far in another direction. We hiked a few minutes until we reached the river and “gracefully” entered our inner tubes bottom-first. I am sure you can picture our gracefulness now!
We paddled for a few minutes down the river before we got to the mouth of the cave. We were given waterproof headlamps. What happened to the lazy river? We entered the darkness of the cave but due to the shallow waters we had to walk. What happened to the relaxing float? Our guide pointed out spiders and Bat Lady gave her ear-piercing shrieks, yet when our guide pointed out bats and grotesque bat droppings, Bat Lady spoke to them saying, “my children, my children”. I wanted to feed her to the bats to shut her up.
Our relaxing river float turned out to be quite a strenuous climb through caverns, leaving our inner tubes far below. I was worried my Aunt Diana was going to be severely regretting traveling with us for making her endure this, but she turned out to be the biggest adventure junkie of us all. She seemed very proud of herself and I am convinced she loved every second! We heard about the Mayans who used these caves long before us, and saw pottery remnants from their presence. We saw cave formations completely crystallized and other formations left from millions of years of drops of water. It was an entirely different world.
They set up a picnic in the middle of the cave, where our group (minus Bat Lady who was busy swimming with her non water-proof camera) socialized over make-your-own wraps. After, we explored a second cavern, our guide showing us an area that is believed to be a blessing in fertility due to the – ahem – fairly erotic shadows that the rock formation created.
Finally, we got to get back in our inner tubes, turned off our headlamps, and floated quietly (except for Bat Lady who refused to turn our her light and screeched the whole way) along with the current, and out of the cave. My Mom and Auntie Diana were on an adrenaline high all night from our deep dark adventure. I however, announced at dinner that I had thought of something positive about Bat Lady: she wasn’t staying at our hotel.
**
Barton Creek Cave: Our excursion to Barton Creek Cave was only a few hours - an hour drive in each direction and about an hour to paddle into the cave. Our guide, a nice guy who kept calling us “his girls” (my Mom lovvvved being called a girl!) drove us from Chaa Creek in the morning. On a map, it looks like arriving at Barton Creek should take about 15 minutes, but in reality, the roads are quite treacherous and it takes over an hour. The road definitely put our cottage bumpy road to shame!
The most interesting part of the ride was passing through a traditional Mennonite community. Belize has a large population of Mennonites, both traditional and modern. In fact, the more modern Mennonite communities literally feed the entire country of Belize. On the road to Barton Creek Cave live traditional Mennonites who use horses and buggies. The men had long beards and the women fully covered their bodies in long dresses and bonnets. The children mostly ran away from our car when we went by. I tried not to stare, but it is almost impossible not to.
The cave itself is on a property owned by a Canadian or American named Mike. Quite the life he and his family have – living very isolated lives deep in the valley next to traditional Mennonites. He charges a small fee, and has a small snack and drink bar. Fire ants immediately attacked Auntie Diana and I when we got out of the car, we must have stepped on their home by accident. They certainly are fierce little guys! Our next strange animal interaction was a monkey that lives on Mike’s property. I leaned down to say hello, and he crawled right into my lap – only to start nibbling on my ankle! It didn’t hurt, it actually scared me more then anything else. But I think I’ll stay away from monkeys from now on.
We got into canoes – the person at the back had the job of paddling and steering and the person at the front held the big powerful spotlights to light up our way. In my canoe, I was paddling and Auntie Diana was shining our way. Over the next hour we paddled just over a mile into the Cave, following the twisting and turning river as it flowed. It felt like we were in a sacred place, with high ceilings, towering rock formations and complete and utter silence. It should have been scary, but it wasn’t. The rock formations were breathtaking – the hidden underground felt more like a connection with heaven then the underworld. At one point, we had to meander the canoe carefully through spikes of rock that came down low to the river, and I even needed to lie back and paddle lying down at one of the lowest points. In this cave there were human remains found from the Mayans, as well as pottery – it is considered a living archeological site so you cannot get out of the canoes and any point.
The river apparently runs another 7 miles or so, but due to fallen rocks, it is impossible to pass in a canoe. So we turned around and headed out to the light again. It felt like a completely different cave when you looked at it from a different angle.
When we reached the light, we were left in awe of the two journeys into the underground.
Caves Branch: Like I said, my mom had wanted to go river tubing since we had decided to come to Belize. When we asked for a description of this day-trip, we were told it would be ‘a relaxing float down the river with some moderate cave climbing’. Our expectations were blown from the very first moment. An ancient Belizean man named Mr. Buckley came to pick us up from Chaa. He was a tall man, with white hair and a white beard, dark skin, and he had a gift for storytelling. Before being a tour guide, he had been a member of the British Army, now he was a ‘retired’ guide slash Justice of the Peace slash driving historian. On his way through town he even stopped so we could see his house and his Guatemalan wife. He was not overly central to our cave experience, but he was by far the most interesting guide that we had while in Belize. There are only 5 highways in Belize: East, West, South, North and Hummingbird. We needed to get to the Hummingbird Highway for our adventures at Caves Branch. Caves Branch is actually also a hotel owned and operated by a Canadian named Ian Anderson. He owns the land where the caves are, so his company is the only one that can run tours. The hotel where we were put on a bus was a bit unnatural in our view – it felt like fabricated jungle. We boarded on old windowless school bus with a gaggle of annoying children who were seemingly given free reign to scream and shout. We were so far, not overly impressed. We were fitted with an inner tube, and immediately we heard the cackling laughter from a large gothic-dressed lady who I will be referring to as Bat Lady. Bat Lady thought it was hilariously funny that her husband’s enormous belly barely fit around the inner tube. We were deliberating – would it be worse to have Bat Lady or the annoying gaggle of children in our group?
As it turns out, the guide who had been driving our bus led our group. He looked young enough to be my son. We were given Bat Lady and her husband, but the kids went far in another direction. We hiked a few minutes until we reached the river and “gracefully” entered our inner tubes bottom-first. I am sure you can picture our gracefulness now!
We paddled for a few minutes down the river before we got to the mouth of the cave. We were given waterproof headlamps. What happened to the lazy river? We entered the darkness of the cave but due to the shallow waters we had to walk. What happened to the relaxing float? Our guide pointed out spiders and Bat Lady gave her ear-piercing shrieks, yet when our guide pointed out bats and grotesque bat droppings, Bat Lady spoke to them saying, “my children, my children”. I wanted to feed her to the bats to shut her up.
Our relaxing river float turned out to be quite a strenuous climb through caverns, leaving our inner tubes far below. I was worried my Aunt Diana was going to be severely regretting traveling with us for making her endure this, but she turned out to be the biggest adventure junkie of us all. She seemed very proud of herself and I am convinced she loved every second! We heard about the Mayans who used these caves long before us, and saw pottery remnants from their presence. We saw cave formations completely crystallized and other formations left from millions of years of drops of water. It was an entirely different world.
They set up a picnic in the middle of the cave, where our group (minus Bat Lady who was busy swimming with her non water-proof camera) socialized over make-your-own wraps. After, we explored a second cavern, our guide showing us an area that is believed to be a blessing in fertility due to the – ahem – fairly erotic shadows that the rock formation created.
Finally, we got to get back in our inner tubes, turned off our headlamps, and floated quietly (except for Bat Lady who refused to turn our her light and screeched the whole way) along with the current, and out of the cave. My Mom and Auntie Diana were on an adrenaline high all night from our deep dark adventure. I however, announced at dinner that I had thought of something positive about Bat Lady: she wasn’t staying at our hotel.
**
Barton Creek Cave: Our excursion to Barton Creek Cave was only a few hours - an hour drive in each direction and about an hour to paddle into the cave. Our guide, a nice guy who kept calling us “his girls” (my Mom lovvvved being called a girl!) drove us from Chaa Creek in the morning. On a map, it looks like arriving at Barton Creek should take about 15 minutes, but in reality, the roads are quite treacherous and it takes over an hour. The road definitely put our cottage bumpy road to shame!
The most interesting part of the ride was passing through a traditional Mennonite community. Belize has a large population of Mennonites, both traditional and modern. In fact, the more modern Mennonite communities literally feed the entire country of Belize. On the road to Barton Creek Cave live traditional Mennonites who use horses and buggies. The men had long beards and the women fully covered their bodies in long dresses and bonnets. The children mostly ran away from our car when we went by. I tried not to stare, but it is almost impossible not to.
The cave itself is on a property owned by a Canadian or American named Mike. Quite the life he and his family have – living very isolated lives deep in the valley next to traditional Mennonites. He charges a small fee, and has a small snack and drink bar. Fire ants immediately attacked Auntie Diana and I when we got out of the car, we must have stepped on their home by accident. They certainly are fierce little guys! Our next strange animal interaction was a monkey that lives on Mike’s property. I leaned down to say hello, and he crawled right into my lap – only to start nibbling on my ankle! It didn’t hurt, it actually scared me more then anything else. But I think I’ll stay away from monkeys from now on.
We got into canoes – the person at the back had the job of paddling and steering and the person at the front held the big powerful spotlights to light up our way. In my canoe, I was paddling and Auntie Diana was shining our way. Over the next hour we paddled just over a mile into the Cave, following the twisting and turning river as it flowed. It felt like we were in a sacred place, with high ceilings, towering rock formations and complete and utter silence. It should have been scary, but it wasn’t. The rock formations were breathtaking – the hidden underground felt more like a connection with heaven then the underworld. At one point, we had to meander the canoe carefully through spikes of rock that came down low to the river, and I even needed to lie back and paddle lying down at one of the lowest points. In this cave there were human remains found from the Mayans, as well as pottery – it is considered a living archeological site so you cannot get out of the canoes and any point.
The river apparently runs another 7 miles or so, but due to fallen rocks, it is impossible to pass in a canoe. So we turned around and headed out to the light again. It felt like a completely different cave when you looked at it from a different angle.
When we reached the light, we were left in awe of the two journeys into the underground.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Day by the Pool.
Sounds like a divine Sunday, right?
Not quite.
Day by the Pool day had no pool in sight.
The plan for Day by the Pool day was spoiled almost immediately when we woke up to a drizzly morning.
Followed by “isolated showers”.
Isolated over us.
We ate our breakfast under a palapa roof as the rain came down around us. We were impressed that the palapa roofs never leak!
The clouds got thicker.
Mom, always the optimist, believed they would clear. Hmm.
We resigned to jackets and umbrellas for a wet hike of the medicine trail. My flip-flops were truly flip-flopping and squishing around.
Next was a slippery hike to the river camp.
Was that a break in the sky? No, only a tease.
A guide told us if the leaf cutter ants are working hard in the night, we should expect rain. He also told us if the cattle lies down, we should expect rain. I didn’t believe him. Yet the day before we had seen an army of leaf cutter ants and ALL of the cattle were taking a snooze. He told us it was only a legend. But the rain kept coming down.
All of a sudden the spouts from the sky dried up and the birds began to chirp. I opened my computer to blog on the porch. I typed one word… and the rain came down again.
I ran for cover.
My mom and I went to the bar for a mojito and a shrimp basket.
Then booted it up the hill to the spa, because we had 1.5 hour massage appointments at the spa. ‘The Coma’ – the massage is called. Perfect to escape a rainy day. We were given a sarong, a cold glass of water, and we sat and looked at the flowers that adorned every corner in the spa. My massage was in a palapa hut on a grassy hill overlooking the jungle. My mom’s was in a cloth-covered balcony. As I went in, I heard the trickling rain stop. My masseuse was from Austria. She had lived in Belize for 3 years. She said we needed the rain, because the land was too dry. Hmmm. Not if it ruins my Day by the Pool we don’t!
After our massages, we were all dozy and cared a lot less about the rain, and a lot more about eating and having an early night to bed.
The massages had tricked us into forgetting about our Day by the Pool day. We were even secretly hoping it would rain again so we would have an excuse for another.
But I was still hoping that the leaf-cutter ants were taking a night off.
Not quite.
Day by the Pool day had no pool in sight.
The plan for Day by the Pool day was spoiled almost immediately when we woke up to a drizzly morning.
Followed by “isolated showers”.
Isolated over us.
We ate our breakfast under a palapa roof as the rain came down around us. We were impressed that the palapa roofs never leak!
The clouds got thicker.
Mom, always the optimist, believed they would clear. Hmm.
We resigned to jackets and umbrellas for a wet hike of the medicine trail. My flip-flops were truly flip-flopping and squishing around.
Next was a slippery hike to the river camp.
Was that a break in the sky? No, only a tease.
A guide told us if the leaf cutter ants are working hard in the night, we should expect rain. He also told us if the cattle lies down, we should expect rain. I didn’t believe him. Yet the day before we had seen an army of leaf cutter ants and ALL of the cattle were taking a snooze. He told us it was only a legend. But the rain kept coming down.
All of a sudden the spouts from the sky dried up and the birds began to chirp. I opened my computer to blog on the porch. I typed one word… and the rain came down again.
I ran for cover.
My mom and I went to the bar for a mojito and a shrimp basket.
Then booted it up the hill to the spa, because we had 1.5 hour massage appointments at the spa. ‘The Coma’ – the massage is called. Perfect to escape a rainy day. We were given a sarong, a cold glass of water, and we sat and looked at the flowers that adorned every corner in the spa. My massage was in a palapa hut on a grassy hill overlooking the jungle. My mom’s was in a cloth-covered balcony. As I went in, I heard the trickling rain stop. My masseuse was from Austria. She had lived in Belize for 3 years. She said we needed the rain, because the land was too dry. Hmmm. Not if it ruins my Day by the Pool we don’t!
After our massages, we were all dozy and cared a lot less about the rain, and a lot more about eating and having an early night to bed.
The massages had tricked us into forgetting about our Day by the Pool day. We were even secretly hoping it would rain again so we would have an excuse for another.
But I was still hoping that the leaf-cutter ants were taking a night off.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Survivor: Tikal Guatemala
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Day 7 of my adventures in Belize with Auntie Diana and Mom
Times are loose and approximate
6 AM: Annoying wake up knock. Diana has already been awake for hours. We’re not sure if she ever sleeps.
6:30 AM: Long lazy breakfast.
7:30 AM: We were supposed to be getting into the van, but breakfast was still not over. Mom and Auntie Diana (who don’t yet understand the Caribbean idea of time) are panicking.
8:00 AM: After a short 15-minute drive, we arrive at the Guatemalan border. Mom gets a nervous feeling in her stomach going through “customs” – should we claim the granola bars? Other then waiting in long lines, there is nothing to fear. We don’t even see Guatemalan authorities; the guide gets our passports stamped.
8:45 AM: Guide is speaking to us about Guatemala in a microphone but we cannot hear due to the loud gravel bumpy dusty highway we are barreling down. All we know about Guatemala so far is that the dust looks like snow and that many people like to travel in the back of a truck.
10 AM: We pull over to a little souvenir shop for a bathroom break. Auntie Diana has her most gleeful moment on the trip when she finds a pair of Columbia walking sandals for sale. You would think she had found God at that roadside stop. Most people are buying postcards and she buys a pair of American shoes.
11 AM: We arrive at Tikal National Park after our scenic view of Guatemala. We are surrounded by mostly Guatemalan tourists with large bottles of coke under their arms. Is there a party we were not informed about?
11:10 AM: Diana sees a mini-toucan. She can now leave Belize happy.
11:11 AM: We see the Ceiba, the national tree of Guatemala. A few minutes later we see spider monkeys and get some close-up pictures. All this excitement and not yet one Mayan ruin!
11:30 AM: We get a glimpse of one ‘small’ pyramid that has been excavated and then move on to see three more identical ones that are still mounds covered in trees, roots and grass. It is hard to imagine how an entire civilization can simply disappear into overgrowth. It is even harder to imagine how the person felt while discovering it.
12:00: Our guide speed-walks up a long hill and we get a taste of what the day will be like ahead. We are all dripping in sweat wondering what we have done to ourselves.
12:15 PM: We get our first glimpse of a Mayan skyscraper, Temple of the Jaguar, the home of (get this) Lord Chocolate or King Moon Double Comb.
12:30 PM: Our guide knows the hidden paths at Tikal, and keeps us away from the crowds. We see a typical Mayan home and bed (for nobility), and see the huge tree-filled valley below, which would have been a reservoir in Mayan times. He also knows the most picturesque views in the complex, and leads us there.
12:45 PM: We round a corner, our guide tells us to prepare our eyes, and we have a full view of the Gran Plaza below.
1:00 PM: We are given a break to explore, or eat a bag of chips (whichever you most desire). I climbed the ‘small’ temple, for views of the plaza and saw two beautiful wall masks – we also manage to squeeze in a bag of chips.
1:30 PM: We move on to the Lost World section of Tikal. We are told that this city would have reached a population of 100,000 and are beginning to understand that this won’t be a little walk in the woods. To put it into perspective, there are only just over 300,000 people who now live in all of Belize.
1:45 PM: We arrive at the most impressive temples in Tikal, temples IV and V. Since leaving, we are having trouble keeping them straight. One had a staircase that went straight-up, and even the guide said that he did not like to climb it. Everyone at the top looked like a pancake pasted to the wall, because the ledge is NOT wide. As you can imagine, we did not climb this one. However, my Mom and I did climb the second one which was a much more reasonable climb, and gave even more spectacular views overtop of the jungle canopy (with the other temples sticking out above!) We overcame our fear of Mayan skyscrapers and there were no more panic attacks to be had. Diana stayed at the bottom to guard our stuff and suntan.
1:55 PM: Our guide tells me horror stories of all the people who have fallen down the stairs. Thank goodness he didn't tell me before we climbed up.
2:00 PM: We hike through thick jungle (much of Tikal is yet to be explored) and were fed a meal of rice, chicken and vegetables. We even had Auntie Diana drinking a local beer! During lunch we see more monkeys, wild turkeys etc.
3:00 PM: We are finished our touristy shopping and back on the bus, drenched from the sun and exhausted from the hiking.
3:00-4:00 PM: I am a little fuzzy on the details, because I am sound asleep. I am sure Auntie Diana and Mom could add some great anecdotes here.
4:30 PM: Back across the border into Belize in about 3 minutes flat. This time Mom contemplates claiming the Guatemalan purses she purchased.
5:30 PM: Drinks, dinner and games at the bar await.
9:00 PM: We are all sound asleep, even Auntie Diana.
Day 7 of my adventures in Belize with Auntie Diana and Mom
Times are loose and approximate
6 AM: Annoying wake up knock. Diana has already been awake for hours. We’re not sure if she ever sleeps.
6:30 AM: Long lazy breakfast.
7:30 AM: We were supposed to be getting into the van, but breakfast was still not over. Mom and Auntie Diana (who don’t yet understand the Caribbean idea of time) are panicking.
8:00 AM: After a short 15-minute drive, we arrive at the Guatemalan border. Mom gets a nervous feeling in her stomach going through “customs” – should we claim the granola bars? Other then waiting in long lines, there is nothing to fear. We don’t even see Guatemalan authorities; the guide gets our passports stamped.
8:45 AM: Guide is speaking to us about Guatemala in a microphone but we cannot hear due to the loud gravel bumpy dusty highway we are barreling down. All we know about Guatemala so far is that the dust looks like snow and that many people like to travel in the back of a truck.
10 AM: We pull over to a little souvenir shop for a bathroom break. Auntie Diana has her most gleeful moment on the trip when she finds a pair of Columbia walking sandals for sale. You would think she had found God at that roadside stop. Most people are buying postcards and she buys a pair of American shoes.
11 AM: We arrive at Tikal National Park after our scenic view of Guatemala. We are surrounded by mostly Guatemalan tourists with large bottles of coke under their arms. Is there a party we were not informed about?
11:10 AM: Diana sees a mini-toucan. She can now leave Belize happy.
11:11 AM: We see the Ceiba, the national tree of Guatemala. A few minutes later we see spider monkeys and get some close-up pictures. All this excitement and not yet one Mayan ruin!
11:30 AM: We get a glimpse of one ‘small’ pyramid that has been excavated and then move on to see three more identical ones that are still mounds covered in trees, roots and grass. It is hard to imagine how an entire civilization can simply disappear into overgrowth. It is even harder to imagine how the person felt while discovering it.
12:00: Our guide speed-walks up a long hill and we get a taste of what the day will be like ahead. We are all dripping in sweat wondering what we have done to ourselves.
12:15 PM: We get our first glimpse of a Mayan skyscraper, Temple of the Jaguar, the home of (get this) Lord Chocolate or King Moon Double Comb.
12:30 PM: Our guide knows the hidden paths at Tikal, and keeps us away from the crowds. We see a typical Mayan home and bed (for nobility), and see the huge tree-filled valley below, which would have been a reservoir in Mayan times. He also knows the most picturesque views in the complex, and leads us there.
12:45 PM: We round a corner, our guide tells us to prepare our eyes, and we have a full view of the Gran Plaza below.
1:00 PM: We are given a break to explore, or eat a bag of chips (whichever you most desire). I climbed the ‘small’ temple, for views of the plaza and saw two beautiful wall masks – we also manage to squeeze in a bag of chips.
1:30 PM: We move on to the Lost World section of Tikal. We are told that this city would have reached a population of 100,000 and are beginning to understand that this won’t be a little walk in the woods. To put it into perspective, there are only just over 300,000 people who now live in all of Belize.
1:45 PM: We arrive at the most impressive temples in Tikal, temples IV and V. Since leaving, we are having trouble keeping them straight. One had a staircase that went straight-up, and even the guide said that he did not like to climb it. Everyone at the top looked like a pancake pasted to the wall, because the ledge is NOT wide. As you can imagine, we did not climb this one. However, my Mom and I did climb the second one which was a much more reasonable climb, and gave even more spectacular views overtop of the jungle canopy (with the other temples sticking out above!) We overcame our fear of Mayan skyscrapers and there were no more panic attacks to be had. Diana stayed at the bottom to guard our stuff and suntan.
1:55 PM: Our guide tells me horror stories of all the people who have fallen down the stairs. Thank goodness he didn't tell me before we climbed up.
2:00 PM: We hike through thick jungle (much of Tikal is yet to be explored) and were fed a meal of rice, chicken and vegetables. We even had Auntie Diana drinking a local beer! During lunch we see more monkeys, wild turkeys etc.
3:00 PM: We are finished our touristy shopping and back on the bus, drenched from the sun and exhausted from the hiking.
3:00-4:00 PM: I am a little fuzzy on the details, because I am sound asleep. I am sure Auntie Diana and Mom could add some great anecdotes here.
4:30 PM: Back across the border into Belize in about 3 minutes flat. This time Mom contemplates claiming the Guatemalan purses she purchased.
5:30 PM: Drinks, dinner and games at the bar await.
9:00 PM: We are all sound asleep, even Auntie Diana.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Wildly Civilized.
Thursday morning we got up and said adios to San Pedro, heading inland. We took a short plane ride to Belize City and were immediately picked up by a representative from the Lodge at Chaa Creek. My mother meticulously researched this perfect jungle lodge, and in this case, her (sometimes annoying) planning personality really paid off! The lodge is nestled on the banks of the Macal River, about 15 minutes from San Ignacio. We are right in the middle of the jungle, in the Cayo District of Belize, which is right on the border with Guatemala. At its widest, Belize is only 64 miles wide, making it an accessible size; but it is also diverse with ocean, jungle, mountain, forest and wetland (in fact, everything except desert).
When we got picked up, we were driven quickly through Belize City. Apparently it is a gritty city, with gang and drug activity. Not the kind of place you want to get stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time! Our guide said that even locals drive quickly at night with all their doors locked. In Belize City there is clearly a safe and rough side of the tracks, as they say. On the way to our jungle lodge, included in the transfer, is a stop at the Belize Zoo. However, this is not your average zoo – it is the loveliest little zoo in the world. The animals are ALL native to Belize, and they are in their natural habitat. The animals are only in the zoo if they were injured, found (for example, if they had been kept as pets) or born there. An American lady named Miss Sharon started the zoo, quite by accident. She came down to Belize to help with a documentary on animals, and when the project was abandoned she was left with animals in her care. She realized that Belizeans did not know enough about their own wildlife species, so she started the zoo for educational purposes. We were taken around by a knowledgeable guide, and were taught all about the animals native to Belize, but Miss. Sharon’s signs are adorably hand-painted with rhymes, explaining the risks of endangerment of the various species. Normally at zoos I feel uncomfortable with the treatment of the animals, but this place is certainly one-of-a-kind. Highlights included the jaguars, paca…
About an hour after leaving the zoo, we had entered the Maya Mountains and arrived in San Ignacio. We got a little tour (particularly noticing the above-ground graves) and learned about the monopolies that exist in Belize. One man owns the only company that manufactures toilet paper in Belize as well as the only company that imports canned goods – they say he has people coming in and going out! We drove along a bumpy road, advertised by our driver as our “free massage” for the day, and arrived at the Chaa Creek Lodge. This lodge has won a myriad of awards – and for good reason! Ti is like going to fancy jungle camp! The grounds are beautifully manicured, the little cottages are tastefully decorated, and there are shades of luxury with the new infinity pool and jungle spa. The lodge began in the 70s when a young couple were traveling in Belize and were offered to buy a cheap piece of jungle land. At first they started a garden, selling their produce in San Ignacio by paddling it down-river. Then, as travelers began hearing about them, they would come down and stay in their single guesthouse. Eventually, they began to expand and haven’t stopped. There are an innumerable amount of day trips that can be arranged through the lodge and their all also a ton of activities on sight that are included.
Our first afternoon, we settled in – I ran straight for the hammock on our deck. We ate a fresh lunch, explored the grounds, read all the literature about the onsite activities and off-sight adventures, walked down to the river, ate a five-course meal (my first jerk-style seafood), and finished off the evening with a dice game in our little palapa cottage. The next day, our first full day, we stayed onsite – we took advantage of the guided tours that are ALL included. We went up to the butterfly farm (a brilliant blue morpho species that is used for education), explored the little museum, spent the afternoon reading by the pool (a few too many families for a teacher trying to escape kids!) and ended the day with a guided sunset canoe ride. Mom and Auntie Diana are loving the morning birding, while I am loving the chance to sleep in and go to bed early! There is something for all.
This place is like camp for grown-ups, except with better food, and oh yah - we’re in the jungle in Belize. Pretty perfect.
When we got picked up, we were driven quickly through Belize City. Apparently it is a gritty city, with gang and drug activity. Not the kind of place you want to get stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time! Our guide said that even locals drive quickly at night with all their doors locked. In Belize City there is clearly a safe and rough side of the tracks, as they say. On the way to our jungle lodge, included in the transfer, is a stop at the Belize Zoo. However, this is not your average zoo – it is the loveliest little zoo in the world. The animals are ALL native to Belize, and they are in their natural habitat. The animals are only in the zoo if they were injured, found (for example, if they had been kept as pets) or born there. An American lady named Miss Sharon started the zoo, quite by accident. She came down to Belize to help with a documentary on animals, and when the project was abandoned she was left with animals in her care. She realized that Belizeans did not know enough about their own wildlife species, so she started the zoo for educational purposes. We were taken around by a knowledgeable guide, and were taught all about the animals native to Belize, but Miss. Sharon’s signs are adorably hand-painted with rhymes, explaining the risks of endangerment of the various species. Normally at zoos I feel uncomfortable with the treatment of the animals, but this place is certainly one-of-a-kind. Highlights included the jaguars, paca…
About an hour after leaving the zoo, we had entered the Maya Mountains and arrived in San Ignacio. We got a little tour (particularly noticing the above-ground graves) and learned about the monopolies that exist in Belize. One man owns the only company that manufactures toilet paper in Belize as well as the only company that imports canned goods – they say he has people coming in and going out! We drove along a bumpy road, advertised by our driver as our “free massage” for the day, and arrived at the Chaa Creek Lodge. This lodge has won a myriad of awards – and for good reason! Ti is like going to fancy jungle camp! The grounds are beautifully manicured, the little cottages are tastefully decorated, and there are shades of luxury with the new infinity pool and jungle spa. The lodge began in the 70s when a young couple were traveling in Belize and were offered to buy a cheap piece of jungle land. At first they started a garden, selling their produce in San Ignacio by paddling it down-river. Then, as travelers began hearing about them, they would come down and stay in their single guesthouse. Eventually, they began to expand and haven’t stopped. There are an innumerable amount of day trips that can be arranged through the lodge and their all also a ton of activities on sight that are included.
Our first afternoon, we settled in – I ran straight for the hammock on our deck. We ate a fresh lunch, explored the grounds, read all the literature about the onsite activities and off-sight adventures, walked down to the river, ate a five-course meal (my first jerk-style seafood), and finished off the evening with a dice game in our little palapa cottage. The next day, our first full day, we stayed onsite – we took advantage of the guided tours that are ALL included. We went up to the butterfly farm (a brilliant blue morpho species that is used for education), explored the little museum, spent the afternoon reading by the pool (a few too many families for a teacher trying to escape kids!) and ended the day with a guided sunset canoe ride. Mom and Auntie Diana are loving the morning birding, while I am loving the chance to sleep in and go to bed early! There is something for all.
This place is like camp for grown-ups, except with better food, and oh yah - we’re in the jungle in Belize. Pretty perfect.
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