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Continued
from Belize Part One:
Day 5
We woke up to
heavy rain and thunder. We
knew it was the rainy season, but up until then we had only had a
few passing showers - but on this day it was raining with serious
intent. We were picked
up by a boat at seven o’clock; they supplied us with bright yellow
raincoats. We stopped at
several other docks and picked up about 30 other people; we were
packed into the small boat like sardines.
Rob and I sat right in the front, and we headed off into the
storm with the boat bumping over the waves and the rain pelting in
our faces. We were going
to the mainland!
As we came to the coast, we entered
a channel of water through the mangrove swamps.
It was very eerie, with the trees growing right out of the
water and forming dense undergrowth.
It was a haven for many types of birds, and we were told the
crocodiles really like it too. We
followed the brackish river as it wound through the mangroves, and
eventually it came to proper land, where we docked and had a
breakfast of fruit and banana bread.
We
transferred to an old school bus and set out on the narrow sand and
gravel roads. We had a
tour guide who was very informative and quite funny.
He told us about
Belize
and its culture as we traveled.
We learned that the
Belize
people have a tremendous pride in their country.
They are friendly and have a great sense of humor.
The children are raised to have good manners and to
appreciate cultural differences.
Though not wealthy by
U.S.
standards,
Belize
has a very high literacy rate. Everyone
seems to be fluent in both English and Spanish, and many of the
people speak Creole in their homes; they are tri-lingual.
We were impressed!
Our guide gave us
information about many subjects, as well as a few of his own
political views. For
example, we learned about cashew nuts and the reason they are so
expensive; the process to prepare them for eating is very difficult
and time consuming, involving sun-drying the nuts for three weeks
before roasting them. Some
women were selling cashews by the side of the road; they were
delicious! Our guide
told us that they also make a wine from the fruit of the cashew that
gives you a three day buzz; you can only drink it on Fridays!
He
pointed out to us a certain type of tree that was slightly reddish,
with bark that was peeling off.
He told us that the
Belize
people call this the ‘tourist tree,’ because they “look like
gringos who have been in the sun too much!”
At
one point we passed a country club, but our guide informed us that
it had no golf course. He
said, “In Belize, if it doesn’t kill you, it’s not a sport.
That’s why we don’t play golf!”
By the time we came to the end of our
bus ride, the rain had stopped but the clouds still threatened.
We got in another boat, this time on a freshwater river; it
wound back and forth through many interweaving channels.
We went fast, with the boat leaning into the turns, but
slowed down for wildlife. We
saw many interesting plants, trees, and birds, and several times saw
iguanas and crocodiles. After
a while, the river widened out into a lagoon, and we crossed it and
went ashore. We had
arrived at Lamanie, the site of many ancient Mayan ruins.
We
came to a large picnic area, where we were served a lunch of
chicken, coconut rice and beans, potato salad, and coconut pie for
dessert. Déjà vu!
This seems to be the standard lunch fare in
Belize
! We weren’t
complaining though; we figured that since these all-day excursions
included both breakfast and lunch, if you factored in the price of
going to the grocery store, the trips almost paid for
themselves!
We
took a guided walk of the site.
We liberally doused ourselves in bug spray to fight off the
ubiquitous mosquitoes and started out through the jungle.
It was dense with palm trees and thick undergrowth.
Our guide pointed out many different types of trees, plants
and insects, and told us how the native people adapted them for many
uses. We saw a variety
of birds, most spectacularly the beautiful toucans, looking like
they came straight off of a box of fruit loops.
We heard howler monkeys in the distance; our guide did
perfect imitations of their guttural barks and howls to get them to
answer. We followed the
sounds down a small jungle path and found the monkeys; they were in
the very tip top of the tree canopy high over our heads, passing
from branch to branch.
We
visited the Maya temples. These
large pyramidal buildings were built around 100 B.C., but some of
the earliest ruins on the site date back to 1500 B.C. There
were about half a dozen such pyramids around the site, and many
other smaller ruins. They
were very beautiful, and the sense of history was incredible.
Our guide told us about the Mayan people.
At the height of their civilization, over three million
people lived in an area that is now home to less than 300,000.
We learned that in the Maya language the name of the site,
Lamanie, means “submerged crocodile’”, but the Europeans
mistranslated it as “drowned bug.”
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The
ancient Temples of Lamanie. |
We climbed to the top of the largest
temple; it was 112 feet high. The
steps were very high and steep, and it was quite a difficult climb.
The view from the top was amazing; we looked out over the top
of the jungle, with the river winding through it and the wide lagoon
nearby. On the way down,
the steps seemed even steeper, and I was definitely feeling a little
acrophobic!
We boarded the boat and headed back across the lagoon and
down the weaving, winding river.
Then on to the bus ride, where the atmosphere was festive; we
were served Belikin beer (made in
Belize
!), Snickers bars, and a really bad rum punch that they called
‘jungle juice.’ By
the time we got on our original boat to return to the island, it was
pouring rain again. I
got my favorite seat, right in the front, and we went flying down
the river, with the boat banking hard into the turns and the rain
horizontal in our eyes.
Leaving the mainland and once more
out on the open water, we were really flying.
The rain stopped and the wind was strong in our faces.
The boat was skimming over the water at full throttle, barely
touching down on the waves as we raced the storm clouds.
A dolphin arced out of the water in front of us and tried to
join the race, swimming along by the bow of the boat as they like to
do, but the pace was too fast and he was soon left far behind.
The ride was special, like a moment frozen in time.
We walked down the beach that night
for dinner at Caliente’s restaurant.
It was again a beautiful clear night, with the stars shining
and the ever present tradewind breeze.
Day
6
We woke up to find that it was still
the rainy season. We
were picked up by a boat from a company called ’SEArious’
Adventures, and headed straight out into a huge black cloud.
We noticed with dismay that there were no yellow raincoats
today; we thought it was going to pour on us, but somehow it
didn’t. We reached
the mainland near
Belize City
, and headed up a river.
There was something wrong with the
boat. The engine must
have been overheating, because every so often a shrill alarm would
go off, and the boat guys would have to stop the engine and tinker
with it, waiting a while before starting up again.
During one of these breaks we were served breakfast;
delicious fresh fruit and ‘black hole’ biscuits (they were so
dense that not even light could escape).
Our boat sputtered on and eventually we made it to a dock,
where we transferred to a bus.
We figured they would have plenty of time to get the boat
repaired while we were engaging in the day’s adventures.
The bus ride gave us an opportunity
to see a bit more of the
Belize
countryside. Up until
now, everyplace we had gone had been very flat; shorelines and the
low-lying lands near the coast.
But now we were getting into some areas with higher
elevation; we were starting to see hills and small mountain ranges.
Our guide pointed out an interesting feature; a line of
foothills that he told us was called ‘The Sleeping Giant.’
From the view, it was evident how this formation got its
name!
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The Sleeping
Giant
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We went to
Jaguar
Paw
Park
and rode the Zip Line.
This is a series of cables that run between platforms built
high up in the trees, like treehouses. We
hiked up to the first one, and they put a harness and helmet on us
and hooked us to the cable; then we hung from the harness and slid
along the line, high above the jungle floor.
We went from platform to platform, there were eight in all;
the challenge was to apply just the right amount of hand brake as we
got to the end of each line!
It was quite unique; we felt a little like Indiana Jones.
We practiced our Tarzan yells as we went careening down the
cables; it was not a pretty sight!
We rappelled down from the final platform.
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Lindy, Rob and Patty, ready for the Zip Line.
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By the time we were done with the Zip
Line we were very hot and sweaty, and looking forward to lunch.
Our guide took us to the Jaguar Paw Club House; we were
delighted to find that it was a very nice restaurant with air
conditioning, menus, drinks and a classy atmosphere.
But apparently our guide was only teasing us; he led us
through the club and out the back door, to a small separate
building, where we were served our meal.
Guess what it was? You
got it! Chicken,
coconut rice and beans, potato salad, and coconut pie for dessert!
In the afternoon we went cave tubing.
We started with a 30 minute walk along the river through the
rainforest. The
mosquitoes feasted on us mercilessly.
We donned life jackets and waterproof miner’s head lamps,
and got into our inner tubes. We
were hot after our short hike, and the water was quite
‘refreshing.’ It
was way colder than the water we had been diving in; enough so to
take our breath away!
Almost immediately, the river took us
underground. We drifted
on the slow current through the subterranean cavern.
Stalactites (or is it stalagmites?) hung from the ceiling,
silhouetted in the light from the mouth of the cave. The
further in we went the darker it got.
Soon our way was illuminated only by our head lamps.
It was eerie and beautiful, and very unique.
We floated along with the current in the dark, sometimes
paddling to keep up with the others.
Every so often we would come to an opening where the outside
world was visible or the daylight would shine through, otherwise we
were in our own private world of darkness.
The river came back out into the world of sunshine briefly,
and then went underground again.
There were bats hanging from the ceiling.
We went over a few small rapids, but otherwise drifted
gently, and it was very quiet. Our
guide told us, in hushed whispers, that the Maya people believed
that this was where people who died of old age came, and then they
had to work their way up to heaven.
Those who were sacrificed and those who died in battle
skipped this step and went directly to heaven!
He said that you could also gain direct access by sacrificing
your children. Patty
said, “Oh, that’s easy. Hey,
Lindy!”
We came out eventually to the light
of day, without offering Lindy up to the gods after all.
We had a great party in the back of the bus; there was plenty
of Belikin beer, and a Snickers bar hit the spot.
Also, the jungle juice seemed much better today; or maybe I
was just getting used to it!
We
got back in the boat and the rain started to pour!
The guides pulled out a big blue tarp, which we all huddled
under, trying to stay warm. The
boat started back up the river towards
Belize City
and the
Caribbean
, but we hadn’t gone far before the alarm went off again,
indicating engine trouble. Darn,
we thought they would have fixed that by now!
The boat guys fiddled with the engine to try and get it
working properly, but the alarm would stop us again every few
minutes. Eventually they
got us limping along at half throttle, and radioed for help.
By the time we made it to the open sea, another boat came to
the rescue; we climbed aboard the new vessel and were soon headed
back to the island at full speed.
Day
7
The weather was nice for our last
day in
Belize
; the rain had stopped and it was a sunny morning.
We met up with Rolando and his son Rolando again, and set out
on the Carmelita for a final dive.
We were greeted by some of the largest groupers I have ever
seen; they accompanied us for much of the way.
There were also half a dozen of the mild-mannered nurse
sharks hanging about. The
high point
of the dive was going through the underwater tunnel.
It was very narrow and tight, and quite dark inside.
We carefully made our way through the winding passageway; we
followed it for about a hundred feet.
Definitely a very cool swim-through!
After the dive, we went for a picnic. Rolando
brought his two younger sons, as well as Rolando Junior, and we were
also joined by Trisha, a girl that we had met diving earlier in the
week. Trisha had an
underwater camera, something I envied, and she took several of the
underwater photos shown in this report.
First Rolando anchored the boat in
an area good for snorkeling, and then he sent us out to hunt.
The idea was that we would eat what we caught – we had
better be good hunters and fisherman if we wanted lunch!
We were looking for lobsters and conchs, and Rob and Lindy
were rather alarmingly armed with spear fishing equipment! Patty
and I kept our distance from them.
The water was shallow, varying from
about 4 to 10 feet, and we spread out to look for our quarry.
I picked up about a hundred empty conch shells, but
couldn’t find a single live one.
I thought my prospects for lunch were looking grim.
Finally I found a really big shell that had a live conch in
it. I was quite excited
- I would get to eat after all!
I carried it along with me while continuing to search for
more. After a few
minutes, the conch started to come out of his shell a little, and
reach for my fingers with his claws; I had to really be careful to
avoid being pinched! I
hadn’t realized that conchs were so aggressive with their claws.
In fact, I hadn’t realized that they had claws!
Wait a minute, what’s wrong with this picture?
It was then that I realized that what I was holding was not a
conch at all, but a big crab that had made its home in an empty
conch shell! He was
deemed unsuitable for eating, and I put him back on the ocean floor.
I was thinking that at this rate I might be lunching on
seaweed!
The others in the group had similar
luck. Patty had found
only one conch. Lindy
had found one baby conch and one baby lobster, neither big enough to
keep. Rob had allegedly
shot a small fish with his spear, but it fell out of his pocket and
he lost it before he got back to the boat.
(We were starting to think we should have bought a can of
tuna fish at the grocery store; it probably wouldn’t have set us
back more than ten or fifteen dollars!)
But fortunately for us, we were not
all on our own; we could trust Rolando to take care of us.
He had gone far up the reef ahead of us, and when we got back
on the boat and caught up with him (Rolando junior driving), we
found that with the help of his younger sons he had filled a large
bag with conchs, lobsters, and fish!
Once we were at this new snorkeling
location the conch hunting was much better; we all were finding them
easily. I was able to
gather over a dozen. Rolando
would make a hole in the shell with a hammer and chisel, and pry the
conchs out. I was able
to keep one of the beautiful shells and bring it home with me as a
souvenir from our day’s hunting.
Soon we had a huge pile of conchs on
the front of the boat. As
the Rolandos cleaned them and threw the waste overboard, we had
company. Three big eagle
rays came and hung out around the boat to eat the scraps; we could
snorkel very close to them. We
were also joined by half a dozen Frigate birds; they came and flew
over the boat, hovering just above us and diving for conch parts.
They are beautiful graceful birds and we had often admired
them from a distance as they soared high up on the air currents, so
it was nice to get a chance to see them close up.
Rolando junior
made conch cerviche from the fresh catch, which we ate on the boat
with tortilla chips, accompanied by Belikins and rum punch.
Then we went ashore on the island; it turned out that it was
the spot where that really bad reality TV show ‘Temptation
Island’ had been filmed a few years ago.
Rolando and his sons set up a barbeque and cooked the day's
catch. We lunched on
grilled lobster, fish and conch, along with a few grilled veggies.
The food was absolutely delicious, and it was really awesome
to be able to feast on all the lobster tails we wanted!
A nice change from chicken, coconut rice and beans, potato
salad, and coconut pie!
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The Lobster picnic!
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We were able to take home enough conch
meat for dinner; we fried it up and had a great meal.
We figured that one of our duties was to eat the last of the
food we had bought at the grocery store; at the island prices we
certainly didn’t want to waste any of it.
On the whole we had done pretty well at finishing things up,
but we joked that for dessert on this last night we would have to
sit down and eat a concoction consisting of lime juice, Coffee mate,
Splenda and guava jelly; that was everything we had left!
All
in all, we decided that it had been a great day to finish off our
trip with, and that we had enjoyed a super vacation.
I can hardly wait for the next one!
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