Its unBelizable!
Day 1: After a night spent in Houston Texas, to avoid flying all night like the others did, we arrived 1:15pm in Belize City, then transported by taxi & fast ferry (1.5 hours) to San Pedro. Our first day there we took a long walk to town. These palm trees were bent by the wind. Temperatures were in the upper 20s but it felt more like the mid 30s.
This was the main form of transportation in San Pedro which is the largest settlement on the south end of Ambergris Island. It's safer, social driving and fun to watch the people putting by; tourists enjoying their first ride in a golf cart, elegantly dressed ladies, legs spread, hair and skirts whipped by the wind, bent on a purpose to get somewhere and mothers with their children all prim and properly dressed in their uniforms for school.
Our resort resembled a large plantation. There are no all-inclusive in Belize which I prefer. Eating out (after finding out from the locals which are the best restaurants), resulted in delicious meals with a change of scenery.
Day 2: To access the resort's beach, we had to take a 20 minute boat ride that leaves every half an hour.
Hammocks & beds and boogy boards. Some of us tried the latter, all of us tried the Pina Coladas.
We got in a routine of going out for breakfast in town as individual couples and then we all met at Mary-anne & Donna's place for coffee at 10:00am. They had a unit with a kitchen. There we discussed the events planned for that day.
This is where we ended up renting a golf cart. Allan also rented one.
Dinner at this restaurant on the beach named Blue Water Grill. We also ate at the Wild Mango, just a short walk down the beach from this one. And a little farther was the Chocolate Botique where we had the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted!
The food couldn't get any fresher than this. We also ate at Caramba Restaurant & Bar where we got to pick our fish-of-the-day from a bin outside. This was right across from Elvi's where we also ate dinner.
Day 3: Case & I got a tip from a local to go visit the Secret Beach at the north end of the island and the end of the paved road. There we'd turned west onto a gravel road that had many pot-holes. Case spotted an alligator in this area.
2-pic slider: These two pics speak for themselves...
There are seven bars / restaurants beside each other on this beautiful stretch of beach.
Case thought it was unfair that this police-woman was not allowed to take a nap. They are stationed there for as long as the pubs are open.
Day 4: All us ladies + Case came along on this tour to the Light house barrier reef and Shark Ray Alley.
The Belize barrier reef is the largest in the western hemisphere.
A sting ray drifted by only 10' away from me! They have a wing span of up to 4'! I picked these 3 pics off of the internet since I don't have an underwater camera. We saw many fish like grouper, barracuda & snappers.
Only 5 minutes by boat from the first snorkelling site and we were at Shark Ray Alley in Hol chan Marine reservation. I stayed beside the person feeding the nurse sharks so I could photograph them. The others were in the water, watching.
Then we went to Caye Caulker Island which seemed like we were back in the seventies. Christine gets a kiss from this guy who sold her some cake.
The hippie era.
1) Hibiscus 2) Pelican 3) Firebush 4) Great Egret
The pelicans & seagulls are feasting off of some chicken legs that were thrown into the sea.
Just hanging around. There are no vehicles on this island.
Day 5: Case & I were boated back to the mainland where we then were driven to the New River.
1) Kingfisher 2) Saw Palmetto trees used for prostrate cancer. 3) National flower of Belize; Black Orchid 4) Anhinga
Western Jacana bird also known as Jesus Christ bird because its appears to be walking on water.
Passing by an Amish community. Mennonites produce 75% of the meat for Belize.
After an hour of spotting bird species along the river, we arrived at Lamanai Mayan historic site. Humungous Ficus trees dominated the landscape.
1)Ficus tree 2)Red Ginger 3) The tree of Life.
These Black Howler monkeys are an endangered species mostly because of a loss of forest habitat.
The High Temple is 33m' high. Construction began in 100BC. Special offerings found were shells and jade. There was no evidence of human sacrifice.
99% of Lamanai's structures remain buried under mounds of earth. By the ball court across from this pyramid were 2 large limestone markers. When they were lifted they found an oyster shell with 2 miniature vessels sitting in a bed of liquid mercury!
A sundial by the Jagaur complex. It was used by the elite Mayans (royalty) for residential purposes.
These holes depict the face of the Jaguar. Most Mayan sites were abandoned 800 - 900 AD. But Lanamai lasted from 1200 - 1400 AD.
4 pics in this slider: 1) Its been a long day for Case. 2) We were only a few feet away from this tree and it still took us a few minutes before we saw the bats. 3) White Whiskered Puff bird.
Day 6: Flying over the Blue Circle. The ocean is shallow between the barrier reefs and the mainland.
Discovery channel ranks the Blue Hole among the 10 most amazing places to see on this planet. Lighthouse reef is a 2.5 hour boat ride from San Pedro so most people do this 1 hour flight over it.
125m deep and 318m wide, it is slowly filling up with sand. Giant stalactites, dripstone sheets & columns formed in this used-to-be dry cavern during glacial periods.
An arial view of our resort.
Then we left the island and after the fast ferry ride we took the local express bus from Belize City to San Ignacio.
We spent our final 4 nights in the Cahal Pech Village Resort where we stayed in huts. Temperatures were cooler here and the countryside was more hilly. 1-4) Our hut 5) Great Kiskadee bird. 6) Poinsettias come in both male & female varieties.
Day 7: Case & I walked to the bus station and then took the local bus to the Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve.
El Castillo rises 42m above the courtyard and is one of the tallest structures in Belize + is the largest site in the Belize River Valley. Its construction took place from 1200BC to 890AD.
The lighter stone is a replica of what is only 20" behind it.
This balcony that I was standing on, was used only by royalty and priests. The acoustics were amazing.
1-2) These bats were inside the vaulted ceilings of small chambers in the pyramid 3) The dark ball in the tree is a termite mound. 5) A vulture.
Back in town we had a beer, before walking back up to the resort.
Day 8: All 8 of us did a day trip tour to Tikal National Park in Guatemala. The bird is a Cassique de Montezuma.
Tekal is the heart of the Mayan world and was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1979. It covers 576 square kilometres where more than 3000 structures have been mapped. It was discovered in 1848 and for 14 years, from 1956 - 1969 it had been undergoing restoration.
The Mayans developed as one of the most advanced cultures in the New World throughout Mesoamerican. Today there are still 8 million 100% Mayans living in Guatemala from a total population of 17,000. At their peak, from 700-900AD there were about 10- 15 million. After 900AD they moved to the highlands after depleting the soil and cutting down forest. They needed more space + water. This temple was used as an observatory, offering a 360 degree view.
Ficus tree / Weaver bird nests
Group shot: Donna, Christine & Allan, Mary-ann, John & Louise + me & Case
At the Jaguar Temple in the Grand Plaza. The King's body was found beneath this temple. He was an unusual 6' tall! The queen's temple was right across from the King's. During winter solstice the shadow's tip lines up exactly with the base of the stairs from the queen's temple. This temple was built of limestone with 9 tiers representing the 9 levels of the underworld.
1) View from the top of the highest Temple #4 (right-top) / 2) Resting after climbing 4l pyramids 3) Paca - like a giant rat 4) Heliconia flower 5)Looking back at Temple #4
Temple #4 + the Queen and King's Jaguar Temples in the central plaza.
In 1521 the Aztec Empire toppled, 10 years after the Spanish arrived. In 1697 the last of the independent Mayan cities fell.
These Koatymundis knew where to hang out. For other dinners we ate at Ko-Ox Han-Nah & Erva's restaurant.
Spyder monkey.
Day 9: These pics I picked from the internet because cameras are prohibited in the sacred Mayan cave. Two skulls were chipped because of cameras falling on them. 1) We had to swim into the cave where it was too deep to touch bottom. 2) The smallest crack in the rocks was called the "Decapitator" because our neck barely fit through it. Amazing forms of stalactites and stalagmites. Some looked like strips of bacon lined up alongside each other and others looked like a long off-white cloak filled with sparkles. 3) In the far reaches of the cave we had to climb up a stalactite, onto a balcony. This is where the human sacrifices were made to the rain god. Most of them were boys. This skeleton belongs to a young man who was disemboweled while still alive. Around 600AD there was a long drought which led to the priests increasing the amount of sacrifices. 4) Thousand of shards of ceramic pots were spread out, mostly along the now dry creek bed. The Mayans brought them in filled with corn to sacrifice. The pots were considered to be alive and sacred so all were broken and never taken back out of the cave. The relics remain where they were found and many more remain buried and calcified.
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