2022 Belize

Belize

This is my first adventure trip since the COVID pandemic of 2019-2022 and the question that a number of people have asked is … Why Belize?

The answer is pretty simple at one level. I wanted a trip getting back to nature, staying out of major cities, and with airlines and many countries still trying to recover from the pandemic the options were limited. Europe and Asia have the major cities I wanted to avoid, Africa and South America were of interest but with the limited flights being offered, it would take 40+ hours to get to those continents. Hence, Central America offered some jungle wildlife, no large metropolitan areas, few tourists had returned and regular flights had started to return. It should also be noted that this trip was not as expensive as some of my previous trips so if COVID (or other world health issues) did cause the trip to be cancelled or drastically altered, it likely would not result in being stranded in some remote land for weeks.

Trivia: Belize was called British Honduras until 1973.

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Belize City – 2 Nights

We arrived in Belize City a few days before the scheduled itinerary was scheduled to start. I usually prefer to arrive the day before to give some leeway if there are flight issues; to help with jet-lag; get more comfortable with the surrounds; and I have found that most trips do not include a tour of the starting point (or it’s very limited). We booked an AirBnB in Belize City by the water which was a quick walk to downtown.

I have to admit that Belize City was not what I was expecting. I realize Hurricane Lisa just went through and that they were still in the process of recovering, but I had envisioned Belize City to be more modern. Maybe not Cancun but a much more established tourist infrastructure. I had heard that cruise ships have this as port of call, so again, I was thinking the port area would be modern and full of shops with the local artisans and souvenirs stands. Well, if that existed, we never found it. In some ways I am glad, as I didn’t come here for that, but for the first couple of days on our own it required some adjustments. Lots of walking around, trying not to get lost, and trying to figure out where to get food. No real taxi network, you have to know someone that has the number for someone that “is a driver” so make sure you arrange for a price before getting in.

Our AirBnB was close to the city airport and we enjoyed watching the small planes come and go over the water. We also walked out to the famous Belize sign and stopped at a road-side stand for some brunch. This turned out to be a local favourite spot, Gwen’s Kitchen, so we were lucky that my stomach said “feed me” at the right time. We also heard about this nice dinner spot, Lucca’s, on the water and it turned out to be a real gem. Super friendly staff and great food. I had my first dragon fruit margarita, which was great!

Orange Walk District – 1 Night

The first day of the official itinerary and we started with an activity that we had added – the advantage of booking your own trip is the ability to modify the itinerary. We had heard of the Great Blue Hole and didn’t want to miss it so we added a 60 minute flying tour with Tropic Air and it was well worth the extra $300USD.

After the flight we headed up to Orange Walk Town, famous for it’s sugar cane rum (Orange Walk is often called Sugar City) and street tacos. However, my stomach was saying “time for food”, and our guide knew of this perfect spot. Just across from the Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport there was a roadside restaurant. We were quickly learning that many “restaurants” in Belize are just a roadside stand or a couple of picnic tables on someone’s lawn. That was the case here, just a small sandwich board on the side of the road and a couple of picnic tables, but the food was great. We did not have much time to explore Orange Walk Town that evening but did find a few new beers to try. 🙂

San Ignacio/Cristo Rey – 3 Nights

What a wonderful way to start the day. Starting just outside of Orange Walk Town we hopped on a small fast river boat along the New River that took us to the Lamanai Maya Ruins. Our river guide was great at finding animals hidden along the river and pointing them out to us. How he ever saw the bats clinging to a tree trunk is amazing, he got us within a few meters of them and I still didn’t notice them.

I had been to other Mayan ruins before but only in Mexico and they had been on well manicured grounds and what immediately struck me here was that they had let nature be. Yes, they cleared some land so we could see the various temples but they also wanted to show how nature had reclaimed these cities after the Mayan people left. It was really quite amazing to see as it gave you an idea what the original archaeologists would have first seen. Walking through jungle paths, feeding the ever hungry mosquitoes, having Howler monkeys overhead watching you intently. Then you come across what looked like a small hill on one side but turns out to be hiding a magnificent temple that had been restored on the other side.

Much of Lamanai, which means submerged crocodile, has not been excavated so it is hard to get a feeling of how big the site is but you do get to feel like an original explorer – what will the jungle reveal next? It is not a highly visited site, you get there by the river or a 4×4, so it’s a great place to explore away from the crowds.

After a picnic lunch it was time for the boat ride (and more nature spotting) back, then the 2-3 hour drive to San Ignacio for the next three nights.

We got into the Crystal Paradise Resort late so we didn’t get to explore the grounds but the next morning we found ourselves surrounded by jungle and tropical birds and the food, ohh, the food here is so good. The eco-lodge is family run and Carol does a wonderful job of making you feel comfortable and part of their family quickly. Then there is the cooking, it was home cooking at it’s best, make sure you check what time breakfast and dinner are being served.

Today we were off to the Caracol Archaeological Maya Site with a stop at the Rio On Pools afterwards.

Caracol is a huge site but not visited often as it is a long dirt road to get there, but as we saw they are working on building a multi lane paved road. This will be great for future guests and local tourism, but I am glad I was there beforehand. It really is something to see these massive temples and buildings with very few people around. No vendors selling drinks or souvenirs, just people here to learn about the history of the site and all the surrounding nature. We got to see our first Toucans (Collared Aracari) but not until climbing the large temple.

I am not much of a history buff but our guide has made this interesting and I am surprised on how much I am learning (and retaining). What I did not realize in the Mayan time these cities were not surrounded by jungle, as they are now. Why? They had cut down all the trees to build their cities. Some feel that is actually what led to the downfall of their civilization, they had run out of natural resources to support themselves, so they moved/dispersed to other areas that had not been exploited. Now doesn’t that sound familiar? 🙁

The next day was something I was looking forward to, I think. We were headed to the Barton Creek Cave, I had never canoed into a cave before so I did not really know what to expect. Lots of nature spotting on the drive but the cave was definitely something not to be missed. The water level dictates how far you can go in and the only lights are what you bring in – our guide supplied the life jackets, helmets (yes, you have to duck in places) and headlamps. The cave was used by the Mayan so they have found pieces of pottery and even skeletons. Did they feel the cave a passage to the underworld? Our guide believed that it was part of their belief that your soul was judged in Mayan underworld (the linked article puts forth numerous ideas).

After a picnic lunch it was time to refresh at Big Rock Falls. A 150 foot tall waterfall with refreshing pools to swim in, but … you have to work for it. From the very small parking area you have to descend down a number of wooden steps that have seen better days. This of course means after your relaxing swim you need to climb all the stairs again. However, I think it was worth it as only a few tourists make it out and until the main road is in place, it’s a hidden gem.

Then it’s the drive back to the Crystal Paradise and we get to see what Carol has prepared for dinner!

Tikal (Guatemala) – 1 Night

An early morning as today our guide drives us to the Guatemala border where we will be handed over to a local guide. Walking across the border was a simple affair, there is a $20USD Belize departure fee to be paid but leaving Belize and entering Guatemala took less than 30 minutes.

We only spent one night in Guatemala but have a look at my my Guatemala page for details. 🙂

San Ignacio/Cristo Rey – 3 Nights

We returned to Belize late in the afternoon where our original guide was waiting for us and drove us back to San Ignacio for another three nights. We altered the the base itinerary so that we could try a different location so for these nights we stayed at Table Rock Jungle Lodge. Where Crustal Paradise is a family owned and run resort with wonderful home cooking, Table Rock is more luxurious and professionally run. Both great and I would stay at either again, but surprisingly the cabins at Table Rock do not have air conditioning.

Overnight it rained, and it rained, and then it rained some more. Hence, our original plan for river canoeing today had to be cancelled, but it did give us more time to explore Xunantunich our last Mayan site. This site is on the outskirts of town and gets more visitors but luckily the morning rain was keeping many people away. The one piece of history I took away from this visit was what both our guides had called the onion architecture. When a new ruler came into power they did not destroy the previous ruler’s temples but rather built another layer on top. On some of the buildings that had been excavated you could actually see the different layers of stairs. I guess that was their version of putting another coat of paint on the walls.

With the rain altering our plans today we had some time to do a little souvenir shopping. There are some nice local arts and crafts by the ferry boat to Xunantunich. The stall owners all appeared to feel saying that some of their crafts were built by their children was a good sales technique, but everyone was nice and no pressure tactics. I did buy some nice pieces of art before our guide said that it was time for lunch. By this time our guide knew that we liked trying the local foods so he took us to Benny’s Kitchen and got us a great selection of local delicacies.

The afternoon was spent back at Table Rock by the pool, putting the bartender to the test. 😉

More rain overnight meant that plans for our last day had also been cancelled. We were supposed to head into the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave, which is swimming into a cave, but with all the rain the water levels were too high and water moving too quickly. We had a guide specializing in the ATM cave for today but we quickly found alternatives to fill our day and I fully enjoyed the day. I will just have to go back to Belize to see the ATM caves at another time. 🙂

• Green Iguana Conservation Project – We saw a couple of iguanas when we first arrived but none after that so I was very happy to have this little event. It’s part of one of the top end hotels in San Ingnacio and the tour is less than an hour but you get to learn about these wonderful creatures and … some you can even pet and feed. I know, wild animals shouldn’t be handled, but some of these unfortunately are not in condition to be reintroduced to the wild. I have a weakness for iguanas, so I really enjoyed this visit.
  
• Traditional Mayan Chocolate Making – Less than an hour for this demo of how the chocolate was made with samples of the different stages. OK chocolate fans, don’t get exited, if you haven’t tried cacao beans before you are probably in for a surprise at the bitterness. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see the process from the pod, to seed, to ground paste. A very interactive demo which includes trying to grind the seeds yourself. They do have a small store where you can purchase some of their hand made chocolate products.
  
• Green Hills Butterfly Ranch – Butterflies, butterflies and more butterflies. A large greenhouse filled with butterflies for you to walk through. So many varieties and colours, if only they would stay sill long enough for photo. After wandering through the greenhouse at your own pace they take you over to the next building and explain how they breed butterflies and ship them (in pupa stage) all over the world. Although this tour is probably only 30 minutes you might want to give yourself much more time. There gardens are filled with hummingbirds and they have setup feeds right by benches so you can sit and watch these amazing flying acrobats just inches away. I could have spent the entire afternoon there.
  

Another picnic lunch and then it was back to Table Rock for the afternoon and preparation for our flights home the next day.

The last day, time to pack up and head back to the cruel world we left behind. it was a great trip, the people of Belize are so friendly, we were not in heavily tourist areas so people were not being kind so that they can make a buck or two from you. They wanted to share their knowledge and love for their often forgotten country. Hurricane Lisa left significant damage around the coastline but the people push on. Not a wealthy country by most standards but they are rich in history, rich in nature’s bounty and rich in spirit.

Logistics

Cheers, Nigel