Adventure Unlimited in Belize

The snorkeling in Belize is fabulous. We snorkeled in five different spots, and all were great. Traveling into the interior of the country was also very rewarding, because you get to see more of the true Belize. We found the people to be extrememly gracious and helpful. Our favorite day trips: cave tubing at Jaguar Paw, the ruins of Laminai, the ruins of Tika in Guatemala, and snorkeling at Shark Ray Alley.

Quick Tips:

Rememberences for my next trip to Belize:
> Take a supply of After-Bite
> On day trips which include both wet and dry adventures, don't forget to bring an extra set of dry undergarmets
> Don't trek in wet sneakers
> Don't pet monkeys
> Study up on local birds before the trip
> Deet will eat the finish off binoculars

Best Way To Get Around:

On Ambergris Caye, I found the taxis to be a bit pricy. They were all priced the same: .00 US for a three-minute trip. Walking is easy enough, since the island is small, but beware if you're walking at night in sandals.... scorpions are hard to see in the dark.

These condos are extremely nice and quite large. They can easily accomodate four adults. The jetted tubs were very large and great to relax in after a tough day of hiking through the jungle and/or climbing ancient ruins.

The grill on the property offered a small selection, but everything we sampled was quite good. (Try the Belizean eggs for breakfast!)

There is a small dive shop on the premises where you can rent snorkeling equipment, purchase gifts or items you may have left at home and book your day trips.

Elvi's Kitchen was an upbeat, fun dining experience. The sand floors added to the laid-back feel of the restaurant, but the menu (and prices) were indeed upscale. The stone crab claws, for instance, although very good, were priced at $25 US.

The wait staff was very attentive, and the host even remembered our names when we went back three nights later.

If seeing the manatees is your primary reason for this trip, you may be disappointed. We did see two or three, but not clearly, for very long, and at some distance. They are very shy animals, and don't stick around very long once the boats show up. However, we did see them, and it was a bit exciting.

The snorkeling on this trip was great, however. We first stopped at a small island where we had lunch and snorkeled around the coral a few yards off the island. We saw a very nice variety of fish and many interesting coral formations.

After leaving the island on our way to Shark Ray Alley, we stopped the boat and the guides cast nets for sardines, which they later used to bait the sharks and rays. Shark Ray Alley was unbelievable. I had read about it, but you have to be there to appreciate it. The rays were everywhere, and some were quite large. You don't wear your fins in the water with them because it stirs up the bottom too much, so bring water shoes if you have them. This might ease the stress from fearing you'll step on one of their tails!

On the way back we stopped at Caye Caulker for a brief look-around. It is a nice, quiet, much less traveled island than Ambergris Caye.

What a wonderful trip! We had to catch a 7:00 flight back to the mainland from the San Pedro airport to Belize City. From there we got on another very small plane and flew to Flores, Guatemala. The airport at Flores was almost deserted, except for all the soldiers with machine guns!

Our group had four people, plus our 72-year old Guatemalan guide, Angel. The scenery on the way to Tikal was great...just like out of the pages of National Geographic. We passed small villages where the local women were carrying water in pots on their heads and washing their clothes with stones on wooden platforms built into the lake.

Once at Tikal we trekked through some small stands of jungle and got a few lessons on local fauna and flora from Angel. We were provided with a sack lunch -- not great, but adequate. The ruins were quite a sight -- 72 (very vertical) steps to the top of the Lost World.

One thing that I found very interesting was that the Guatemalan government can't afford to excavate and restore all of their ruins, so they are progressing very, very slowly. They use all original materials, and cut each block of limestone to exactly match the one they are replacing. (Or so explained our guide.)

I'm not a lover of ancient ruins, or even historic sites, but I would definitely recommend this trip. Getting to see some of the local people of Guatemala was just as exciting for me as seeing the ruins.

This is an excellent trip that includes river wildlife and adventure, visiting a small local village, an overland drive through the Belize interior, and a tour through the jungle to the ruins of Lamanai.

The boat picked us up at the dock at 7:00 and we journeyed down and around the southern tip of Ambergris Caye, across a bay, and then up the Northern River to the village of Bomba. This is a very interesting village and several of the residents sold their wood carvings in the street or out of small huts. There are many small children here, so if you brought trinkets with you to Belize, this would be an excellent place to spread a little cheer.

Here we unloaded the boat and boarded a bus to Tower Hill, where we got in two smaller boats and began our journey down the New River to Lamanai. We saw numerous, interesting birds on this part of the trip, culminating in a sighting of a jabaru stork with a nestling. There are only a few nesting pairs of jabaru storks left in the world, and to see one in he wild -- with a nestling, no less -- was truly exciting. (Even for the non-birders in the group!)

Once at Lamanai, we stopped for a relaxed lunch of traditional Belizean fare -- stewed chicken, coconut beans and rice, and fried plantains. We got a brief orientation at the "museum" there (which was really a small hut with a few artifacts), and then we began our trek.

There are only three structures currently excavated at Lamanai, and the second one we encountered was climbable. It was moderately strenuous, however, and not for everyone. The view from the top was extraordinary! Quite an experience, indeed.