We were concerned if we would have enough time to see the Tikal ruins in Guatemala, get to the border to cross into Belize and get to our accommodation 10 miles outside of San Ignacio all in the same day – no problem! The first town we encountered after crossing the border from Guatemala was San Ignacio, Belize’s second biggest city. It’s a small, quaint town with lots of friendly people. San Ignacio was full of tour operators, offering trips for caving, diving, hiking, and transportation, along with some great places to eat and drink. We could tell we were not too far from the Caribbean as the locals were a mix of Latin American and Caribbean, and the menus had jerk chicken and curried shrimp. This was a great change from gallo pinto for the last 3 months!
Flayva’s Restaurant – great jerk chicken!
Andrea at San Ignacio’s bus terminal
For the first time in Central America we did have problems finding a SIM card for our phone to act as a backup in case we lost wireless. Andrea must have reliable internet for work. Oh well, we only had a few days without a backup. Of course, Andrea lost wireless at the Lower Dover lodge for two hours, and what seemed like an eternity. She almost had to take a bus to San Ignacio when the technician arrived and saved the day!
Lower Dover Field Station & Jungle Lodge
Once again, we selected accommodation that received the number 3 spot on Tripadvisor, and again it didn’t disappoint us. The lodge itself is located on land that used to be a pasture, set within a 100 acre plot and surrounded by rainforest, home to all kinds of animals and even Mayan ruins. We had the Red cabin with outside toilet and warm shower, beautifully located with trees and plants all around. The owners had 5 large dogs which were great fun and always joined us on our regular walks on the trails through the rainforest.
The Red cabin at Lower Dover Eco Lodge
The road to Lower Dover Eco Lodge
As part of the accommodation, Madeleine, the owner, took us on a 2 hour hike of their land, showing us the ancient Mayan ruins currently being excavated, many different types of medicinal plants and trees, and the creeks and Belize river that form the Lower Dover area. It must be great to have 100 acres of land to explore!
ATM Caves (Actun Tunichil Muknal)
This tour is not to be missed no matter how expensive! The ATM Cave tour was the only thing we had planned for our Belize visit mainly due to time constraints. We had read many reviews and talked with many travelers, all recommending this adventure. In 2012 cameras were banned because someone dropping a camera on a 1200 year old relic. It was actually nice not seeing flashes going off all over the place and we both agreed it was for the best. We used Carlos (the Caveman) Panti’s tour company and were very pleased with the service. His guide, “the godfather”, had a lot of knowledge about the history of the caves.
ATM cave entrance
Skeleton of a sacrificed 18 to 24 year old woman
After the first third of a mile, swimming, wading and climbing deep into the cave system we were told to remove our shoes to protect the relics we were about to see, we then traveled barefoot for another few hundred yards before we passed relics that the Mayans used as offerings to the gods over a 1000 years ago. There were many vases, pots, and partial skeletons but the highlight of the tour was a fully intact skeleton of a sacrificed woman between the ages of 18 and 24. It was truly amazing to travel back in time and explore the mysteries and secrets of the Maya underworld from so many hundreds of years ago, and how they ventured so far into a cave system to perform these ceremonies.
This is definitely a tour we would recommend to anyone traveling in Belize, even if only for a few days.
Xunantunich (Stone Lady)
Some pretty cool pictures of the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, just outside of San Ignacio.
The hand operated car ferry to the ruins
Mayan ruins of Xunantunich
Interesting ‘friezes’ on El Castillo
Mayan ruins of Xunantunich
Interesting ‘friezes’ on El Castillo
Belize City
Wow, what a culture shock arriving here in the dark! The bus ride to Belize City was uneventful. The streets along the route were not well lit so we couldn’t see anything. We knew that there were very few good budget hotels, and that the bus stations tend to be in the dodgy parts of town, but this place looked like the ghetto. We took a taxi to our hotel – there was no way were were walking after dark in Belize City.
There were at least four cruise ships anchored offshore whilst we were there with shuttles bringing passengers back and forth. We have no clue why they would come to Belize City – it’s horrible!!! We can only imagine that they either stay in the cordoned off tourist cruise area or head out into the cayes.
We stayed at the Belcove Hotel, right on the canal with a good view of the old Swing Bridge and they had reliable internet. It did have an ‘ok’ restaurant next door where we ate breakfast and dinner whilst we were there. I walked around the city for a while and could see no reason why anyone would want to live there, and I can only assume that a lot of the people don’t have a choice. There were ominous looks from some of the locals, and the scroungers didn’t just stop at no, they were persistent.
The hotel front desk called a taxi for us and as soon as the taxi pulled away from the hotel to take us to the bus station, the driver realized he had a puncture. He told us there was no way he was stopping to repair it in the neighborhoods we were driving through, although he did eventually pull into a gas station to put some air in. Thankfully, it was only a short 10 minute ride and we were in the relative safety of the bus station!
Caye Caulker Daytrip
I’m sure most people that visit Belize go for the diving as it’s home to the world’s second largest barrier reef and has some very nice scenery. We had no time in our schedule for diving but did want to at least get out to the closest caye for a day. Caye Caulker is only 45 minutes in a water taxi from Belize City so at 10.30am Andrea took an early lunch and we were soon being whisked across the most azure seas, en route to one of the most popular cayes. There was no messing about when we arrived as Andrea’s lunch was almost over and we still had to find a restaurant bar on the water with WiFi for breakfast!
Water Sports!
Welcome
It was so chilled out that we wished we could have stayed longer, especially as the sea looked so enticing. I was able to explore the main area of the island, and came upon the best bar, packed with people drinking and hanging out in the turquoise waters. Our five hours passed by so quickly and we were soon heading back to the pier for the trip to Belize City – fortunately the last boat was at 4pm, almost in line with the end of Andrea’s work day. The Belize cayes are definitely on our list of places to return to…
Caye Caulker pier
Andrea’s office
World champion coconut bowler
January 26th – January 30th 2013
