Saturday
We woke up early Saturday AM for our cave adventure!
Oscar, our tour guide, picked us up from the hotel about
8:15 and we drove into town to pick up anther guy, Richard, who was traveling
solo from Britain. Then we went along on the bumpy road (I didn’t get car sick! Whop whop!) and we
stopped at “the last nice bathroom” and a store to pick up snacks. Lunch was provided, so we got some chips and
granola bars and extra water, oh a joe got a lolli pop in the shape of a
finger- ant included. This was a nice
bathroom- for 1 Belizean dollar I got to use it- and it was worth every penny!
The drive to the caves was amazing- all the fields full of
trees to harvest- it takes about 60 years for Mahogany to grow to be ready to
sell- what an investment, and 35 years for Teak!) we get to the van parking and
got our helmets on- for the hike- just in case we ran into trees or anything
haha
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| Our group: Me, Joe, Caroline and Raphael |
The walk to the caverns was about 30 minutes into the jungle,
crossing the river 3 different times, very pretty! We weren’t allowed to take
cameras into the cave because people have damaged the artifacts in the past, so
it’s only been 2 months that they haven’t allowed them. BUT I had mine in my
bookbag, so I snuck some pictures of the walk on the way back :)
We got to the drop off point for our bags and had a quick
snack and bathroom break- there was a hole in the ground covered with a toilet
seat- the end- and any way you tried to squat you were not going to get the
hole…. What a challenge to begin our trip haha but caroline and I powered
through!
The beginning of the caves was amazing- I was getting
nervous as we were approaching- I was actually going to be caving- legit being
in a cave for hours on end- in the dark and cold! Ahhh it was exciting! So we
jump in the cold water and swim into the cave- here goes nothing!
It was crazy inside- that’s all I can say to describe it.
This cave was thought to be used during the classic period in Belizean history-
(no idea when that really was) but the Mayans performed rituals and sacrifices
in the caves- leaving their pots and humans as sacrifices to the gods, of rain
and fire.
Google ATM caves- because talking about it doesn’t do it
justice at all!
We were in the caves for almost 4 hours! In the dark and
cold. We had helmets with head lamps guiding our way- and Oscar would at times tell us to turn our head lamps off- and have us walk in the dark. I never thought I was truly claustrophobic,
but when you are between 3 walls of rocks, you never know how you’ll feel! We walked and swam through rocks, grooves and
crevices. Being in the dark for 4 hours
was strange- but it was so neat.
After the caves- Caroline and I ran to the bathroom! We were
not going to use the outhouse again, so we “popped a squat” in the woods. I
haven’t popped a squat since I was little and we were on camping trips- so it
was a newer experience for me haha then we got to finish our box lunches and
walked back to the van. I hung out in the back of the group and snuck pictures
of the trails and views!
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| The river that we crossed over 3 times |
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| I love the huge palm leaves |
When we got back to our hotel, we showered and went back to
San Ignacio’s downtown. We had been in
the city earlier and there was going to be a film festival showing a film
later, so we decided to check that out, but first we had to get ICE CREAM- yes you read correctly- there was a place that advertised NON-DAIRY ice cream so I was pumped! It was made with soy milk, and they advertised it as great for diabetics!
We then ate dinner a restaurant that was recommended in guide books ko-ox- Han-nah,
I had a tofu veggie burrito, which was very filling! Everyone else had
something with shrimp in it- it all looked great! Then we went to “power hour”
at a local bar- which was not the power hour I thought it was, but the bar had
the same priced drinks that they had at happy hour- so we were set with cheap
drinks- note to self- fresh watermelon and rum do not mix well- even if they
say it does.
Then we were able to experience another classic taxi ride
back to the hotel, this time the car did not make noises, but was covered in a
lovely floral décor, wet seat included. Since we didn’t get to swim in
the pool in our hotel yet, we decided it was a must do when we returned.
Raphael has a water camera and we laughed as we all attempted to take
pictures underwater.
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