July 25 - 31, 2018
It was just a few months ago that we were relaxing at Nick's house when the subject of taking a trip for his birthday came up. Ideas from Iceland and Michigan to South America and Canada were tossed about, but when Belize was mentioned, the reaction was universal. Belize it was going to be...and so the adventure began. Nick ordered his passport since he had not been out of the country since we went to Mexico together 15 years ago, Brandi scored us a free spot to stay, plane tickets were booked and we were ready to roll.
Arriving in Belize, we chose to rent a car rather than take the unreliable transportation across the developing country. We ended up with a Nissan with 100,000 miles and a broken fuel gauge. Never washed and it probably had never had the oil changed, but who cares; we'd fit right in! It ran but the noises were unique, especially when passing going uphill on a double yellow line over speed bumps in the middle of the highway!
So, we're off and headed to Brandi's friends who live in a small town called Ontario. Lindsey and Matt are amazing people and welcomed us into their modest home. They have a small farm with animals and a few guest houses that they've been fixing up so they can host church groups and help American's experience Belize in a respectful manner. After learning about their life in Belize and meeting their 7 children, we headed to the grocery store and then on to our home for the week in Hopkins.
Driving through the country, you notice many unfinished homes and it is clear that the country is still developing and learning. Average income is around $10,000 annually and many of the families likely live off their land in some fashion. In Hopkins, the same is true. Poor living standards and only family "restaurants" operated in residents back yards or beach property. We arrived at our resort, a beautiful beachfront home just a block outside of town. Amazed at the beauty, we all chose a bedroom and headed out the door to the beach and 80 degree ocean water. We relaxed and headed down the road for a casual dinner with the 6 of us.
Matt and Lindsey only had one day with us so they chose the activity for the first day. Rappelling down a waterfall and ziplining the jungle. We went to Mayflower Bocawina National Park and signed up for the tour. 
Ziplines were first - 7 trips across the top of the jungle canopy on lines ranging from 200 yards to 1/2 mile long. We had a blast and our guides let us go upside down and spinning. We stopped for a drink and all enjoyed learning about the jungle give and take and had a snack of termites directly from a nest on a tree. Interestingly, they come in 5 flavors but I only got mint and bark flavors!
After ziplining, we headed for the rappel. Laura and I ran with one guide, Perrison, who was training for a national physique competition and Brandi rode on the back of a dirtbike with our second guide. 
The others drove and met us at the falls. We all rappelled and then headed up for a hike to an upper fall and had a great time in some small swimming holes. Dinner that night was once again a "family" restaurant on the beach before we said our good byes to Matt and Lindsey who headed home to their children.
Waking early the next morning, we met Floyd at Floyd's Fishing Tours. Jumping onto the 25' fiberglass boat, we headed out into the ocean for a day on the water. About an hour into our journey we arrived at a small island and reef and Piper tossed a net to catch sardines which would be our bait for the day. Off we went out into the open water once again and upon pulling up on a shelf, the anchor was thrown and we fished just off the shelf. By the time the bait hit the bottom, we all had fish and were quickly reeling in our dinner for the night! 
Mostly small fish, but Laura caught a 7 pound grunt and had a blast reeling in just the second fish she'd ever caught! 
When fishing was over, we all jumped in the water and did a short snorkel before heading to the main reef. Upon docking the boat on the beach, we jumped in the water and swam out to the main reef which is the second largest in the world, second in size only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The water was clear and the living reef was amazing with lots of colorful formations and beautiful fish. We snorkeled for an hour and went back to the small island for a fruity drink at the seaside bar before heading back to the mainland. Jumping off the boat, Floyd circled about out in the open water before aiming for shore and running the boat ashore at about 20 mph which is definitely the best way to dock a boat in my opinion!
Floyd and Piper cleaned the fish and took them to his sisters home where later that night we ate our days catch for dinner while relaxing on the beach.
Laura had heard that one of the must see places in Belize was the Actun Tunichil Muknal or ATM cave, so we planned a day trip and met up with our Guide, "Bling" around 8:30 the following morning. The cave is complex and only about 200 people per day are allowed to enter. You must be with a guide and no cameras are allowed. After three river crossings and about a mile of walking we reached the cave entrance. Swimming into the first room, stalactites and stalagmites are everywhere. Some are complete curtains overhead, some 50 feet long or more! Swimming, wading and squeezing ourselves through passageways and through the maze of chambers within the cave, the sights were amazing and the experience one of a kind.
After an hour, we reached the main room that was used for Myan rituals 800 years ago. The room is beautifully preserved and has hundreds of pottery pieces. Some are broken as the Mayans did during their rituals, some are in protected caves and are in perfect condition. Features of the cave are altered to create faces in the shadows that would dance with flicker of their fire burning torch. There were human sacrifices meant to end drought that was caused by the cutting of the rain forest. I found it interesting that the sacrifices were "groomed" in a way and it was likely an honor to be that person. They were taller, larger and had face and tooth modifications and additions. The last part of the cave held a perfectly preserved and never touched complete human skeleton just above the surface. Scientists date the skeleton to the early 1,000's AD. Exploring in amazement for an hour more, we eventually had to end the tour so out of the cave we swam and climbed. This is undoubtedly one of the most unique places I have experienced and would recommend it to anyone wanting to see a perfectly preserved timestamp of Mayan culture.
An adventurous day to be sure, we followed up the ATM cave with a day of exploring national parks in the area the next morning.
Nick and Brandi were excited for a day of fun since they did not go to the ATM cave with us. First a slippery hike through the jungle to a hidden waterfall in Billy Barquedier National Park. We swam and jumped into the chilly water before heading out and on to our next destination.
Blue Hole National Park holds a network of caves and a large swimming area that was formed by the collapse of the cave ceiling below. We did a short swim into a cave room and then made a mile hike down into the cave entrance. At the end of the day, we spent the evening at the resort pool doing acrobatics and bs'ing around the water.
Every great trip must end and this was a short one, but we still had the morning to spend in this beautiful country. We chose to take the long way back to the airport and stop in at the Belize Zoo. The zoo is actually an animal sanctuary and has a wide variety of native animals, many of who have been rescued from the wild because of injury and imminent death. The four of us took the opportunity to get in a small cage and experience a Jaguar up close. Junior, a Jaguar born in captivity as his mom was a sheep killer and would have been put down if not taken into captivity roams the large enclosure. 
Once safely locked into the cage, Junior comes around and jumps on the cage roof. While distracted by his trainer and caretaker, we all had the opportunity to touch his soft paws and back legs. After several minutes, the trainer tells us to place our faces near the top of the cage and Junior, eye to eye with you, reaches through and licks your forehead with his sandpaper like tongue. This was a very cool and fun experience and having the opportunity to see such a majestic animal up close is quite a treat!
After our time was spent at the zoo, we headed for the airport and talked about each of our favorite parts of the trip. Each saying something different, it was clear that we all had a great 5 days experiencing a new country and were all looking forward to the next adventure!
