Belize - Finale

After that harrowing river crossing, we walked around downtown San Ignacio.  Ashlyn wanted to try their famous "sour fruit" at the market.  It looked like an apple, but it's texture was more spongy and not as flavorful.

Then we headed to another Mayan ruin just on the outskirts of town.  This one, called Cahal Pech, was not as large, and it also had quite a few mounds unearthed.

We all liked this site much better because there weren't near as many tourists.  

This site was also fun because you could see family rooms where they slept.  The Mayan people were quite a bit smaller in height.  We were having to duck our heads going through the doorways.

 There were several passage ways that lead to the open square and the other buildings.

It smelled a bit musty, and there were bats living in the ceilings. Eww!

Here's the large palace for the royal family and their servants.

This was a ball court where opposing tribes would be captured and forced to play a difficult game.  The winner got to live, while the loser was put to death.  

We slept really well that night, and I was grateful that we were all alive.  On the flight home, Ashlyn received a compimentary upgrade to first class for herself AND a companion!  I decided it would be me.  :)

Since this was the only time in my life I'd get to fly first class on an international flight, I decided to document what it was like.  First course... a mixed drink and warm nuts.

Second course... beef brisket, sweet potatos, greens, cheese, crackers, and dried apricots.  Oh, and another drink if you want it.

Third course... coffee and a warm chocolate chip cookie.

Sweet way to end a nice vacation!

Belize - Day 5

Today we went to the Mayan ruins!  I was so excited.  After arriving at the base of the historical reserve and crossing the Mopan River with a hand-cranked bridge, we started up the one-mile long incline.

This first Mayan ruin was called Xunantunich (pronounced shu-nan-to-nich).  It was the longest established Mayan settlement in Belize and dates back to around 600AD.

Upon entering the reserve, it's another long walk uphill.  Glad we had on our tennis shoes!

It was incredible!  Only a fraction of the site has actually been excavated.  Every mound of grass is another building just waiting to be discovered.

We got a great workout going up every set of stairs to get to the top.

These stone buildings were homes, gathering places, markets, all part of a thriving civilization.  The tallest one was sacred and housed the religious ceremonies.  Only the top ruler and his aids were allowed there.

I took this picture from on top of one of the structures so I could capture a wider view.

The three of them raced to the top while mom stayed below to snap the pic.  But yes, I had to climb it myself after the picture.

In original form, these were smooth buildings, many painted white with colorful writing on them.  The weather has eroded the color and much of their smooth surface.

Belize has two types of monkeys.. the Howler monkeys and the Spider monkey.  Most visitors experience the Howler monkeys, and they are so loud that the tourists are happy when they leave so it's back to peace and quiet.  The Spider monkeys are more elusive, and that's what we got to see.  There was a sweet family with a mom, dad, and youngling whom they were teaching to swing.  So precious!

This is the view from the tallest structure (where only the royals could go).  The view was amazing!

After we left Xunantunich, we found that the hand-cranked bridge was out.  Rather than wait for it to be fixed like all the other visitors, Eric decided to try another way across.

We hiked up the river about half a mile through lots of thick brush (and praying there were no snakes).  The river became a bit white water over the rocks, but Eric found a spot he felt we could safely do.  

He came back to help our little one.  I was in charge of our shoes, so I shoved them in my backpack although it was too full to zip closed.  

The family seemed to be fairing well, but not so much for me.  The rocks were killing my bare feet.  When I bent down to find a softer spot to step, the shoes fell out...

Ashlyn immediately jumped into action, literally.  She slid down the rapids and swam after our shoes, finding them all!

That girl not only saved our shoes, but she also made it the other side before we even got halfway across on foot!  If I had known my shoes would get wet anyway, I would have just worn them and spared the soles of my feet.  The whole time, I kept fussing at Eric for not being patient like the other tourists waiting for them to fix the bridge.

The little one isn't phased by all this.  

I was excited to reach the other side, but quickly realized it was only an island.  Uggh!

Ashlyn has been waiting on us almost 20 minutes by this point.

Once we all made it across and hiked the 1/2 mile back to our car, guess what was working again!  Yep, the bridge.  Thankful we're all safe, but I was NOT happy!

Belize - Day 4

This morning was our last in the islands, so ventured out early for breakfast to taste the local fare.  Below is a favorite coffee latte called Cafe Ole Machiatto. It paired well with banana pancakes.

Then we caught the 9am boat to Belize City and headed inland. When we arrived, we rented a car that had a GPS so we wouldn't get lost as we got deeper and deeper into the forests.  But eventually, even the GPS announced that we were on an unknown road.  

An unexpected, but glorious, find was a chocolate farm along our path.  We had to stop. :) 

The owner explained their organic farming process to us that come straight from the Mayan fields. 

The cacao beans are then crushed and sorted by ancient methods using coconut shells and wind.  They sell the cacao nibs in raw form, or you can crush further into a paste which you can consume for a quick "high".  

We got to sample some in both forms, and they were super yummy!  Bought a few sacks, too.

Nearby was a hike to St. Herman's Cave and Blue Hole National Park.  We couldn't resist the adventure.

It didn't take long for that pure chocolate "high" to engage.  I was leaving my family in the dust on that trail, and they had never been so slow!  I think they were doing that on purpose.  Gosh they were slow!  I was even way ahead of this athlete...

The views were nice when we had a break in the lush canopy forest.  We kept our eyes our for jaguars, though.

Once in the cave, I was glad we had our headlamps.  Pitch black.  We walked through as far as we could go without a guide.  This is one of the cave tubing excursions that are popular with tourists.

The river in the cave flows down through a series of tunnels. 

and empties into a Blue Hole that's popular to wade in.  

We enjoyed the refreshing water for a bit and talking with the park staff.  Now to find our AirBNB for the next few nights.

Belize - Day 3

This morning we woke up again to a quiet ocean breeze, then walked down to the pier to catch a boat to another island, Ambergris Caye.  Their largest town on the island, San Pedro, is supposedly the better tourist destination.

When we arrived in San Pedro, we immediately noticed a much faster paced environment.  Their streets were paved and they had lots of real vehicles as well as golf carts.  The drivers don't yield to pedestrians, either.  In fact, Ashlyn got side-swiped by a mirror while we were walking! 

So we decided to play it safe and get around in our own golf cart.

Eric drove while the two girls sat in the back with the camera taking selfies.

We passed by this little side vendor and decided to sample some authentic Belizan food.

They sold tortas, a really small taco filled with either chicken or pork, a spoonful of onions, then a squirt of green chili sauce.  We opted for $2 worth to sample, which was 10 tortas.

Quite tasty!  They were small little things that you could eat in two bites.  They made a great late-morning snack.

After a quick bite and getting our bearings, we headed out for the beach.  This island did have a few pockets of public beaches.  It was still early enough that they weren't crowded yet.

By noon, we were ready to eat a bigger meal.  A unique dish is called the pupusa.  It's like a flat pancake with something stuffed inside of it.  A plate is served with any 3 pupusas and a side of cabbage.  I ordered my trio to be a cheese, a bean, and a pumpkin (which was squash/zucchini).  Delicious!

After lunch, the little one and I decided to catch a boat back to Caye Caulker where the pace was a bit slower.  Eric and Ashlyn kept the golf cart and did more sight seeing for another few hours.  

I decided that swinging in a hammock in Belize wasn't complete without a fresh coconut.  Then the little one saw an ice cream shop.  Have you ever heard of corn ice cream?  Us neither.  But it tasted like sweet creamed corn!  So yummy.

We met back up with the other two and hung out again at the Split for drinks and to watch the sunset.  I could get used to this!