before i bother, is anyone actually interested?

Before I reply, are you actually serious?

Of course, we are all interested. We live vicariously through other's trip reports & photos (especially great ones like you take!!) Bring it on!

Well? Where are they? I will trade you my Spain pics (all 225 of them!).

Day one:

most of you know this drill. get up at 2AM, hired driver dude calls, can't find out house. wake the kids, throw them in the car. sit around at airport for what seems like days, and then finally - we're off!!
blah blah blah, and we land in belize. as always, customs and immigration is painless. the downside - since we did not fly to AC, we could not go to Jet's .

After way too long at the auto rental place in the sweltering heat, we were on the western highway. the ride west is always interesting, and often pretty. we all noted how often the scenery completely changes in belize.

Finally, we made it to San Ignacio, and we were STARVING! The boys had their first taste of stew chicken, rice n beans, and fresh watermelon juice. it was YUMMY! a quick stop at the market for snacks, water, and a 6 pack of belikin, and DuPlooy's here we come!

we rented the 2-story casita there, and the boys got comfy downstairs, and we took the upstairs. bf and i were pooped, so we rested while the boys looked around. as soon as they waled out the door, they called to us. no s%$t, there was a keel-billed toucan in the tree right above them!! Leo (13) was sooooo happy he got to see one!!

it was about dinner time, and we were so tired we thought we would fall asleep in our food. my son Steve (10) was so tired, he asked if he could walk back to the casita. a minute later, he came back into the dining room telling us to come out, we had to see something. walking the 10 yards to the bar, the bartender was feeding an animal some papaya. we went to see, and it was two kinkajous!! while i was concerned that they feed them, i had never seen one before, and it was a thrill for us all!! had coffee and mango cheesecake, and we could not stay awake any longer.

Day two:

i get up very early, especially in the jungle. i LOVE the sounds and mist in the mornings. Bf asked me to wake him, and we went out to the birding deck for coffee. duPlooy's has a bird feeding station, and we watched the aracari (small toucans) and other birds do their thing. (yay!) the boys joined us 2 hours later for a very delicious breakfast overlooking the canopy. we expected to meet up with SIN and his fam, but were surprised we had no cell service that far out of town. so, we decided to make our own plans, hoping to find him. we took a FABULOUSLY cool swim in the macal, got dressed, and headed off to xunantunich. it was very hot, but the boys were real troopers, and we were surprised how interested they really were in the ruins and history of the maya. we climbed to the top, learning lots of stuff on the way.

when we returned to duPlooys, hot and sweaty, we went right back in the river!! sooooo nice. coming back to our room, which was a little isolated from the lodge, someone called out "did anyone order room service?" we yelled "no, thank you. not us." the voice said, "i think someone ordered room service!" bf started to say "sorry..." when i looked out the door, i saw SIN and his very cute son, Chase, walking up the catwalk toward our place. very big hugs ensued. (our boys had no idea, and thought i was nuts embracing some strange man in my bikini). we quickly changed out of our swimsuits and the rest of the family joined us for introductions.

we were all hungry, piled in our gimungous SUV, and they directed us to Hodey's (sp?). yum, yum, more stewed and fried chicken, cold drinks, lots of chatting, and a playground for the kids. we walked all around SI, and the kids seemed tired. i treated them all to ice cream, but i cant remember the name of the place (i suck at names). we made plans to meet the next morning early, said our goodnights, and crashed.

what a great first full day for both us and the boys!

(more to come...)

GREAT JOB so far SJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"(our boys had no idea, and thought i was nuts embracing some strange man in my bikini)"

What was SIN doing in your bikini??

that's for me to know and you...

...to be jealous!!

Nice trip report, SJ. SI sounds very nice!

Thanks for sharing Jane, waiting for more.

will continue in chat...

AAWWWW!!!!! - I want to read the rest of the story.
sweetjane, please continue

Great trip it was!

next installment is on chat...

post it here so it stays available in trip reports....

um, ok.

Day 3 – Sunday, May 20

Again, I was awake before dawn. Sounds of birds replaced the almost deafening cicadas, as my hunny lay peacefully asleep beside me.

I had one thought: the coffee won’t be ready for an hour.

I washed up, grabbed my camera, sunglasses, and smokes (my vaca ‘basic essentials’) and took a slow stroll up the long canopy-level catwalk to the bird deck, listening and looking. The sun was up, hummingbirds flitted from flower to flower, various calls echoing in all directions. To me, this is close to heaven, and I soaked it all in.

I had a few personal moments communing with nature, and strolled back down the catwalk toward our casita. BF met me halfway, and we turned back for coffee.

By then, they were putting fruit out and the aracari (small toucan things) were starting to come. First one, then five. Other birds, some small, some quite large, gathered in the trees above, waiting for their turns. the sun was over the mountains, the mist dispersing.

There was a grizzled man by the coffee, so (of course) we started chatting with him. It turned out he was the horticulture guy at duPlooy’s, a brit who had been in bz for 30+ years. Coffees in hand, we talked of belize past and present, politics, education, parenting. he answered many of our questions, and we his. People are so interesting.

Leo came walking up, and we realized the time had slipped, and we went back to wake Steve, lotion up, and get moving. We piled all our stuff in the Beast, and jostled our way back down the dirt road to the highway. We were running late, our phones had guatamala service - we couldn’t call SIN. As we got to our rendezvous place, late, he was just pulling up. Horray for “belize time”! We followed him to his kids’ house, said our good mornings, and they proceeded to fill the Beast with coolers and people. The nine of us happily headed to Pop’s for breakfast. Yum.

Soon, we were off to Mountain Pine Ridge. The unpaved road was, um, kinda bumpy. SIN said they called it ‘the washboard’; bruce called it a gut-buster. No one complained. Two hours later, we made it the rio frio cave. It is enormous. Walking up, I overheard Leo say to Steve “OMG, this is soooo cool!”.

We climbed around in the cave for a long while, checking out all the amazing structures and erosion holes. Leo was right, it really was very cool.

on the way out, we stopped to have a quick chat with some army guys, giving them each a cold soda and a cigarette, told them to keep up the good work, and then back on 'the washboard'.

Thank you, sweetjane.
I couldn't find it in the chat. I love Mountain Pine Ridge.
Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!

if you bear thru the story, i will post pics of it all at the end.

Day 3 - continued…


Next we drove to the overlook by rio un pools for a photo op. it was well worth the stop, as it is very beautiful.

But it was also VERY hot, so we piled back in and headed to our destination for the day: five sisters falls.

The grounds at the lodge there were quite lovely. It seemed like no one was there. The guys each got a well-deserved frosty cold beer at the cute little bar, and we walked down the million steps to the base of the falls, stopping occasionally to gawk at the intense gorgeousness of it all.

We indeed were the only ones there; we had the whole place to ourselves.

Chris and his kids went in first, and said the water was soooo cold. So we got in, and it was apparent they had never been in PA river water. The temp was PERFECT!!!! I watched as the men and the kids climbed up then jumped off the high rocks. We swam and played for a while, and then the men volunteered to climb all the way back up to get the coolers. (and themselves another cold beer!)

We broke out the lunch Chris’ family had packed for us. We were STARVING! Tuna sandwiches and chips never tasted so good! It was then I fell in love with the coconut cookies that come in the silver foil pack, which I subsequently purchased everywhere we went. We relaxed in the hammocks provided in a pretty pavilion. Carla said “look, a river dog!”. We said “a what?” We looked, but missed it – she had seen a river otter!! It was such a nice time.

We all took another dip, the kids taking turns floating down in the tube I brought. I successfully convinced BF that it was worth the $10 for us to take the tram back up instead of the stairs. Again, the view was awesome.

We drove the looong, bumpy ride back to San Ignacio, and landed back at hodey’s for drinks, ice cream, and conversation. What an incredible day!

We dropped them all off back home, and made plans to see them that night. After showers, we went for dessert on the catwalk (tres leches cake). We were sooo tired, we had wished we had said our goodbyes earlier, as we were really WAY to tired for any more fun (chris had to return to AC in the morning). We had no cell service, so we waited for them until we fell asleep. It turned out he left me a message saying it was raining too hard to drive out to duPlooy’s and they were tired too, and wished us well. Funny, it didn’t rain where we were, but was just as well.

I slept like a rock.

"if you bear thru the story"

If you keep typing, I'll be your Teddy Bear.

Great report Jane!! keep going!

Good reporting Jane, seeing all thru your eyes..awesome.

Day 3 side note – I forgot to mention we saw a coati eating on the side of the road in mt pine ridge. That was a yippee for me

Day 4 – Monday the 21st


This was to be our last full day in Cayo. *heavy sigh* I always get that bittersweet feeling.

I’m up at 5:30 again, and by now you can guess what I did. This time, my bonus sightings were several mot mots (see pic later) and a pair of green parrots. Morning in the jungle never gets tired to me. Coffee, birds, river, mountain mist, yeah yeah yeah.

Chris had taken us to Cahal Pech the previous night, but they were just closing, so Bruce wanted to go today. Chris kept telling us how it was so cool, and I was not understanding why. I had been there on my first visit to Bz in ’93. At that time, it was a kind of a let-down, nothing was there except two small buildings. I did not see what the big deal was, and was not hip to go. Then I read that excavations had been going on for the last 12 years, and was like “Okay!”

Leo asked if we could eat breakfast at duPlooys’s again, and we all agreed, since it was totally yummy there. Banana pancakes, Belizean style breakfast, fry jacks and jam, fresh squeezed juice….now i’m drooling !

By 9 am it was already drenching hot. I made the very wise decision to hit the ruins after 2pm. Leo and Steve wanted another chance to swim in the Macal I thought that was a great idea, and we arranged for a canoe and got our suits on.

The water again was PERFECT. There is a long trail down thru the jungle to the small beach at duPlooy’s. It is directly across from these huge limestone cliffs. It is breathtaking. Birds fly over, and swifts and kingfishers skim the water. Little fishes nibble at you; it tickles. Africanized bees nest in the cliffs too, so there is this constant odd buzzing in the air. It is a bit other-worldly.

We noticed the water line seemed higher than the other day, but shrugged it off. Some kind of canoe trip was going on, and several paddled past. Of course, we said hi and waved to each as they went by. We caught a glimpse of a pair of scarlet macaws flying overhead. THAT was very cool.

After playing for a while, we dragged our canoe out and decided to go upstream. Within 2 minutes Leo said “hey look!” it was the biggest iguana we had ever seen (and I’ve seen a LOT of iguanas), sunning on the shore. It seemed close to 5’ to me. We paddled closer. Not thinking, someone made a noise, and he ran into the bush.

Bruce and I valiantly paddled as hard as we could, but we were’t getting very far. The current had gotten pretty strong. Now we put it together – chris had said it had rained hard, the water level seemed higher, and some locals (going the other way) had laughed at us. We gave up and turned around, letting the boys try to steer us back. They did pretty good.

It was time for a nap before heading to town.

Jane, great nature reporting...love it. The boys will forever remember this trip and return on their own in the future.

Leo with Aracari at duPlooy's



inside rio frio cave



(hey - where'd the pics go?)

More, please : )

bf had to reclaim our (his) pc for work - i'll try this weekend.

to appease, here are some pix of some places i already wrote about:

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81134242
cliffs at duplooys

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81134244
where we swam

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81015764
atop xunantunich

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81015765
rio un pools

thx for your support!

Great Pic's Jane. Thanks for sharing. Looked like a great place and you and the Family had a great time.

Still Day 4

We got ourselves together mid-afternoon and left for town. The 30 minute drive from duPlooy’s (or chaa creek – same road) into San Ignacio is a trek unto itself. It follows an unpaved rutted road for just a few miles, but because we have to drive it SO slowly (remember the washboard?), it takes a LONG time. While some of the ranch hands’ trucks blew past us, there was no way bruce could go more than 25 mph on that road in the beast. It is lined with some houses, a lodge or 2, but mostly grazing land and oranges.

Along the way, we would yell “hi doggie!” and “moo” out the windows, and pick out which horses we thought were pretty. We also loved the funny speed bump signs (who the hell needed speed bumps on a road like that anyway??), which look like a behind – or something else - on a yellow sign:


http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81432958

we tended to just call them butt or booby crossings.

Once we got onto western highway, it was just a few more minutes to town. Cahal pech is just outside of town. When we pulled up, there was only one other car there. A man approached from the other car, asking if we wanted a guide. we asked what we get for our $20, the he said ‘as little as you need, or as much as you wish”. Good answer .

He introduced himself as John Miguel, and we headed into the museum. He animatedly told the timeline of the maya, and I;m sure it was very interesting, but I looked over at the boys and they were bright red. It was SOOOO hot in there, I told Bruce we had to get out of the building. So we politely asked if we could. John Miguel looked at the boys, and ushered us out. After big swigs of water, we were ready to explore.

Chris was right, a LOT of excavation had been done at Cahal Pech and there was a lot to see. What struck me as pretty cool, compared to most ruins I had seen prior, was that parts of the buildings were still covered in jungle, as opposed to manicured lawn.

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81437677




A little boy was following, but at a distance. We asked if it was his son, and it was Jervis is a cute kid about 10 who told us (very seriously, but with a big smile) that he already is a better tour guide than his dad. So, we told him to lead the way! His proud dad agreed partly, but being wise, explained to his son (and our boys as well) the importance of life experience (life knowledge) in addition to scholastic learning to being fully knowledgeable. Explained that the two must go together, and that neither alone is enough, and he must both continue his studies AND listen to his father, learning his experiences too This, he said, is what makes a truly educated person. We beamed at this, as it is the philosophy we have also been trying to instill in our own children. He had a great sense of humor, and was full of personality. I was beginning to really like this guy.

John Miguel explains it all:

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81436049



We wandered up and down winding stairs through many buildings, including the palace, as John Miguel explained the history of the city and the dynamics of the hierarchy, often asking us to figure things out. Leo thought it was fascinating. Although we shouldn’t have been, we were surprised how often Steve (10) knew the answers, even when we didn’t. even john Miguel was impressed. JM didn’t just drone off facts, he spun a story, and we were drawn in.

This is me and Jervis, carefully listening to his dad:

oh, the tour ended up being 3 hours! we told jervis to keep studying and listening to his dad, and tipped him too

we were all craving limeade (except bruce who NEEDED beer), fried chicken and rice n beans, and doubled back to town. we were on a mission to find elvira's restaurant at recommendation. we drove all round town, finally finding it on a back back road. it was monday, and it was closed.

we were now VERY hungry and tired, and went back to eva's, the place where tourists who think they are 'eating local' go. the food's not great, but good enuff. no locals ate there.

lost my pics again!!! guess i need to resize??

edit: added links where pics should be. thanks.

Bruce wanted to write the next part, so I waited for him, but alas, he hadn’t the time.

Eva’s was busy, and very hot. I casually turned the big fan with my foot to blow directly on our table. Better. We ordered our cold drinks and chicken, and waited.

And waited and waited and waited. The place was busy but not THAT busy. I looked around and everyone there was eating either fried or stew chicken. Bruce figured (as a former chef) that the tiny place most likely ran out of chicken and had to go find more and cook it quick. So eventually we got our food, but the chicken was not as good as last time, and the portion of chicken significantly smaller.

My men – waiting at eva’s:

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/79851141

The wait was a good excuse for Bruce to do what he loves to do there – stand outside smoking and talking to any local who happens by. I came out too, and he was talking to a guy who was down on his luck. Mom died, sis died, hurt my leg….We’ve all heard the stories. He tugged at Bruce’s sympathies, and then asked for money. It is always difficult for us to explain that although we must seem rich to them, we are very not rich in US standards. Also, I never give money - I only offer food or smokes. We usually get blank stares in return. We offered him cigarettes, as it was all we had. Later, went I went to check on Bruce again, same thing. Only the next guy looked worse off than the first. By now we had eaten, but this guy was being quite pushy with Bruce. I was a little nervous, but handed the guy a tortilla. He inhaled it without even acknowledging my existence. He continued to hassle Bruce. I started giving him a plate of leftover fries, he rudely grabbed it out of my hand, and he asked for money. I said I had none and that I gave him food, and he made a rude comment at me and left in a cursing huff. This was our only bad experience in all of Cayo. This we see in many of our travels – where there is tourism, there is easy money, and therefore drug abuse.

On a cool note – it was then, as we finished up, the drums started. I took the boys outside, and across the way 3 young garifuna men were drumming away. What amazed me was they drummed on and on, not stopping for what seemed a very long time. They were good! We watched in the dark for a while, I put $5 on their table (hoping it was not for drugs), and it was time to head back. We had to pack for our long drive the next day to the coast.

Yep - unfortunately with the increase in tourism, there has been a marked increase in beggars and scammers through out the country.
Next time try ERVA's not Eva's - much better food. On Far West St - like 2 blocks behind Eva's. Not as colorful an atmosphere but much better food, homemade breads, etc. Locals eat there. Owned by very nice folks.
Great report - keep it coming!!!;-)

LOL, barb! - we tried to go there twice: the first time we couldn't find it, the next time it was monday and they were closed!! such is life!

Good story, waiting for more. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Day 5, Tuesday May 22

This was to be our last day at DuPlooy’s, a little sad for me. I love Cayo. So, guess how I started my day?? Yep, up for sunrise, and this time my hunny got up with me. We did a little pre-packing, and headed for the coffee.

The morning didn’t disappoint us; we stood on the platform over the Macal watching the mist and listening to the birds. we drank lotsa coffee, talked and took photos. we didn't see another human being. so peaceful. i knew we would return someday.

We had a very long day ahead of us, so we woke the boys up and had one more yummy breakfast, being sure to order extra fryjacks.

Leo at our breakfast table:

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81432961


That morning, one of the dogs, a very cute puppy named Lucky, hung out with us. We all were giving him tons of attention, He knew he wasn’t allowed in the eating area, so it was a double special treat for him. All the dogs at duPlooy’s were former strays who are very well taken care of.

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81015768


We hated to eat and run, but the open road was calling. We packed up, hopped the deck rail to the Beast, shoved everything and everyone in, looking forward to our next destination: the inland blue hole national park.

Mah hunny and the Beast:

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81432964

i am not writing fast enough, so i will post pics now. (cut down from 600 pics!!) for best view, please run the slideshow (top right)

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/belize_mainland_07

enjoy - will try to get moving on this before my next trip!!

Sweetjane, wow, what a great set of pics. Thanks so much.

Excellent pics. Thanks! Love the wedding shot! May your new life always be as happy as you all looked in that photo!
And you got to meet Marty in Placencia? How cool is that!!

thanks, everyone! Second time meeting Marty - great and cool guy.

more:

Still Day 5

Ok, so we started back toward SI, sad, but excited. We did a little drive thru town, and crossed the bridge to Santa Elena. We needed to stop for water, so we pulled over and Bruce ran into a small store. Although we had just finished breakfast, there was a guy barbequing chicken a few feet away, and it smelled GOOD! When Bruce got back he said the same, and I thought it would make a great picnic lunch. Everyone agreed!!

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/81432966

we waited until the platters were packed to go, and headed for the Hummingbird Highway. Man, that chicken smelled good.

The ride was amazing. After a while, the scenery changed to hilly jungle, green and lush. We were totally digging it.

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/82804766

Next thing we knew, we were at the next stop. Our intention was to hit both the blue hole and st. herman’s cave, since they are adjacent. We went to the visitors center to check it out. We realized there was no way we had time for both – we were told it was important to get to Maya Beach before dark, and i promised to stop in Dangriga to bring Belizegial's son a pair of shoes for his 8th grade graduation. we unanimously decided on the Blue Hole, and off we went.

The walk from the parking area down to the hole is short, hot, but lovely. Half jungle, half landscaped, and complete with 3 covered picnic tables, changing areas, outhouses, sinks and paper towels.

You go down some stairs, and you immediately see the blue water. It calls to you, cool and clear. Birds are here.

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/82805119
(pic is blurry, but you get the idea)

We pulled off our shirts, and bruce and leo slithered right in. Steve and I followed. It was just what we needed to cool down for the drive. Sweet!!

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/82805319

We then dried off, and climbed up the stairs. Bruce and Leo went and got the food and water (and a cold belikin for Bruce) from the Beast, and we chowed on barbequed chicken and potato salad.

No time to lose, so off we drove,


Then, we came up on the Maya Mountains.

http://www.pbase.com/sweetjane/image/82804780

ok, ok...back from next trip and still didnt finish this one...i'll get on it.

thanks for the support. (even pedro said he was reading it!)

here is video (again, sorry for low quality) of the drive west on the hummingbird highway thru the maya mountains. you can kinda get the feel of it.

it was one of the coolest drives of our lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujDLS37Fu3U

So true.The Humming Bird Highway is almost a tourist destination.
not just the views but its inhabitants as well.