Inland Week, Complete.

I missed last week’s post…sorry! While we have had intermittent e-mail access, the real reason for the delay: we have been busy! So, we are back in San Pedro Town after an eventful week traveling around Belize. We arrived back on Ambergris Caye Saturday afternoon after traveling via the San Pedro Express ferry. We’ve seen many things during our inland trip! We’ve ridden packed busses, hired unique and knowledgeable guides, met old friends and family, established new relationships, traveled to Mayan Archeological sites, visited the zoo, and dined at local flavorites. See our experiences as I write about the highlights:


Caves Branch – I think the accommodations at Caves Branch and the waterfalls tour was one of my favorites! This was quite a diversion from the hustle and bustle occurring daily in San Pedro Town. The location was halfway between Belize City and Guatemala to the west. Caves Branch is a natural setting described with adjectives such as, serene, peaceful and inviting. The teacher candidates and I stayed three to a cabin, and we reserved three cabins for a one-night stay. Upon arrival but after ‘settling in’ to our cabins, we decided to take a pre-dinner excursions and short bus ride with a Cave’s Branch tour guide to the ‘Blue Hole’. There, we walked down a large hill to the awaiting river below. The swimming hole quickly revealed itself to us! We all swam in the deep, fresh water hole about as blue as one could imagine. The swimming hole was an obvious local favorite as around 10 Belizeans were already enjoying the water. The ‘Blue Hole’ is part of an active national park system that transverses the nation (http://www.centralamerica.com/belize/parks/bluehole.htm).

We had a hearty dinner and light breakfast in the ‘mess hall’ before heading out on our excursions. The students chose to participate in three different excursions: river tubing, repelling, and waterfall exploring. I chose to explore the waterfalls. The well trained guides drove the group through rows and rows of orange trees. We rode on old school busses and prepared ourselves to hike into the forest on our way to the cave’s entrance. From there, we entered the cave with helmets secured tightly to our heads and illuminated lights strapped around each helmet. We entered the cave’s opening along an exiting river of water. As we hiked deeper and deeper into the caves we observed both biotic (insect and fruit bats, scorpion spider, cave cricket, catfish) and abiotic (stalagmites, stalactites, cave openings, rock types) factors. But, we had little idea of what was to come as all of us tried to avoid getting wet in the river by jumping from dry rock to dry rock. While we had come to see the picturesque waterfalls, many of us were unprepared for the invitation to jump off into awaiting pools below. All-in-all, we climbed above and jumped into around 5 large cave waterfalls ‘hooting and hollering’ each time. The water was chilly, but not cold. All of us were quite comfortable as getting wet was the theme of the day’s hike. We enjoyed a well deserved lunch in one of the large chambers of the cave. We exited the cave and drove back to Cave’s Branch, anxious to tell our stories to the others. (http://www.cavesbranch.com/adventures/caving.html)

I think my only regret is that we only spent one night at Cave’s Branch. During future excursions, I think we will spend two or three evenings here as many other students enjoyed their excursions just as much!


Belize Zoo – Despite our early disappointment in missing the Belize Zoo at the onset of the trip, Margo, Kristen, and I decided to depart San Ignacio on a public bus for Belmopan ($2.50 each way). Upon arrival, we paid the $5.00 entrance fee and quickly encountered the Tapir, the Belizean National Animal. This animal is otherwise referred to as the mountain cow. The animals are so close to the visitors that in many cases you can reach out and touch them. Kristen trotter did just that! But, we just had to be careful to not get too close to many of the other more dangerous animals. The Spider Monkey’s exhibit was a highlight of the visit. The animals are threatened due to poaching, viral outbreaks, and capture to satisfy the dangerous pet trade. They really put on a good show for us! We traveled through the small park seeing white-tail deer, keel-billed toucans, paca, scarlet macaw, collared aracari, jaguaroundi and ornate hawk-eagle. The Ocelots (or tiger cat) were some of the more beautiful big cats I’ve ever seen! The big paws and the leopard-like coloring were really neat. The ocelot rubbed the fence as a common household cat would, purring and waiting for dinner. The black howler monkeys were in true form…howling and yelling at pitch and decibel levels that are amazingly loud. The very endangered harpy eagle was the size of a human. Two were on display and it was the closest I’ve ever been to one. But, the Jaguar (tiger) was the highlight for me! Such a beautiful and majestic animal…one could see that protection of such a species is paramount. The agility and the grace were present in the large cat. We had the opportunity to watch the cat being fed treats. (http://www.belizezoo.org/zoo/zoo/mammal.html)


Navigating the Countryside – Many students enjoyed the challenge of traveling inland Belize using public transportation. BUT, I had to navigate the need to get to students to the accommodations on time while allowing all students the flexibility to travel in unique ways. Many folks had warned me about the challenges and sometimes the dangers of traveling on the public busses. And, it is true, the busses and system seem antiquated by our standards in the states, but there is raw enjoyment to conquering (maybe never understanding) the journey from one city to the next. We never really knew which stop was the correct one or when to get off of the bus, but we never encountered any problems or any unpleasantness. It is really been pleasurable to see many students overcome their fears of this type of foreign travel while many others have lead the group in one travel conquest after another. All in all, we navigated airports, busses, boats, taxi’s, private transports, golf carts, bikes, and feet! (http://belize-guide.info/getting.around/buses/)


Lamanai – This was another highlight of the travel experience inland. Lamanai (submerged crocodile) is a Mayan ruins that covers over 10 miles of riverside. John, Kristen B., Kristen T., Margo, Will and I decided to take the popular river boat tour from Orange Walk to reach ruins. We were lead by Carlos, our fearless leader! The river boat held around 30 passengers, had twin 200 Yamaha engines, and quickly navigated the small river flowing from the ancient lakes over 20 miles from departure. Along the way, we stopped to observe crocodiles, watch wading birds, and feed spider monkeys.

We slowed past canoes of fisherman with stringers of fish and swimming children jumping from docks emerging from the shoreline. We even pasted a Mennonite village along the way. It was interesting to learn that the Mennonites made up 10% of the overall Belizean population and produced 70% of the agricultural products for the country. But, the highlight of the visit was arrival at the Mayan site and bearing witness to the ten story temple that emerged out of the river mountainside. We quickly ate lunch on the shore, visited the museum and gift shops, and departed to explore the once thriving village! We hiked through the ruins to emerging at the base of the Mayan temple. It was thought that 40,000 to 60,000 people considered the site home during the first millennium. The climb to the top was steep and we had to use a rope to assist in the assent. But, what a view from the top of the temple! One could clearly see why the top was considered a place of convening with the Gods. I think I will “require” this excursion of all our students participating in future field experiences. It was a great visit! (http://www.belize-vacation.com/belize/lamanai.htm)