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Belize 2019

January 2019
MLK long weekend in Belize with Juan and Pablo. Read more
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  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 1

    Scuba diving in Caye Caulker

    January 19, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We took a red eye flight and arrived in Belize City around 7AM. We actually got very lucky, because we paid less than 500$ for a relatively short flight from San Jose, with a 4 hour layover in LA. It was fun because Pablo had access to the American Express lounge, with free snacks and drinks.

    We took a taxi to the ferries. We paid 30$. Belize is interesting because you can pay with Belizean dollars or US dollars, and the change rate is 2 to 1. Still, we got Belizean dollars from an ATM next to the ferry station. We had got our tickets to Caye Caulker in advance, at 10.30, and after confirming and leaving our luggage at the station, we went to have breakfast at a restaurant next door. The food was OK but the place was pleasant.

    I spent all the ferry trip napping. I was so sleepy after the red eye flight! We arrived and Caye Caulker was amazing! Turquoise water, little houses, and a chill vibe. I had considered booking an hotel in San Pedro instead, but Caye Caulker seemed to be more quiet and less resorty and overdeveloped. After staying here, I think we made the right choice.

    We walked to our accommodation, Barefoot Hotel, which was only a few bloks away and next to everything. We had booked a scuba diving trip at 1PM, so we didn't have time to do much other than unpacking. The hotel was simple and a bit rundown, but clean and comfortable, with a hammock in the balcony.

    For Juan and me, this was our first time scuba diving. Pablo had already done it, but he needed a refresher. We went with a company called Frenchie's, who accommodated us at 1PM when we told them we wouldn't be able to be there earlier.

    The scuba diving itself was an amazing experience! Our guide and instructor, Jose, was very skilled and explained us everything well. I was worried that the whole experience would be unpleasant, but I actually loved it! We saw a lot of beautiful fish, including a bunch of manta rays, a lobster, and a barracuda. Pablo had got some gear to take photos and video with his iPhone, so we got a bunch of fun pics that he later color corrected a bit.

    After the trip we went back to the hotel, took a shower and got ready for the night. We checked Lonely Planet and decided to go to a place called Hibiscus by Habaneros, which used to be called just Hibiscus and was very good. We got ceviche, and pork chop, and fish. We decided to add another appetizer and had dessert, and they moved us to a different table because they said they had a reservation. That was kind of weird, but whatever. The food was excellent and the dessert, Español donuts, was so tasty!

    After dinner we went to have a couple of drinks at a bar. there didn't seem to be too many lively options, and the most popular one was clearly a sports bar by the beach, so we just have need up there. Pablo and I were very sleepy so the three of us went back to the hotel quite early, around 10PM.    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 2

    Snorkeling in Caye Caulker

    January 20, 2019, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After our great experience scuba diving, we had planned a full-day snorkeling trip. We booked it with a different operator this time, Caveman, and it included the trip on a motorboat, stops at different points, lunch, and fruit snacks. The day started windy and kind of cold, but we decided to go ahead anyway, so after having breakfast at Blue Morpho Cafe we head to the meeting point, where we got out gear and met the other people on our trip: a few Americans and a British couple.

    Our captain and guide let us know that the trip would depend on the weather, and that we maybe wouldn't be able to see see some things because of it, like the seahorses. That's also why we went straight to the most important spots.

    I'm not gonna lie. The motorboat trip was somewhat painful. It was cold, wet, and bumpy, and it felt like we were going to fly away at any moment. I admit I was questioning our decision to not cancel the tour. But it was so worthy! We went to the Shark Ray Alley and the Holidays Chan Marine Reserve, where we swam with sharks, manta rays, and lots of colorful fish. We saw the coral gardens, and the bottom covered in shells. The water was turquoise-colored and warm, and we had an amazing time. And, after all, had it been sunny we would probably have sunburned. A couple of things about the tour that could have been better: one, having something to prevent our goggles from fogging. And two, getting more explanations and anecdotes from our guide, who told us the names of a lot of the flora and fauna we saw, but not that much of their characteristics or habitats.

    Before the end of the tour, we went to the Split, where we saw the big tarpon fish, which jump from the water to grab food from your hand. It really made me want to go check out the other side of the island, the less developed one, but we didn't do it.

    We went back to the hotel to rest a bit, and went out again to take a walk around the island and find a place to have dinner. We ended up going to Wish Willy Bar & Grill and it was fine, but not as good as the restaurant from the previous night. It was much cheaper and chill though. After dinner, we went to have a drink to the bar next to the one where we had been the previous night, which was quite empty and pleasant, and watched the moon eclipse before heading back to the hotel and going to sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 3

    Sunset in Caye Caulker

    January 21, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    For our second day in Caye Caulker, Juan and I decided to wake up early to go see the sunrise at the Split. The Split is a waterway in Caye Caulker that divides the island in two. The northern side is less developed and we didn't go there, but from the southern side you could mostly see trees and a couple of people. It would have been great to check it out if we had had more time.

    Some people say that the Split was created by hurricane Hattie in 1961. Apparently, this is not exactly true. According to Wikipedia and our snorkeling guide, the waterway is mostly man-made. It's true that the Hurricane opened a little passage, but people made it bigger and the flow dredged the rest.

    You can't swim here because the flow is too strong. There are plenty of fish and birds, and a bunch of chairs to sit and relax. Sunrise and it was beautiful.

    After that, we went to have breakfast at Ice & Beans, a nice little spot at the beach that opens at 6AM and offers coffee, donuts, and some bagels. In fact, we decided to go decadent and share a Nutella bagel with banana. Juan went back to the hotel but I went to take a walk around town, something I hadn't really been able to do in the previous two days.

    We had planned to get the ferry at 10.30AM, but it was full and they accommodated us in a motorboat. Good luck I had my Dramamine! It was sad to leave the island behind, but I was excited for the second part of our trip, San Ignacio and the inland.    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 3

    Spanish Lookout & San Ignacio

    January 21, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We took a cab to the car rental office, near the airport, and got our 4x4. This was actually needed! The roads in Belize are terrible, and you absolutely need a 4x4 if you're planning to go by yourself to some sites. On our way to San Ignacio we stopped in Spanish Lookout, a Mennonite community.

    Sometimes mistaken for Amish, Mennonites are members of Christian communities that originated in the XVI century with the Anabaptists in German and Dutch speaking parts of Europe. I guess we were aware that Spanish Lookout was more modern and open than other Mennonite communities, but we felt a bit disappointed to see that the village felt more like rural USA than anything else.

    In any case, we had lunch at Sisters Diner followed by ice cream at Western Dairies, an important dairy manufacturer that has been around since 1967, and then we went to San Ignacio, where we had booked a little apartment with two rooms at Rainforest Haven Inn. We took the route that crosses the Belize River by hand-cranked ferry, which was fun.

    We arrived in San Ignacio a bit after 4PM so we couldn't go to the Iguana Conservation Project, which was just hosting it's last tour of the day, so instead we just went to take a walk around town.

    San Ignacio is a small, vibrant place with a bunch of restaurants and guesthouses. There's not that much to do in town, but it's an excellent base to go on activities around the area. In retrospective, we could have tried to fit something else on the way there, but it was still nice to take it easy.

    We had a drink at a bar and then we went for dinner to Ko-Ox Han Nah, a well reviewed restaurant that offered some combination of Indian and Central American food and ended up being very good. The three of us had lamb dishes and the three of them were good. After dinner we just went back home.    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 4

    Xunantunich

    January 22, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We woke up early -- we had a full day planned!

    We had breakfast at the New French Bakery in San Ignacio, a small and well reviewed spot with good pastries, and head to our first destination: the Maya site of Xunantunich.

    I haven't visited any other Maya sites and I'm aware Xunantunich may not be the most spectacular one, but I loved it. To get there we had to cross the Mopan river with yet another hand-cranked cable ferry. We actually asked our guide in Xunantunich why they wouldn't build a proper bridge. "Tourists like it," he laughed.

    Talking about our guide, we found him there, right before crossing the river. Guides wait there to offer their services to visitors. I feel we got very lucky, because our guide, Joseph Paul Panti, was extremely good. He was really friendly and spent three hours with us telling us all kinds of details about the site and the surroundings. He could answer questions and was also familiar with the fauna, so he was able to point us to the howler monkeys on the trees, which are supposed to be very loud, although not when we were there. On top of that, he spoke Spanish, something that not all guides would have been able to do.

    Most of the city hasn't even been excavated yet, but Xunantunich is truly impressive. One good thing about it is that is not as crowded as other places, and that you can actually walk all over the place and get to the top of the highest pyramid. From there, you'll see Guatemala.

    Our guide told us lots of facts and stories about the site, but there are a couple I particularly remember. One, that the Xunantunich site has actually had several names, including Mount Maloney, after Sir Alfred Maloney, who was the first to report of the site in 1881. The name Xunantunich, which means "stone maiden" in Maya, was given to the site by Thomas Gann in his 1925 book Mistery Cities. It refers to a legend that says that a stone maiden appeared to one of the villagers, who ran away.

    Another interesting fact is that the stucco frieze in the photo is not the real one. It's a replica that covers the original one, which was rapidly deteriorating. One of these decorations was added in 1996. Another, in 2001.

    The works to excavate the rest of the site are going slowly, because there aren't really many archeologists or resources in Belize. I thought that, were I an archeology student, I probably would love to come work here.    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 4

    Barton Creek Cave

    January 22, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After Xunantunich we headed to Barton Creek Cave. We didn't have time to go to the famous Actun Tunichil Muknal, which was a full day visit, and came here instead.

    The road was quite bumpy, Belize-style, and we had to cross a river to get to Mike's Place (http://bartoncreekcave.com.)

    This is actually an interesting story. A Canadian, Mike Bogaert, bought the land where the cave is located years ago, but Belize's law gives the ownership of all caves to the Institute of Archeology. That means the landowner, who has a restaurant and rents our equipment and canoes to explore Barton Creek, can't prevent access to others. In local media I read that Bogaert was not happy about this situation and had accused the government of wrongly taking his land away from him.

    “It’s going to be overrun with cruise ship business; we are going to terrorize our Mennonite community. I’ve already lost any privacy I’ve ever had back here now with these people here, and we are going to destroy Barton Creek Cave as a tourist destination,” said Bogaert, according to a story of News News 5 Belize from September 2003 that continues:

    "But the government insists they are at Barton Creek to properly manage and protect the sensitive remains at the site. According to the Department of Archaeology’s Jaime Awe, the Bogaerts have been compensated and the appropriation of the land was only necessary because the family refused to compromise with the government. G.O.B. says in the end, they just want to ensure access to everyone, even those carrying canoes."

    In any case, Mike looked quite happy when we visited the place and the garden surrounding the restaurant by the cave was beautiful. However, the visit that we booked with one of his guides was interesting but somewhat expensive, considering that it only lasted about an hour.

    The cave was used by the Maya and you can still see some pieces of pottery and human remains. Not a lot, because many were looted soon after the cave was first reported, but they indicate that the cave was used as early as 1800 years ago and until the Late Classic period (600 to 900.) The remains of at least 28 humans have been found here and archeologists believe the cave was used for ritual ceremonies, possibly including human sacrifices. Some areas of the cave seem to have been purposely modified by the Maya to access some locations that were difficult to reach. This was actually a very interesting visit after Xunantunich.

    When we reached a deep part of the cave, our guide told us to turn off the lights. I don't think I've ever been in such a dark place. Even after a few minutes, I couldn't see anything other than blackness.    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 4

    Last night in San Ignacio

    January 22, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After Xunantunich and the Barton Creek Cave, we head back to San Ignacio. We wanted to check out AJAW Chocolate & Crafts, a little chocolate factory, but we arrived too late for the full tour of the farm and could only do a short tasting and demonstration. It was short and simple but we still got to see the fruit of the cacao tree and the beans and nibs, and buy a couple of bars at their little store.

    After this visit we went back to our hotel. We wanted to go to the rooftop, which had a great view and hammocks, but Pablo and I got distracted talking about the Oscar nominations and we missed the sunset. It was nice and pleasant to though.

    One fascinating thing about the hotel is that in the ground floor it had a little store with hot sauces and a full display of the history of Marie Sharp's company, including a full size cardboard of Marie Sharp herself. My tolerance to hot sauce is basically zero, so I can't say anything about the products themselves.

    For dinner we went to The Great Mayan Prince Restaurant. It wasn't as good as the one of the previous night, but it was fine and we ordered a lot of food.

    After dinner we went back to the hotel. Pablo was very awake and wanted to watch videos but I was so sleepy after the long day!    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 5

    Last day in Belize

    January 23, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We didn't have that much time to spend on our last day in Belize. Our flight was around 1PM and we still had to drive from San Ignacio to Belize City. Still, we managed to do a couple of things before leaving the country.

    We got up early and went again to have breakfast at the New French Bakery. Right after we headed to the Iguana Conservation Project, which was marked as a highlight on our Lonely Planet. The space is located in the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, a place with what it looks like a jungle in their backyard. They rescue injured iguanas and release them again when they're ready. The Conservation Project is not a big venue or tour or anything that, but basically a cage with a bunch of these animals where you can get in and pet them for half an hour.

    The iguanas there are used to people and seemed to enjoy being petted -- obviously, you shouldn't do it if you just find one out there in the wild.

    Apparently, the best time to see them being active is the early afternoon. When we visited it was too early and the were slow and lazy. Still, we really enjoyed the visit and our guide told us a few bites of information about them. They were so cute!

    After visiting the iguanas we headed back to Belize City to take our flight. On the way there we stopped for a quick visit at the Belize Central Prison, which was on the road. It's the only prison in the country, and therefore hosts all kinds of criminals, from casual thieves to murderers. One weird and interests the is that it has a small gift shop that sells items from its wood workshop, like walking sticks, masks, and decorative boxes, crafted by the prisoners themselves.

    The facilites are managed by the Kolbe Foundation and they say that all funds earned by gift-shop sales go back to the maintenance of the prison.

    This is written on their website: "Punishment by incarceration deprives offenders of their most fundamental human right - freedom of movement and freedom of association. Incarceration also seeks to protect the community from these offenders, however, the majority of them come from a complex environment with grave problems such as drug addiction, unemployment and homelessness. As such then, the aim should be to improve the prospects for their lives upon release. It is our belief that appalling inhumane prison conditions, absence of rehabilitation of family/community reintegration programs, actually only gives inmates a better chance of improving their criminal skills."    Read more

  • TravelerBelize 2019
    Day 6

    What I wish I had known - Belize

    January 24, 2019 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    - You can pay everywhere in US dollars. In fact, you may pay in Belizean dollars and get change back in US dollars.
    - Driving in Belize is safe but the roads are quite bad.
    - You can find your guide in Xunantunich directly.
    - Caye Caulker was a great place to stay.

    Highlights:
    - Scuba diving and snorkeling in Caye Caulker
    - Xunantunich
    - Iguana sanctuary
    - Dinner in Ko-Ox Han Nah (San Ignacio)

    Could have been better:
    - Barton Creek Cave was cool but pricey and not very long.
    - Spanish Lookout was disappointing.
    - AJAW Chocolate & Crafts tasting. Maybe a longer tour would have been more interesting.    Read more

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