Biggest Post to Date
We just returned from our best trip to Belize. It just never gets old. Unfortunately this was the hottest trip ever. Day temps were around 90c. The little town where we spend most of our time (San Ignacio) offered a wide cultural variety of cuisine (which we enjoyed to the fullest). Aside from the standard Belizian meals, we enjoyed French pastries, Sri Lankan, South Indian, Italian and Garifuna meals. We also picked up lots of fresh fruit, veggies and eggs at the market (no preservatives no hormones!!!). The kids enjoyed all of these places because most of them also served hot dogs or burgers (rotten American kids). They also made quite a few friends at the local playgrounds. We saw many sites this trip. First we hit the Belize Zoo. Honestly the best zoo I’ve ever seen. A humble little zoo on just 29 acres. It is just a few pathways cut into the jungle with native-only rescued animals. You get really close to the animals there. Did I mention the heat? Then we went to Xunantunich (shu-nan-tu-nich) – a Mayan ruins near the village of Succotz. This thing is 130ft high (turned my stomach). We temporarily adopted a little Belizian boy (Peyvon) on this excursion. He is the grandson of some friends of ours. After the ruins we went to Stonetree Records. This little studio in the village of Benque Viejo del Carmen is the hub of Belizian music. We drove through neighborhoods for a while and finally gave up and walked up to a little house to ask directions. Thank goodness I didn’t give up. When I got there this awesome little dude named Otto (general manager) GAVE us 11 CDs and a book on the history of Belize. I now have a library of some of the best musicians in the country… this was a highlight for me. Most of the people reading this post will be forced to hear some of this wonderful music. On the third day I couldn’t resist looking at more real estate… once you visit you will understand this little obsession of mine. We went to a cool little house that was right next to a waterfall (right on the property!). Sadly, this abandoned little house was occupied by stray dogs and FULL of fleas… which got all over all of us. We called this day “fleas and falls.” Later, some of our local friends invited us into their home for lunch and then we went to another friend’s house so the kids could do some swimming. After that we took the kids our to the country and let them ride a horse for a bit. The following day we drove into the mountains up to Big Rock Falls in the Mountain Pine Ridge (yes… a pine forest in Belize — I’ll tell you about the bark beetle later). These falls were incredible. We had to hike down the side of a pretty steep canyon to get there… then back out. The pictures almost speak for themselves. It was a beautiful spot to hike, sit, think and swim. Oh yeah… it was hot. After that we visited Green Hills Butterfly Ranch. I had NO interest in visiting this place… Lisa’s idea. I totally dug it! The kids actually learned a lot. There was a really nice Dutch lady running the place and she was great with the kids. On the second to last day, we drove through the mountains on the Hummingbird Highway to Hopkins in the Stann Creek district. On the way we stopped by the Inland Blue Hole. This is not the famous Blue Hole on the barrier reef, but instead, a deep swimming hole by and in a little cave. Awesome place to cool down. I went in the cave to take some pictures but while I was trying to figure out how to take pictures I was dive-bombed by a few bats which gave me the heebie-jeebies. So… I took some crappy pics in the cave and ran away like a little girl. By the way, I’m not kidding… they flew down and kicked or swatted or did whatever bats do to my camera and my head… FREAKY! In Hopkins we ate some local Garifuna food (Snapper) and went for a swim in the Caribbean. The water was crazy warm. I snapped a few pics on the way home. This upset Lisa as she thought I should devote my undivided attention to driving. Nothing better than amateur pics taken while driving mountains. Finally we went to our property where we each sweat more than the 5 gallons of water we brought and replenished at a strange Mennonite restaurant — a buffet known as the Golden Corral… funny. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the flat tire on the the way there. WHOOPIE! Did I mention the heat?! So that was this trip. I’ve left out so much because this post is already too long. I could write a book on this one visit. I totally love that little country. It’s unrefined, dirty, and hot… but beautiful and like a home to me. Hopefully you can all experience Belize soon.
