Belize Part 6

Our final full day in Belize was one of the best. Even though I found out I'm a little claustrophobic outside of airplanes. Seriously, never had this problem except for flying. But apparently the "no way out" plus "can't see a thing" combination is a little freaky. I was great as long as John or the guide held onto my tube, and once I got used to it the trip was fun. But the first cave was freaky.

Anyway, backing up. We had a nice drive through the Belizean countryside before we got to the reserve. Then it was a 30-40 minute walk up river to the start of the water trail. We started very low in the cave system. If you start at the top it takes about 6 hours to float down (depending on the water levels). We did about an hour in the caves, 20 minutes in the river outside the caves.

Sadly, still no monkeys in the jungle. Adrian explained that most of them had been killed off due to yellow fever in the 80s, so while there were a lot in their zoos, seeing them in nature was quite rare. It made me want to give money so that the zoos actually could breed and release animals into the wild rather than just keep them locked up. :(

Since our guide was from Mayan ancestry, he taught us about birds and plants throughout the hike. We ate a bunch of this one nut, which tasted like a mix between and almond and a coconut. He even taught us to smash them like a Mayan! I might have smashed very badly the first time and sent the nut flying into the jungle. Don't worry, everyone kept their eyes. Can't say that there isn't a dent in a tree now, though.

And then Adrian's all "Hey, how about some termites?" And when a Mayan offers you termites, you just eat them. Because you're in Belize and why not eat bugs? Actually, termites are pretty woody/nutty. I highly recommend them.

So after a snack of nuts and termites, and after 2 river crossings, we were at our starting point.

Lucky for me, we actually went down 3 caves. So it wasn't all pitch black, there were a few breaks of sun. But that first one was scary! We did have headlamps, but there are still just dark walls closing in on you. I learned that headlamps really only give you so much light. You really can't see what's coming - I think that was the scariest part.

Also really freaky is being in a cave with a waterfall. And again, not being able to see it. We were on a very popular, non-adventurous (compared to other Belizean cave tours) so I knew there was nothing to fear. We were not going to plunge over a waterfall or anything. But when all you can hear is crashing water echoing all around you? Cool in many ways, but intimidating. Of course the waterfall was like a foot. Nothing big at all!

Outside the 3 caves it was a beautiful float down the river. I love sun!

I crashed into a prickly bush and nearly scratching my face up.Adrian spent about 10 minutes paddling us in circles back up the river because he wanted us to see a very hidden iguana. Never did see any males, who were all bright orange for mating season.

When we got to the end we did some swimming. John jumped off a cliff. He also caught a fish with his bare hands! And by bare hands, I mean he had banana peels in his pockets and lured the fish in there, then scooped it out. Either way, we impressed some random people on the river.

The walk back to the car was hilarious due to a butterfly. That little guy was IN LOVE with John's shirt. John sweat is like the nectar of the gods to butterflies.

We had thought about going to this other waterfall that afternoon, but we were exhausted. So we just hung out at the one by the hotel.

The trip home the next day was mostly uneventful. Except for me getting hauled away by security and John refusing to board the plane without me. It should have been a very easy extra security check but the one residue machine was broken and the very poor communication meant neither John or I knew what was going on. At least I know he's willing to get arrested in a foreign country rather than leave me all alone :) Really, it was not a big deal at all. I had to get my hands and bag swabbed for bomb stuffs and then they let me board, because obviously I am clean. It was just a series of crappy incidents that made a 5 minute thing take 25. And then everyone on the plane gave me evil looks for making them late. I wanted to take the intercom and tell them it was the airline's fault. After that we drank in Dallas and finally got home at 3am.

I am ready to go back any time. Or, since I have now more comfortable on the small planes, might do a Guatemala/Honduras island hop. Central America is pretty damn awesome.