The howler monkeys served as our alarm clock in Belize and ordered us awake around 5:00 AM. It was lucky we had to be up early for our excursion! After breakfast, a hot cup of coffee, and a quick briefing from our guide Lenny, we were off to the ATM cave. As I quickly learned, close toes shoes are a must for the cave and clothing that does not reveal your shoulders or knees is preferred, especially from clumsy people like me! Even with the proper attire we still encountered a few stubbed toes and a minor scratch.
After the 45 minute hike to the cave entrance Lenny fitted us with our head lamps and we jumped in the water. Even moving fairly quickly, it was about an hour of scrambling over rocks and swimming though deep waters in order to make it to the main cavern. However, with Lenny leading the way we always felt safe! At the main cavern, we climbed up a ledge where we were asked to take off our shoes in order to help preserve the cave. It was unbelievable to see the broken pots, the burn marks on the walls from the Mayan rituals, and several skulls from the Mayan sacrifices. Our lights danced over the remains and the incredible stalagmites and stalactites sparkling all around us. After taking it all in Lenny instructed us to turn out our lights and gave us a moment to experience complete darkness and utter silence. We were so thankful that we had the entire cave to ourselves in this moment.
Eventually we broke the silence and Lenny led us deeper in to the cave to see the most common attraction. People typically refer to this as the “crystal maiden”. However, during recent cave excavations archaeologists learned that the full skeleton is actually not a maiden at all, but rather a teenage boy!
We reunited with our shoes and continued the trek though the lower caves just as two other groups were making their way in. Staying at Pook’s Hill allowed us to avoid the bus loads of people and made the experience incredibly unique. It made the early morning wake-up call totally worth it. I only wish we were allowed to bring our camera and capture it!
Pook’s recommended that we don’t arrange any additional excursions for the day since the 3-4 hours in the cave can be tiring. They were absolutely right and the rest of the afternoon was spent leisurely exploring the river and jungle surrounding the hotel grounds.
Cooling off in the river near Pook's Hill (Kate Boyd)
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
