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Belize and Guatemala Tour 2003

By : Sandra Woerner
Trip Begins November 15, 2003
Trip Ends November 23, 2003


See my photos : Belize and Guatemala Tour 2003

Want to go? Belize Explorer

I went to: Belize, Pooks Hill Lodge, Guatemala, Tikal Ruins, Actun Tunichil Muknal, San Pedro, Ambergris, Tides Beach Resort, Belize City, Flores, Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve, Xunantunich, Belize
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November 15, 2003
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Day 1

Pooks Hill Lodge, Belize

I had been exposed to the idea of traveling to Belize several years earlier when a friend told me about living there when her father was a missionary. I tucked this idea into the back of my mind and made four other trips before I decided to look into a trip to Belize. My husband had succumbed to esophageal cancer seven months earlier. He had give me money to take a trip whenever I could. I had taken care of him during his four year battle with cancer and was not able to be away from him more than an hour or so the last six months of his illness. He wanted me to take a trip as he knew I loved to travel.

My friend Sarah, and I left the Austin Bergstrom Int. Airport on November 15, 2003. My son, Cody, took us to the airport. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes while they checked the air filters and found the water was contaminated. Eventually, we were on our way.

We reached Belize City about four PM. We were met by a driver for Pook's Hill (our jungle lodge destination). The last five and a half miles we rode was off the main road and very bumpy so it seemed more like twenty miles. It was dark the last hour or so of our drive. Since there wasn't much light when we arrived (only on the large verandah and a few trail lights), we could not tell much about our surroundings. We were fed a wonderful meal when we arrived. Local girls came in to cook all three meals each day. We had our meals in a long room below the verandah where there were several long tables. Other travelers were there as well. We were served rice, fried plaintain, steamed vegetables, beans, salsa and fried eggplant.

When we finished eating, Sarah and I went to our round thatched roof lodge and found a visitor. Since the door left a crack of about an inch from the ground, a green lizard had made himself at home. We named him George and he stayed with us the entire time we were there. We were tired from the long flight and excitement, not to mention the long drive, and retired early. I was anxious for morning and a chance to see our surroundings and what the day would hold for us.

November 16, 2003
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Day 2

Rio Macal

The next morning we got up at 6:15 to bird watch with Ben (our guide). He had worked in a national forest and was very knowledgeable about the animal life there and was an excellent birder. I had never bird watched before so it took me a while to be able to sight the birds. I had brought a pair of digital binoculars with a camera with me. We saw a toucan and various other birds.The morning air was crisp and I was very alert to sounds because it was unusually quiet at that time of morning. One day when we were walking in an open field, Ben let a huge red-rumped tarantula crawl into his hand. I knew they were not dangerous, but this one was gigantic and looked fearsome to me.

After birding, we had a wonderful cup of hot tea with honey. I don't think it was a special blend but in that setting, it was the best cup of tea I had ever drunk. I often wish I could be sitting on the verandah there or outside soaking up the majestic beauty that surrounded me. To back up a bit, when we first stepped outside our lodge that morning, we were stunned at the beauty surrounding us. We were in the middle of the jungle and there were a few Mayan ruins. All the lodges were round and had thatched roofs.

After a wonderful breakfast of juice, scrambled eggs, toast, muesli and jelly, we left for Ignatius. We were going to canoe on the Macal river. We met the other four people who would be traveling with us. Two of them went on to Ambergris Caye with us. There was a young African-American woman from Washington, D.C., a young Asian woman from San Francisco, and a young man and another woman. These people were all in their 20's. Despite the age difference in us and the others, we all got along great. Most of them were well-traveled. Our guide for the canoeing had two canoes for us. While on the river, we saw a Greater Blue Heron, a Kingfisher, a lizard which runs on the water and many iguanas, whom the locals refer to as Bamboo chicken because they eat them. That is one reason why the owner of Pook's Hill (Ray and Vickie Snaddon) raise iguanas and turn them loose in the jungle. I adopted an iguana for a donation while I was there and named him Ichabod.

From there, we stopped by the Five Sisters ( the Garcia sisters). They had revived the art of carving in slate. They used cut off hacksaw blades to do the carving. We bought a few souvenirs and ate lunch there. I bought pendants for Thor and Zed (my grandsons). The sisters burned Kapol, which is like incense. We ate lunch there which was served outside on a table under a covered porch. We were served chicken soup and rice. We also ate freshly ground tortillas which were very tasty. We were told the history of how the sisters had revived the art of slate carving. After leaving there, we stopped by a butterfly farm called Green Hills. We were shown each step in raising butterflies and shipping them. There were butterflies in all stages of life. There were plates of fruit, mostly mangoes, for them to eat. It was a very colorful and lively place.

After a very bumpy ride back to our lodge(most of the roads were not paved), we got there a little before five PM. We were tired and hungry. A cup of that wonderful hot tea awaited us. Sometimes the cooks would bring us tea and sometimes Vickie served us. The owners were very nice and interesting. After another wonderful meal ( the fried potatoes were the best I have ever eaten) and much interesting dinner conversation (several people had arrived and there were about 20 people eating that night), some of us walked along a jungle path and got a glimpse of a kinkajou, which has a long tail and resembles a raccoon. They are nocturnal animals.

November 17, 2003
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Day 3

Tikal Ruins, Guatemala

After another hearty breakfast, we started on a three hour drive to Guatemala. When we reached the Guatemalan border, we got our passports and walked across the border. Ben left our car and we walked across the border. The surroundings were in stark contrast to that of Belize. Poverty was very evident and reminded me of Mexico. A lot of children who lived in rural areas did not attend school. Even the resident horses which were in so many yards were very thin.

After arriving at Tikal, an ancient Mayan ruin, we put our luggage in our rooms. The walls were very thin as we could hear our neighbors talking. We ate lunch at the lodge. The food definitely was not as good as the food at Pook's Hill. That evening, Ben walked with us to the crocodile pond, but he was in hiding and we never spotted him. We were tired from the long , sometimes rough drive and went to our rooms anxious for the morning tour through Tikal.

November 18, 2003
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Day 4

Pooks Hill Lodge, Belize

The next morning we joined our guide to the ruins. His father was one of the original archaeologists there. He was very knowledgeable, but difficult for me to understand. Before starting on our tour of the ruins, he showed us a small model of Tikal. Tikal was discovered in 1848 by Ambrosio Tut. There are still many uncovered ruins there.

Most of the pyramids have been closed off to climbers as there have bee a few deaths from people falling off of them. We climbed 71 rickety wooden steps to the top of one of the pyramids. I welcomed the chance to sit when we got to the top and look out at the view, which was absolutely glorious. I felt like I was at the top of the world. This particular pyramid was in one of the Star Wars movies. From the summit, we looked out over a dense jungle with just some of the tops of pyramids showing. We had a breathtaking view from our perch at the top of the pyramid.

Our walk through Tikal took a little over four hours. We saw the state tree, the Ceipa tree and some strange little animals. Our lunch consisted of barbeque chicken, potatoes and onion soup, vegetables and a roll with butter. We did a little shopping at the lodge. I bought a cane for my oldest son, Cord, as that is what I always bring him from my trips. Our meal that evening was quite good and consisted of pork chops, carrots, rice, fruit ad bean soup. By now, you know I have a hearty appetite and love to sample local fare.

November 19, 2003
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Day 5

Actun Tunichil Muknal, Belize

On our return trip to Pook's Hill the next morning, we stopped at Clarissa Falls and ate lunch. Very good! Due to the recent heavy rains the week before our arrival, we were not able to walk to the falls. By the time we arrived at Pook's Hill, we were tired from the drive and got out and stretched our legs and had a delicious cup of hot tea. We had another wonderful meal that evening. It is a good thing that we walked a lot, considering how much we ate.

A couple from England had arrived and they had done the cave trip that we would have to miss. They said it was a great experience, but difficult. There were about 14 people for dinner and the conservation was interesting and loud. I exchanged book titles with one of the young people there. Some of our group had walked to the river before dinner and swum in the Roaring River, which was cold and swift.We were supposed to go to the cave, but Ben thought it best to give the river another day to go down. That was an unfortunate decision for us since it started raining at four in the afternoon and rained all night. To get to the cave, we would have had to cross a creek and go inside the cave and swim 15 or 20 yards to the place where sacrifices had once been made. We could not go because of the heavy rain. This was a disappointment for me, but I had learned to be flexible on my travels.

November 20, 2003
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Day 6

Roaring River Valley

This morning, Ray asked who would like to take a trail ride and I have always loved horses and used to own a couple so I was ready for this adventure. Six of us went horseback riding through the jungle. My horse was named Frank and he was very nice. We got to lope our horses on an open field and not do the slow walk which people usually do on trail rides. Theresa, from D.C., had never been on a horse before, but she was game to try. Sarah was on a gray nag who would hardly move.

On our way back to the lodge, my cap caught a five foot loose tree limb and it hit Frank's rump. He gave a small jump, but was very calm. When I returned from our trip, I starting wanting to own a horse again which turned out to be a big mistake. That is another story for another time.

After lunch, Vickie, Sarah, Shanni and I tubed the Roaring River. Later, I sat on the verandah and read while it rained. There were several hummingbird feeders around the verandah and they whizzed by my head. I found out the name of that wonderful hot tea was Red Rose.

It rained and rained. Due to 12 hours of rain, our trip to the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave was canceled. Instead, we loaded into the Land Rover (which was a little iffy) and drove to Barton Creek Cave. On the way, we passed a Mennonite farm with people working outside. We had car trouble on the way (I said it was iffy) and William (driver) and Ben crawled under it and did some tinkering. They got it running again and we had to cross a raging creek. Ben gunned the Rover and we got across. I just knew we would get stuck and have to wade out.

Once there, we put on life jackets and got into canoes. Each canoe had a headlight with a large battery. It was an awesome experience to canoe in the completely dark cave. Several times our battery went out due to a short. We had two canoes so we just stayed close to the other canoe. There were many wonderful stalagtites and in some places, the roof of the cave was 150 feet high. The lodge had sent a picnic lunch with us and after caving, we ate and then started back to Pook's Hill. We happened upon a restaurant on the way back and stopped for ice cream. I drank a cappuccino which was the first I had had since leaving home. That was like an oasis for me. Another wonderful evening meal and visiting with the other travelers and back to our lodge to repack as we were to go to Ambergris Caye the following day.

November 21, 2003
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Day 7

Tides Beach Resort, San Pedro, Ambergris

After another hearty breakfast, we left at 7:30 AM and stopped by the Belize Zoo on our way to Belize City to catch our flight to Ambergris Caye. This was a great experience. We got there when they opened so we got there ahead of all the tour buses. The animals were in their natural habitat and I almost felt like I was seeing the animals in the jungle. We saw many different kinds of animals than what we see in the zoos in the states.

After leaving the zoo,we arrived in Belize City where we boarded a twelve passenger Tropic Air plane for Ambergris Caye. We bade Ben goodbye. He had been such a good guide. Our flight only lasted fifteen minutes. That was the first time I had flown in a puddle jumper. The water was beautiful as we flew over it.

We were met at the small airport and taken to our hotel (Potojo's) on the beach. It was such a beautiful setting, the beach and the water and palm trees. Two people in our original group traveled to a different destination but Sarah, myself, and two of the girls came to Ambergris. It had been a long time since we had eaten breakfast so we were very hungry. We started walking and looking for a place to eat. One can walk all the way through the village in fifteen minutes. We ate at Pape's. I drank a light coke(not called diet there) and ate a club sandwich. We explored our surroundings and then walked back to our hotel. I never really had a chance to sunbathe as the skies were cloudy and there were intermittent showers.

That evening we walked into town and ate and listened to music. There was a special kind of dancing called Punta. We were tired and went to bed early as we had arranged to go snorkeling the next day. I had never done this before, so I was very excited. So far, this had been a dream trip.

November 22, 2003
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Day 8

Tides Beach Resort, San Pedro, Ambergris

This morning the sky was overcast as we went out in the boat. Our guide, Chobo, was a young native who grew up there and he could dive and swim like the fish. He was quite the cut up and he took us out to Shark Ray Alley and Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Chobo would dive and bring up a manta ray for us to touch. There were nurse sharks all around our boat.

Our group consisted of Sarah and myself and the other two girls who were on the same trip. We had so much fun just getting ready to go into the water. The girl from D. C. (the one who had never ridden a horse) did not know how to swim. I thought she was very brave to try this. Chobo hooked a strap from him to her and we all wore life jackets so all was well. Sarah had problems with her first mask (remember her horse problems) and she finally got fitted properly. This was my first time to snorkel and was not sure what to expect, but I felt so free swimming underwater and seeing the wonders of the ocean. I was mesmerized by the beauty under the water's surface. There were so many colors and so many different kinds of fish. I loved snorkeling and made a mental note to go again someday. (I snorkeled again on the Riviera Maya three years later)

After several hours of snorkeling, we climbed into the boat and headed back to the dock. About five miles out, a rain shower hit and we were drenched by the time we docked, but we all agreed it had been a great afternoon. We had to leave for home the next day so we walked around the town some more soaking up as much of the atmosphere as we could. I was wishing I could stay for a few more days. What a wonderful place.

November 23, 2003
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Day 9

Belize City, Belize

After breakfast , we packed our clothes and souvenirs (I had bought a Christmas ornament and a watercolor) and we were driven to the small airport where we boarded the puddle jumper to Belize City. The airport in Belize City was decorated for Christmas this time and we were told that Christmas was very popular in Belize.

There was a very long line in the Houston airport to go through customs. Again, we had a very long walk to get to our connecting flight. We arrived in Austin and Cody picked us up and we headed home, tired but happy and already planning our next trip. I would like to return to Belize and Pook's Hill one day and certainly recommend this trip to anyone looking for adventure and fun. My next trip with Adventure Life would be to Machu Picchu with my youngest grandson.

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