Our guide Miguel at XunantunichWe woke this morning to the sound of a howler monkey, in the trees above our cabin! Evan was glad I had explained their sound before we went to bed. It sounded like there were dinosaurs outside our door! We got up out of bed and wandered around outside, watching and listening to the howlers call back and forth across the grounds. After nearly half an hour of this, they slowly worked their way further in the jungle. What a cool way to wake up on our first day in Belize! We ate a filling breakfast of eggs, toast, beans and fruit and then set off for our day of fun! Our guide Miguel is such a gem. He brought us to the town of San Ignacio where we loaded up in our canoes and started paddling up the Rio Macal. He spotted iguanas, birds, bats and even a rather large rodent (that I of course forgot the name the moment he told me!) along the banks of the river. After a couple hours of canoeing up and back down the river, we then drove to Xunantunich where Miguel explained to us all the history of this amazing ruin. We walked through each area of the grounds, and then climbed El Castillo, the second largest ruin in Belize. The views from the top were spectacular! We could see for miles in every direction, and with just the six of us sitting at the top, it was quite peaceful to just sit and enjoy. On our way back towards the car, Miguel stopped in his tracks and turned a 180 to take us to a family of howler monkeys he had somehow spotted from across the courtyard. We watched them until the rain hit again and we quickly made our way back to our car. On the way back to Pooks, we came across Hot Mamas, a hot-sauce, chocolate and honey factory. We sampled all they had to offer, and bought a few souvenirs for home. After a hot shower and a little time to relax, another delicious dinner was served. After dinner, Hector prepped us for our early departure for the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave visit the next morning. We were told to wear shoes and socks, be prepared to be wet all day, and to leave our cameras in our rooms. They were not even allowed on the trail into the cave.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
3 days ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
3 days ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
1 week ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.