After leaving Missoula and a night of rest in Denver we arrived into Belize early in the afternoon to start our first adventure to Central America! During our hour-or-so ride to our jungle paradise, Pook's Hill, our driver answered our questions about Belize's culture, climate, and wildlife. A bumpy and beautiful drive down ended our last …

An early morning breakfast prepared us for our first day of excursions. We departed with fantastic guide Mario to a day of zip-lining and cave tubing a short drive from Pook's Hill. Our first experience zip-lining was a blast as we cruised through jungle treetops and over rivers.

A relaxing float took us through a series of caves in the …

We were excited to depart early in the morning for our most anticipated adventure, Actun Muchknal Cave! A short drive and hike through a jungle trail took us to the mouth of the cave where we entered the cool water to begin our cave exploration. Over the next few hours we swam, squeezed and climbed our way to the top of the cave. Since Pook's …

Our final full day on the mainland of Belize led us to the Rio Macal to start our full day of exploration. As we paddled up this relaxing river with Mario we were treated to a variety of aerial wildlife including some of my favorite winged creatures, bats, which were camped out on some cliff walls around the river.

We paddled back down the river …

The day began with another early breakfast to prepare for a bird-watching trek with Mario. We were lucky to have his good eye, since neither me or my Mom have done much bird-watching ourselves. Walking around the Pook's Hill property we were able to spot an surprising amount of bird species as well as some howler monkeys climbing through the …

Today we set sail on the ocean for a snorkeling trip. After breakfast at our hotel, Blue Tang Inn, we headed down the pier to board or sailboat.

Although it was a windy day, the sun was shining as we set out for our first stop at Hol Chan Marine Reserve. It was a bit crowded when we arrived, so our guides decided we should stop on our way back so …