MomTrips

This time I wanted a beach vacation – somewhere warm in the middle of the winter. I love to sit and read on the beach but not for 10 days, therefore I picked Jaguar Lodge which offered about a dozen day trips to Mayan ruins and interesting hikes as well as being located right on the beach. 

The first adventure was the 18-minute flight from Belize City to Dangriga via a little puddle jumper.  The plane held 13 of us including the pilot. We flew low and it was fun. However, when I arrived in Dangriga, I learned that I had to wait for the next 4 flights in order to collect all the visitors to the resort for the 40-minute drive from the airport. Luckily I only had to wait about 45 minutes for the other flights. 

The resort was lovely. The dining room was large and airy.  The patio doors were open and it was warm and lovely. While eating I felt like I was still on the beach. On the sand there were comfortable beach chairs and hammocks available. 

My first excursion was to Mayan ruins in Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. At Xunantunich, which means Stone Lady, I climbed up (5 minutes) to a large grassy area. There, in front of me, were the ruins of an old palace, an alter and the religious temple which is a step pyramid. This pyramid is amazingly high – yes I climbed it. From the top you get a fabulous view of the area as far out as Guatemala. The pyramid had carvings on it. The ones I saw were fiberglass replicas. The real ones are behind them. Obviously visitors have been destroying the real ones so now they are preserved behind the fiberglass.

The Mayans lived in this area 400-200 BCE then because they depleted the land they moved to another area. Then around 800 AD they returned and built these structures. 

Cahal Pech

He would zig-zag and go in and out for safety. This settlement also died out when the forests were cut and the land overused. 

The next excursion was a Jaguar Preserve hike.  It was fabulous. I hiked in the jungle to a waterfall. Didn’t see any Jaguars – didn’t expect to see any, but I saw lots of birds. The waterfall wasn’t very large but there was a pool at the bottom and I went swimming, which felt wonderful. There were 15 people on the hike – which was probably 10 too many.

The Scarlet Macau hike was my next adventure. The group drove for an hour then climbed at a 45-degree angle for 550 ft – or so the GPS says. The reward was seeing dozens of the Scarlet Macau when we got to the top.  What magnificent red, blue and yellow birds. They glide so gracefully but they also make a racket. We watched them for about an hour. Then we had to climb down the 45-degree angle.  At the end of the hike we swam in the river for a bit. I was really hot so it was great.

Snorkeling may not be my favorite activity but I am always glad when I push myself to do it. Many years-ago, my daughter, Maggie talked me into going snorkeling with her. Otherwise, I would have never snorkeled because I am afraid of putting my face in the water – or more accurately, I feel like I am drowning when my face is in the water. I now know that I can do it, but I always hyperventilate at first.

Luckily that day the seas were as calm as could be and the boat was never far away.  I also wore a life jacket.  The fish were lovely but the corals were even lovelier. 

The Mayflower Waterfall hike is rated difficult. I almost didn’t get to do that hike because we needed 4 people and we only had 3 sign up. Maybe it would have been better if we hadn’t gotten to go. Wow. This one was tough.

We were warned so I had my hikers and sticks.  It was a very steep climb and I used ropes to pull myself up some of the time.  It was also hot.  I had my long sleeve bug shirt on and long pants.  But at the top, there was a beautiful waterfall and a lovely pool to swim in.  There were also wonderful views.  On the way up we saw un-excavated Mayan ruins.  This was definitely a stretch hike.  

Our guide, a Mayan, was very interesting man. He said that he learned English while working with archaeologists.  He left home when he was 14 and worked for the forest department.  He was great about helping me down the mountain.

The zip-line and tube trip. 

I had never done zip lining and rappelling and I decided that this was a good place to try it.  There were 6 stations.  I was pretty scared but still felt very safe.  The first one was pretty easy.  I followed instructions and got to the other side easily.  The important thing is to keep the hand on the wire, open, or you break too early.  That’s what happened on the second run.  It was a long run and even though I didn’t break – I stopped short of the platform.  I had to turn myself around and go hand over hand backwards the couple of feet.  After that I went as fast as possible to get to the other side.  In fact, one time I didn’t slow down in time and almost knocked the guide over, getting on the platform.  All in all, it was really fun zipping.  The rappelling was not too far down and not scary.

I am pretty hopeless on tubes – I can’t seem to go forward. My tube wanted to go to the right or left – it isn’t the tube’s fault – I must paddle unevenly.  The guide came to my aid a few times.  

My last adventure was taking a small boat to a town called Placencia.  I booked a boat with another couple, but we should have looked at it before we booked it.  It was tiny-about 6 by 20 feet.  Two men manned the boat.

  It was calm going over but really rough coming back.  I sat in the bottom of the boat in order not to fall out. We bumped along but made it to the resort back safely.

Final Thoughts:

1. With a bit of planning, a beach vacation and adventure trip are not mutually exclusive
2. New experiences such as zip lining are very empowering