Monday we did in fact head to Belize City. Less than 24 hours was more than we needed to explore the grungy city full of beggars. The walking tour our travel guidebook advised to do began with a fairly pitiful lighthouse. The highlight of the city tour was the road side stand where we stopped for lunch. A pleasant Belizean woman had six pots of varying sizes filled with meats and side dishes. I asked what was inside one that looked like a porridge or thick soup, couldn't quite hear her answer but decided to go for it anyway. It was a pigs tail. Unfortunate appearance and hardly anything edible on it, but tasted like pork fat! We hunkered in for that night watching tv in the safety of our hotel.
Streets of Belize City
Our book described the Belize Zoo, halfway between Belize City and the capital of Belmopan, as an "absolute must-see." We pondered, but upon seeing entrance fees increased to $15/person decided it was too rich for our blood (Micah decided, I was still hoping). On Caye Caulker we ran into two ladies who raved about the zoo and changed our minds. So Tuesday, we boarded a beloved chicken bus and got off at mile 29. The zoo began after 17 animals used in a documentary in the 1980s had become too tamed to return to the wild. The lady in charge of caring for the animals during the documentary was Sharon, a biologist, circus performer and former US Air Force survival instructor, and she decided to start a zoo with these animals. Today, the zoo houses rescue animals that are all native to Belize but despite attempts to retrain are unable to return to the wild. I'm not a big fan of zoos, as I tend to get bummed by the small enclosures and fake environments animals are in. But this zoo took 29 acres of natural lush jungle and put chicken wire in well planned but large areas for the animals to roam. There are spider and howler monkeys, tapirs (relative to rhino), owls, jaguars, ocelots, pumas, coatimundi (think raccoon + monkey), parrots, harpy eagles, crocodiles, gibnuts, macaws, peccaries (smells like a warthog?) and many more. All the animals were visible, if not active; the monkeys dangled from their tails as they bit at a coke bottle, the jaguar drank from its pond before walking straight at us, and the Eagles showed off their impressive wing span. We were so thrilled with how close we got to the animals and how friendly they all were that after a picnic lunch, we walked the entire grounds again.
Tapir or "mountain cow", Belize's National Animal and currently endangered
Keel Billed Toucan
Lucky the black Jaguar. Rescued two years ago, near starvation. Notice the only thing separating human from jaguar is a single layer fence you can stick your finger through!
Only has one wing
Spider monkey
After we satisfied our zoo craving, we took another chicken bus to San Ignacio, close to the Guatemalan border. We found an authentic Belizean restaurant for dinner and had authentic Belizean food (coconut rice, stew beans and meat) before we crashed for the night after a long day.
Wednesday we woke at 5am to puppies either playing or trying to eat each other alive right outside our window. Around 6am, a parrot that I swear could only say "huh" and "Micah" joined in the fun. As annoying as it was, it was hard not to laugh when Micah and I were discussing plans and the parrot would squawk "micah... micah.... huh?" We left our hostel by late morning, found an Internet cafe to do some picture edits that we can't do on tablets, had lunch at a small local stand and then loaded up on water. We walked up two hills for two miles towards Cahal Pech, small Mayan ruins on the outskirts of town. The ruins were our favorite kind- the type you can climb. Initially it didn't look like much but once we got on top of the largest ruin and looked in the nooks and crannies, it turned out to be a fun afternoon and worth the walk in the hot sun. We also spotted a toucan in the trees, mainly because we heard a guide tell his paying customers and we watched where they were peering.
Upon our return to the modern world, we spent a few hours reading on our common porch. For dinner, we found a Sri Lanka restaurant and indulged in curry and chicken strips.
Thursday was another border crossing day. We took a taxi to the border and exited Belize, back in to the country of Guatemala that we grew to love. Instantly, the sky felt more open and vast, and the lifestyle smelled cheaper, just what our budget needs. We were both a bit nervous about the logistics of our next plan. We read and heard contradicting stories about doing an overnight trip in Tikal National Park. You see, rumors were that you could camp amongst the howler monkeys in Tikal, but there was a certain trick to this that would allow you to be in the park for two days but only pay for a one-day ticket. We had heard if you bought your ticket after 3 or 4pm, it was valid for the next day; but we were also warned that they no longer offered this option. We also weren't positive that we could camp, or if they'd have gear for us to rent. We decided to take our chances and took a collectivo to the junction town, 30 minutes from the entrance to Tikal. It was only 12:30 and since we couldn't arrive before 3 or 4, we had time to kill. We stopped in the first outside local diner we saw, where a sweet señora told us that the cook would be there in an hour if we wanted food, but we could sit and rest till then. We bought a few sodas and played cards for over an hour, until a gal arrived to make delicious steak and fried chicken for our lunch. Finally, around 2:45, we flagged down a collectivo and asked for a ride to Tikal, although we still didn't know if 3 or 4 was the time we were supposed to arrive. The driver wanted to charge double what we expected to pay, so we compromised on a price and began our short 30 minute drive to the park. He made frequent stops for other customers, and we kept fingers crossed that he would make many more to stall our arrival. The other hitch to the plan was that the entrance where we had to purchase tickets was 10 km from the actual park, so if we arrived early and he didn't want to wait, we'd either have to buck-up and pay for two tickets or get left behind. We arrived at the gate at 3:18 and fortunately, the driver told us to wait 12 minutes before buying our tickets, and then he stood next to his van, assuring us he was waiting with us. We were relieved; he knew our plan, and our timing worked out well.
Turned out we had two options for camping; we could rent a tent with a thin material mattress, or rent two hammocks with mosquito nets. We opted for the privacy and more advanced insect security of the tent. In reality, the netting of the tent had numerous holes for bugs to sneak in and the mattress smelled like it had been in a dusty attic for a few decades. Despite this, I was looking forward to a horrible nights sleep due to the expected wildlife keeping us awake!
After setting up the tent, we ran in to the park and explored the Gran Plaza for just over an hour, leaving the ruins before that part of the park closed at 6pm. We returned to our tent, read for an hour, and then walked down the road to a comedor for a small dinner. Once back at camp, we went to use the bathroom facilities before bed only to find there were no lights. Made for an interesting shower but with placing the headlamps above the stalls, we made do. We got our first taste of wildlife on our walk back from the bathroom, with fireflies lighting up the walk for us and a frog sitting content in our path. And of course, the stars shone brightly, without any other lights to distract. We were in bed by 9pm, without sleeping bags or real pillows but comfortable. An hour or so after we fell asleep, we were awoke by the loud, throaty howl of the monkeys. It wasn't scary, just unreal. And impressive that a creature that small could make a noise that big. It happened two or three more times through the night, where we both would lie awake for a few minutes listening, before drifting back off.
This morning we woke up with the sunrise, around 5:40am. We were in the park just before 6:30 and didn't see another person until 7:45. That's the one recommendation I have for anyone going to a National Park or Ruins: go early and beat the crowd. That first hour or two where it's been just us at each park has made it feel like we've stumbled upon these ruins ourselves and can actually imagine what they were like 1,000 years ago. Tikal rivals Palenque for our favorite ruins of the trip. Tikal is huge; we walked for 6 hours, never stopping for more than 5 minutes to snack or take in the view, and we saw almost everything. There are a few large structures in Tikal that they know exist but haven't excavated yet; I actually liked this, knowing what the process is and what the mass of land looks like before they uncover the temple. The greatest part of Tikal though, similar to Palenque, was the setting. Both were in jungles, although very different jungles due to the diversity in trees and wildlife. Walking towards the ruins in Tikal, branches broke over head as spider monkeys jumped from one tree to the next. There were monkeys everywhere, along with pisotes (think friendly raccoon) and insects. The views of the jungle from the ruins we could climb, the smells of the jungle and constantly searching for monkeys earned Tikal high ratings in our book.
Still under excavation
Temple VI
Views of the tallest temples and the jungle from Temple IV
Monkeys in the trees, pisotes on the ground
After cleaning up and snatching our backpacks from the locked shed where they rested while we hiked, we took another collectivo to Flores, where we currently are staying. We found a hostel within 10 minutes and had just settled and were admiring the view of the lake from our small balcony when a torrential downpour, complete with thunder and lightening began and didn't let up for nearly an hour. We stayed inside, opting to stay dry although hungry, and finally set out for our first proper meal of the day around 4:30pm. Had a typical meal at a restaurant before we explored Flores as the sun set. Flores is a small island in a lake, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. The buildings are brightly colored, the plants cascade over the balconies and there's winding alleys leading up hills to areas beckoning to be explored. We have a lot to accomplish in the next few days in this adorable town. Guatemala, it's good to be back.
Wonderful blog and pictures. So grateful for the internet and iPads to keep track of my kids! Love you. Mom
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