Leaving for Loreto in January

We leave for Loreto, Mexico, on January 25th and can't wait, especially as we now have snow and really cold temperatures...brrrrr!

Flying home

Our flights were pretty well on time; it was British Midlands from Dublin to London - you have to buy your coffee, and there was no food as it's a short flight. Heathrow is such a huge airport; we got our exercise walking from Terminal 1 to terminal 3. Our Air Canada plane home was quite new, and each seat had its' own screen with on-demand movies; I watched three, Sally watched four, and the food was good too. We flew over Glasgow, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and Baffin Island.
So, loyal readers, thanks for following along; until next time!
m.

Photo: CC by Tolka Rover

Heading East

We left Clifton about 0930 and headed east back to Galway, stopping briefly in a place called Recess, where they have a statue of Conn, Man of the Sea, beside the road, the purpose of which seems to be to get you to visit the gift shop (it worked)! My turn to drive then, and we survived the roundabouts of Galway and got the car safely returned. Now we have a lunch break before catching the train back to Dublin, the bus to the airport, and the shuttle to our hotel nearby. We've heard news of trouble with the radar at the Dublin airport; yesterday many flights were cancelled, so cross your fingers that everything is back to normal tomorrow as we need to get to London on time to catch our connecting flight home.

Photo: CC by misoponia

Day long beach ride

Today we joined a group doing a 6 day ride with Willie Leahy, renowned Irish Connemara pony horseman. We were surprised it was such a large group - 25 - divided into those who only wanted to walk and trot, and the rest! I had a small bay named Murphy, who seemed to have two speeds: walk and run. Sally was on Willow, a lovely grey mare. We spent the day on Mannin Bay Beach, and were in the dare-devil group, cantering and galloping on the sand. Just before we had lunch those who wanted to, (yes we did) took the saddles off the horses and rode them into deep water until they were swimming! It was cold, but a lot of fun!
The photo is from Willie's website, and it's exactly what it was like; he's quite a character. It was cloudy and cool in the morning, but luckily when it was time to go in the water the sun had come out.

On to Clifden

Woke to misty rain and drove to Connemara National Park; great exhibits - also walked to the field to see the resident Connemara horses grazing. Then it was on to Clifden (still in Connemara district) where we stay for 2 nights. It's a busy town compared to Cleggan; we visited the museum (history of Connemara horses exhibit). Drove south and turned off when we saw the sign for the Marconi/Alcock and Brown monuments. Despite the fact that it looked like a road into a sheep field, which it was, we did see where Alcock and Brown crashed landed in a bog after the first transatlantic flight. Carried on to Roundstone; after touring the music shop and watching bohdrons (Irish drums) being made, walked around the town and now sit in an internet cafe across the road from the water, and the sun has come out!

Photo: CC by rkeohane

West from Cong to Cleggan

Left Cong about 9 and drove north to Westport, walked around, then drove out to the National Famine monunent, and took pictures of the big bronze statue called the Coffin Ship, which sits on a grassy slope overlooking Clew Bay. Across the road was the visitors centre, with a stand renting walking sticks for people about to start the 3 hour hike up the mountain where St. Patrick fasted for 40 days. We resisted the urge to yell "get a horse," at the hikers; drove on the winding narrow road to Leenane (where the movie The Field was filmed), stopping to wait for sheep to cross the road at times. Leenane is a wide spot in the road at the head of Killary Harbour, a 9 mile long fjord, and has a wool centre and cafe, which required a stop; I decided two toques was enough, but Sally bought a "perfect for paddling" one.
Drove on, past Kylemore Abbey across a lake, and turned down a little used road to Cleggan (in Connemara district, in County Galway), a tiny village on a harbour. After checking into the B&B, we went to the Cleggan Beach Riding Centre (see the link at the bottom of this page) for our 3 hour ride to Omey Island. The island is only accessible when the tide is low, so our ride started at 5 p.m.
After a lot of walking, part way into the village and then on lanes and small roads, we came to the beach, where we cantered. There were cars driving out to the island; guess if you drive out and the tide comes in, you're there until it's out again. On the island we went along a sandy road, then back to the beach. We went by houses with stacks of peat; people still use it in their fireplaces. We were lucky to have sunshine for the ride, and saw a nice sunset later (10 p.m.)

Photo: CC by Dittmeyer

Inis Mor to Cong

Got up very early and hiked downhill 20 minutes from our B&B to the pier, where our ferry left on the dot of 8. Then the bus back to Galway; did a quick tour of the free Galway City Museum, where they have a Galway Hooker (28' wooden sail boat) hanging in the atrium; they were used to fish the local shallow waters and deliver peat to the Aran Islands.
Picked up our rental car, a little black 2008 VW Golf, and managed to get out of the parking garage (1st challenge) then out of Galway with several roundabouts. then we were in the country, where the roads have no shoulders, and sometimes the car brushed the vegetation beside the road but thank heavens not the rock walls. Sally is a good driver, and I'm a bad passenger, alternating between gasping, clutching the seat and hitting my imaginary brake pedal. I was wishing for a blindfold, but had to navigate. In under an hour we were at our destination, Cong, in County Mayo. In 1952 The Quiet Man, with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, was filmed there. See the bottom of this page for a link to some photos of Cong.
Walked to Ashford Castle, which is enormous and on a huge estate; walked around and took photos then went into the opulent lobby for a peek at the inside.

Photo: CC jmenard48

To the Aran Islands

Caught the bus from Galway to the town of Rossaveal; then the ferry to the largest of the Aran Islands, Inis Mor. Our B&B was an uphill walk of about 25 minutes, but the view from our upstairs room is of cows and a horse in little fields with stone walls, a few houses, and the ocean; it's beautiful!
We hopped on a tour van with a great guide/driver; there are 3 churches on the island, and 7 pubs, 3 primary schools, 1 highschool and 14 villages, with a total population of around 800. Everyone speaks Gaelic
We were at Dun Aonghasa for 2 hours (there's a 30 minute walk to the site from the visitors centre) - it's the Iron Age ring fort at the top of a 300' cliff; it's incredible. See the link at the bottom of this page for more info.
Checked out the shops nearby and each bought a toque (wool hat) - never thought I'd be wearing one in July but it's windy!
Back on the tour bus we went to the far end of the island and saw more thatched roof cottages (they grow rye for thatch), and potatoes growing. They have big wild rabbits, and horses, cows and goats, but no sheep (can't keep them in the stone fences) or pigs (tear up the ground). Every family gets some good land and some rocky; no farm has been sold in 30 years - just get passed down in the family. They've had electricity for 30 years; supply boats bring most everything; heat their houses with coal or oil - they used to burn peat brought over from the mainland, and all the cars are diesel. Rainwater is caught and stored for drinking, and every field has a stone slab on a slant to catch rainwater and send it to a trough for the animals.
Photo: CC by roncaglia

Heading West

Terry picked us up at 0845 and drove all of us to Dublin, where Sally and I caught the 11:10 train to Galway; we were on a very smooth modern train and arrived at 2:00.
Walked around and took photos; ducked into a store as the heavens opened and it poured rain, but then there was a rainbow!
I've updated all the posts from last Sunday on so am now up to date. There are also some links at the bottom of this page.

Photo: CC by ithaca09

Last day in County Wicklow

Riding centre: "From the village of Laragh the ride continues through the National Park and the Annamoe Valley, renowned for its beautiful scenery and historic monuments. This is the perfect ending to a memorable week.”
Woke to an amazing sight - is that sunshine? We were without our support team (had our guides; they spent the night in the village as it was too far to go back to Dublin), so carried our tack down the road to the field where the horses had spent the night, caught them without any grain (Sunny Boy likes granola bars!) and tacked them up. Set off into the forest and up a heather covered mountain until we could look back at the tower and across the landscape. Stopped for a break, then headed down a different way. Only a 3 hour ride today; had to ride through busy Laragh to where Anthony was parked with the lorry - took care of the horses and said goodbye to them before they were loaded on the truck. It was a great week of riding despite the rain - we had fun and saw a lot of the countryside! No injuries or mishaps.
Sally says "my beautiful Irish redhead Lacey was reliable and looked after me."
I discovered that Sonny Boy doesn't like anything white (except sheep) and shied at white rocks, white bags, white dogs, but was strong and surefooted.
After a restaurant lunch and goodbyes (our guides and horse wrangler were headed back to the riding centre) we had time for shopping and found an internet place (but no ATM in the village) - there was an old woolen mill shop and a celtic crafts shop we all had to visit!

Photo: CC by hakejam

To the tower

Riding centre info: "After a good nights rest at Glenmalure Lodge, where you will have enjoyed its friendly atmosphere, open fires and traditional Irish music the night before, you and your horse will follow the old military road past the ruins of Drumgoff Barracks. Here many battles were fought in the mountains during the 1798 rebellion. The ride continues through the forests and rugged mountains leading down to the mysterious Glendalough Lakes. Here we overlook the Monastic Valley and the 7th Century Round Tower. This is the symbol of Ireland's Middle Ages reputation as the island of Saints and Scholars around the time when the Vikings attacked Glendalough in 833.”
Well no music or fire last night (as mentioned in the description above); woke up to steady rain. Set off and turned onto a forest road (lots of logging here), and up the side of the valley (longest glaciated valley in Ireland) and saw a huge waterfall across the way - near it a battle scene from Braveheart was filmed. We could see sheep being herded single file up a zigzag path - tiny moving dots. Down the other side of the mountain Anthony was waiting; we tied each horse to a tree, loosened girths, gave them water and grain - our lunch today was in a stone hut with an earthen floor. We were so wet - when I tilted my head water ran off my helmet and I could have wrung out my riding gloves!
We set off after lunch up another mountain and this time at the top, the wind was really blowing, the rain was coming at us sideways, and I was dreaming of wool gloves and wool socks! It was the only time I felt cold. We had to cross a nasty bog, so Tanya, the more experienced guide, who usually is at the back, led us on a circuitous route - the safest way - and we had to keep together so that we could go right behind the horse in front, and not deviate from the path; even so, there were some parts where the horses sunk up to their hocks. Once safely across, Tanya told us a terrible tale of horses falling and others sinking almost to their withers. If we hadn't crossed the bog, it would've added two hours to our ride, and we usually ride about 5 hours a day.
From there we took a forest road and wound our way down; encountered some hikers - once we were at a lower elevation we warmed up and the rain quit. Finally we saw glimpses of the lakes (Glendalough means valley of two lakes) and then from a lookout we saw the tower for the first time (St. Kevin's monastery - the tower was to watch for Viking raiders). What a view - we stopped many times for photo ops - much later in the evening we walked there (after dinner at about 9:00 - it doesn't get really dark here until 11:00) and had the place to ourselves - all the tour buses had gone - and took more photos.
No Anthony waiting for us (we were too far from the riding centre), so we turned the horses out in a field close to the B&B, and carried our tack to a shed at the back.

Photo: CC by gwarcita

Through glen and river

Riding centre description: "Spectacular scenery unfolds all around you as you ride through the Glen of Imaal (the seat of power of Leinster Kings during the Iron Age - 500BC - 700 AD) Here you will be taken through small farms and open moors, crossing the River Slaney and on to Spinnans Hill where you will be able to see Brusselstown Ring - an Iron Age hill fort. This area is steeped in history, and one of the many examples that your experienced guides will share with you is that of Kilranelagh Cemetery known as the Gates of Heaven.“
We saw deer in the sheep-field as we made our way up a mountain. Took photos from the top, as the view was spectacular. We did a lot of cantering and galloping today, a bit of jumping, and crossed a river - the water was about 4 feet deep.
Tanya was kept busy opening and closing gates and her small purebred Icelandic horse Blacker would often trot away and she'd have to chase him. He's named that as his brother Aero is a dark brown colour, but he's blacker!
We've seen SO many sheep; they're raised for the meat as the wool isn't worth much; we saw one that had one side of his face white and the other black. Rode through a little village and found Anthony; didn't unsaddle the horses since we were so wet (raining again) and wanted to get on our way quickly - he had lunch ready in the lorry - lunch in the horsebox! He had the little table and campstools set up in there, and the usual sandwiches, hot tea and chocolate bars! Yeah! In the afternoon it stopped raining and we rode through some farms, at one point herding some cattle ahead of us. The sun came out and we had a great ride down more lanes, with honeysuckle and fuchia hedges.
Met Anthony and loaded the horses in the lorry; Terry drove us 45 minutes over mountains to the Glenmalure lodge; the horses stay in the field across the road overnight.

Photo: CC by Florian

Over mountains to Donard

Riding centre blurb: "From Poulapuca (the lake of the fairies) over Knocknadroosa Mountain to a well deserved picnic lunch in the Hollywood Glen. The trail that follows over Knocknaboley leads to the Church Mountain and then descends via the heather covered Cuckoo Valley, where the silence of the hills is only broken by the sound of the Cuckoo and your horses hoof beats. A welcome drink will be waiting in Donard (Dun Ard, meaning the High Fort, is the site of one of the 3 churches founded by Palladius in Wicklow 431AD).”
Yes, well, we were in full rain-gear all day and had every kind of rain you could think of, from mist to downpour, with wind too, but it wasn't cold.
We rode on small lanes and through the village of Hollywood, past the Inn where we had dinner last night, built in 1792 and used as a stagecoach stop.
Around the corner and up another lane we passed a granite church which U2 used to record their music.
We rode up over a mountain and had a picnic lunch under trees - Anthony was waiting there and had set up a small table with our sandwiches, hot tea and chocolate bars, and we sat on little folding camp stools. We set off again into an uninhabited area where we could look back at the lake - for most of the afternoon there was only the landscape, sheep and us (oh and the wind and rain). We did quite a bit of trotting to get off the mountain earlier, and were glad to arrive at Bolton's farm, where the horses stay in a field for the night. We waited and waited for Terry to arrive to take us to our B&B - turned out he was in a ditch! He had almost made it to the farm, but had to reverse to let another car pass, and slid into the ditch, then had to wait for a local farmer to pull him out with his tractor.
It was the last day for our Kansas rodeo champ and her Grandma, so now we'll be a group of six, or eight with our two guides.

Photo: CC by llja

We meet our Irish horses

Riding centre blurb: "After selecting your equine partner and having a brief assessment at the Calliaghstown Riding Centre you will be sent on your way for a memorable journey through the magnificent scenery of the Gardens of Ireland. A fun ride is ahead in the Sleavetoule Forest with optional natural jumps and then follow the quiet country lanes down to the Kilteel Inn for lunch. Here you will have your first opportunity to see a real Irish castle - Kilteel Castle was built in the early 13th century. The afternoon ride takes you across the heather and gorse covered Sorell Hill overlooking the Blessington Lakes and you will finish your ride in the old granite villages of Lacken and Ballyknocken.”
Now for the real story: we (4 Americans, 2 Germans and us), were assigned our horses: I have an 8 year old Irish cob named Sunny Boy, and Sally has a Chestnut mare called Lacey. Around 10:45 we headed out with our guides Aoife and Tanya. We went down country roads, past fields with horses or cattle or sheep grazing.
Turned into the forest and wound our way up to the top of the mountain and stopped to take pictures of the vista below: fields, hedges and villages.
When we passed the castle ruins we knew we were close to our lunch stop and sure enough soon the ivy covered Kilteel Inn came into view.
After lunch Terry (our driver) drove us to the next trailhead and we headed up another mountain until we overlooked Blessington Lake. The trail down was a narrow rocky path, boggy at times, past more sheep, cattle and horses with foals. There was cotton grass growing in one area, then heather and wild rhodos.
Went through a gate, and down a tiny country lane, with moss covered rock walls on either side, plus blackberries, wild roses, foxgloves and other flowers.
Finally we rode through the tiny village of Lackan, which consists of a general store, church, pub and houses. It was a great first day, sunny then cloudy, a bit of wind, but no rain. Anthony our horse wrangler was waiting with the lorry (big truck/horse trailer), and we repaired to the pub. The horses go back to the riding centre for the night.

Photo: CC by Just chaos

On to the riding centre

We were picked up at our Dublin hotel by Terry, an older gentleman with a great sense of humour, who would be our driver for most of the week, and were taken to the village of Kill (Kil means church) and to our B&B. Right next door was the Kill International Equestrian Centre, so we walked over there and spent a pleasant afternoon watching a horse show in the outdoor arena, and then some lesson in one of the three indoor arenas.
Walked to the town and had dinner with the rest of the group (it was pre-arranged).

Photo: CC by Mariko

Day in Dublin

What a great day! We saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College, which was amazing, then went upstairs to the Old Library (incredible); the exhibit now is Medieval texts. From there we walked to the tourist office which is in a very old church with beautiful stained glass windows; we were having tea upstairs in Finn MacCools Cafe when an impromptu choral concert started on the balcony at the other end!
Visited the Guinness Storehouse; at the top they have the Gravity Bar, - it's glass and has a fabulous 360 degree view of the city! We were enjoying our complimentary draft when a men's choir from Denmark started singing right beside us; they were good!
We carried on with our City Bus Tour (hop on and off) and now are back to where we started, resting up for the Literary pub crawl which starts soon. We go to four pubs and actors recite famous Irish writers works.

Photo: CC lyng883

Travelling

Had a good flight to London and managed to sleep quite a bit. Our second flight to Dublin was delayed, so by the time we took the bus downtown and checked into our hotel it was about 8p.m. Walked around a bit and got our bearings.

Photo: CC by Robbie1

Heading home

Well loyal readers, we head home this afternoon via Houston, arriving after midnight. Thanks for following along as we travelled, and special thanks to those of you who sent encouraging emails; it was good to know we weren't talking to thin air!
We've really enjoyed Belize and its diversity and warmhearted people. Of course it was fabulous having our friends Debra and Phil hosting us, creating our itinerary and giving us so much information and advice.
So we're signing off for now; until next time!
M and B

Short but fun flight

We decided to fly from Placencia back to Belize City, rather than take the bus. The flight, if you fly during the week and pay cash for your ticket, is $50.00 US each, versus a 7 hour bus ride (on school buses with little leg room).
We flew Maya Island Air, in a 12 seat Cessna. Our plane hurtled down the runway, lifting off just at the last moment, or so it seemed, over the road and out over the sparkling blue ocean, banking left and gaining altitude.
We had great seats right behind the pilot, and could watch him checking his paperwork and text messaging as we cruised along. We took pictures of Hopkins as we passed by.
Seven minutes later we were approaching Dangriga, preparing to land on what looked like an impossibly small runway - but we did, and one of the passengers we picked up got to sit in the co-pilot seat!
Again we were over the beautiful water, and fifteen minutes later we were approaching Belize City municipal airport; again the runway looked so tiny, this time running parallel to the water, only a few yards away. Soon we'd landed, and Phil kindly picked us up. It was so much fun to fly on a little plane on a beautiful sunny day.

Another day in and on the water

Another day of snorkling, this time to the Silk Cayes, just inside the Barrier Reef, a 45 minute boat ride from Placencia. Besides us there were 2 couples from France, who hadn't met before! Our boat driver Leo was also our guide and cook.
The Silk cayes are 3 tiny islands, and we went to the largest one: it had 12 coconut palms, 6 picnic tables, a BBQ pit and washrooms. Three large catamarans were anchored offshore, and a boat full of scuba divers came by and stopped to have their lunch, so at noon the island was positively crowded!
While Leo prepared lunch we snorkled on our own all around the island, and besides colourful fish, we saw a squid.
After lunch we had a demonstration of how to crack open a coconut, and ate some.
Then we went over to two fishing boats; they anchor and men in dugout canoes go out to fish and dive for conch, then come back to the big boat to clean the fish.
We snorkled around the boats and saw lots of nurse sharks, and two kinds of rays: spotted eagle rays and huge grey Caribbean sting rays.
Then a turtle swam by, with 2 ramoras under him. We followed, and could see the barnacles on his back - his shell was about four feet long!
People from the catamarans came over to buy fish for their dinner - can't get it much fresher than that.
In the village after dinner we watched some Garifuna drumming: one man with shakers, 2 on handmade drums, and one playing turtle shells (hanging from his neck).
It's going to be hard to leave this part of Belize; this was our last full day here.
Such beautiful cayes, white sand beaches, warm sun, and warm clear saltwater. All itchy bug bites are forgotten when you float and swim, look through your mask and are mesmerized by the whole other world below the surface.

Snorkling

Went out by boat to Laughing Bird Caye; there was less wind than we've had, and clear skies, so a good day for snorkling. It took about half an hour to get to the caye, a national park and now a World Heritage Site. We were surprised to see a little building on the tiny island - two rangers stay there for 3 weeks at a time and then get a week off. Saw lots of pelicans fishing.
We were a group of 11: us, two from England, and the rest Americans. We snorkled the west side then came in for lunch: a BBQ on the beach, then snorkled the east side, which was much deeper water, and saw a huge spiny lobster, a ray, barracuda, as well as the usual beautiful fish.

South to Placencia

We flagged down the local bus, which went up to the Southern Highway, past banana and orange trees, then turned onto the potholed dirt road down the peninsula. Went past an Aquaculture place (they farm shrimp here). Sometimes the land was so narrow we could see the ocean on one side and the lagoon on the other. The road goes around the end of the small airport runway, and saw a sign that says traffic must yield to planes taking off and landing.
We settled into our beachfront hotel and looked around the village. A small sidewalk goes north and south, with paths going the other way to the main road, so it's easy to walk everywhere.

Relaxing time

We had a very relaxing weekend in Hopkins, reading in the hammocks, watching rain squalls, and pelicans diving for fish, swimming when the sun came out, and walking on the beach.
On the small beach access road beside us, local kids played marbles, as well as spirited soccer games, with tin cans for goal posts. Then they'd run down and jump in the water.

On to Hopkins

Drove inland to Belmopan, the capital, (an instant town built after Hurricane Hattie destroyed most of Belize City in 1961); stopped to buy bananas and papaya from a fruit stand, then headed southeast down the Hummingbird Highway. It winds through the hills - lush tropical vegetation on either side of the road - saw some small wild Bird of Paradise flowers.
We passed a citrus plant with huge open-top trucks full of oranges waiting to be processed into concentrated orange juice for export.
It rained most of the way. As we moved closer to the coast the landscape changed to flat plain, and soon we turned off onto a rough dirt road to Hopkins. The village is about two miles long, parallel to the beach, and you can walk on the road without fear, as cars are few and far between, and go slowly due to the many potholes. Most people walk or rides bikes to get around.
Our hotel is small (3 rooms) and rustic; the location more than makes up for it: each room has 2 hammocks on the covered porch, and the view is of sand, palm trees and the ocean stretching out to the horizon - next stop Jamaica if you sailed east from here. We saw a lot of colourful birds in the shrubs nearby.
Brad went for a swim, and when he was quite a ways out from shore, heard breathing nearby - there were two manatees swimming about 15 feet from him, coming up for air then showing their backs and tails as they slid beneath the surface again.
The bugs are bad here, so we slathered ourselves with repellant before dark. Besides the usual mosquitos and no-see-ums, there are a lot of Doctor Flies, so-called because they inject an anesthetic so you don't notice them biting; then later the affected part swells to the size of an egg and burns and itches for about an hour.
Dinner had been arranged before we arrived, at a Garifuna woman's house. We could have had iguana, but decided on a seafood meal instead. It was a typical meal of casava bread, fish in coconut broth, with mashed plantain patties, and was served under her mango tree in her yard, with a single lightbulb illuminating the table. We were ten: the four of us, two other Canadians, and 4 Americans on a culinary tour of local cacao and coffee farms.

Trip to Caracol

This was our first cloudy day; we had been expecting another scorcher, but were pleasantly surprised at the cooler temperature.
We were 4 Canadians and our guide; he drove in his ancient Ford econoline van - he'd gone through several gas engines he said, and it had been an automatic originally - we could see the gear changer thing on the steering column, but it was now a manual transmission and a diesel engine. He explained how he and his friends worked on it over 2 weeks - some work - some beer - more work - more beer etc. He was a unique individual and the van was something else too. It had the original pedals on the floor and closer to him, the new ones. He stopped twice to look under the hood (engine still running) and add some fluid somewhere (oil?).
We drove for 2 hours on dusty, bone-jarring dirt roads up into the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest - which has suffered from the Pine Beetle too.
Came to the British Army jungle training camp, and could see their huts and vehicles (Prince Andrew trained there). Later we heard their helicopter overhead, and saw a red sign: Live Firing Area No Entry (!)
Arrived at Caracol at 10:00 and walked the main areas, climbed three temples, and just finished when it started to rain lightly.
The view from the top of the highest temple was unbelievable - we could look into Guatemala and see trees and jungle and mist all around. You could imagine the Mayan cities with all the people bustling about below, trading with visitors from Tikal and the coast.
Had our lunch and started driving back down the road; we had planned to stop at natural pools in the river to swim, but it was rainy and coolish, so only stopped at the side of the road for photos of the pools.
The road - that orange/red clay just like the road to Tikal in 1979 when our bus sunk up to the axle - had turned to mush with the rain, and we slid a bit on the way down hills. Our driver regaled us with tales of other times when the road was worse, and he went down hills backwards (not intentionally).
Just made it into our room around 4:00 when the heavens opened up and it just poured - torrential rain - and we looked out our window at people running for shelter on the road below. It was sure nice to be warm and dry inside.
Tomorrow we take the bus back to Belize City; we're sad to be leaving this area - there's lots more to explore here. Friday we drive with Debra and Phil down to Hopkins - a Garifuna village on the coast - see the link at the bottom of the page for more detail.

Visit to a jungle lodge

Got a taxi out of town to the Lodge at Chaa Creek; it's west of San Ignacio, right on the Macal river. It's a huge, beautiful property with lots of trails; we got a map from Reception and walked part of the Rainforest Medicine trail, which was interesting; read the descriptions on the plants, shrubs and trees.
Had a wonderful lunch at the enormous open style restaurant - very upscale - and tasted our first key lime pie - delicious!
Then walked up to the Blue Morpho butterfly farm and took pictures of them landing on our t-shirts and hats. They also have a small Natural History Centre.
By then it was time to head to the employee parking area where we hitched a ride back to town with the Maintenance manager.
It was a very hot day and we thought longingly of how cool it had been in the cave the day before.

3. The Cave

At the end of the trail we left our packs, ate a banana, donned our helmets (with headlamps) and climbed down to the river that comes from the large cave entrance.
Swam about 30' across a deep pool. We walked single file upriver in ankle deep water until Martin told us to put our right hand on the shoulder of the person ahead of us, and turn off our headlamps; we were going down into the Mayan Underworld.
We shuffled along like this until it got so dark you wondered why you bothered to keep your eyes open.
The water got deeper and colder, we turned a corner, then finally stopped (still in the dark) and Martin then told us the Mayan creation story - all we could hear was water dripping and the sound of his voice. It was an incredible start to our cave exploration - we swam upriver, climbed over rocks, saw the usual cave formations, squeezed through small passages, then climbed out of the water up to the entrance to the Sacred Chamber, where we had to leave our shoes/sandals and drybags, and walk in our socks (no bare feet allowed).
This is where we saw pottery and skeletons - there are 14 in the cave; we saw several. It was amazing to think that these bones were still where they were placed so long ago.

2. The hike

The trail through the jungle crossed the Roaring river 3 times - we waded across. Our guide showed us a termite nest and how to eat them (we declined). Also saw hummingbirds, yellow and purple orchids growing around ant nests, balsa trees and strangler figs.

1. The drive

Drove east on the highway then south for 7 miles on a really bumpy road - sort of like driving up a dry creekbed - and we were glad we weren't in our own van; luckily it's "the dry" (dry season) here, but the bad road was evidence of the heavy rains.
We drove across the shallow river twice, saw huge Ceiba trees, small houses, then the valley. The whole area was occupied by Maya and the cave was used for rituals.

One way to stay cool

Left town at 0845 in a van for an all day tour to Actun Tunichil Muknal, or ATM for short as it's called here. It's a large cave system 3 miles long, used by the ancient Maya in the Late Classic period (pottery has been carbon dated 600 AD).
Only certain trained licensed guides are allowed to take people into the cave, with a maximum of 8 in a group.
We were 5 plus our part-Maya guide, Martin, who speaks Creole, Spanish and English. The trip involves an hour drive, a 45 minute hike, a swim, then the cave, where you go half a mile in, and emerge 3 hours later.

Bus ride inland

Caught the 9:30 bus west to San Ignacio, which is a small town near the Guatemalan border. We traveled along the Western Highway on a local bus (Bluebird school bus) with the door open, stopping often to drop off and pick up passengers.
A few times the driver pulled over because a group of cyclists were coming towards us with their support vehicles (it was a race - competitive cycling is big here).
About an hour and a half later, around Teakettle Village, the landscape changed from flat savannah to hilly (foothills of the Maya Mountains), and we started to see different (lush and green) vegetation: banana trees, orange groves, teak tree farms, a sign for the Belize/Taiwan experimental farm; we saw horses in fields, and crops of bush beans.
Arrived in San Ignacio around 12:30, found our guesthouse and walked around, got lost, then found; arranged two all-day tours: Monday to a Mayan cave and Weds to Caracol.

In the city

When people greet you in the evening, they say Good Night!
Most people have a 45 hour work week here - Monday to Sat noon. Government employees work Mon - Friday. Agricultural workers make minimum wage: BZ $2.00 an hour (!)
While slightly larger than El Salvador, Belize only has a population of 300,000 while El Salvador has 7 million people!
PS G left Friday.

Five feet from a jaguar - talking to a toucan

Drove 40 minutes out of the city to the Belize zoo, where they only have injured, abandoned or donated critters. It's an educational centre, with large enclosures with lots of trees and vegetation. We were there early and saw so many animals: a cute grey fox, a beautiful jaguar right at the fence, a sleeping ocelot, margay cats sleeping in the fork of a tree, peccary, coatamundi (relative of raccoons), howler and spider monkeys, and tapir, or mountain cow, the national animal. Birds we saw were a jabiru up close, parrots, scarlet macaw, an emerald toucan and the larger keel billed toucan. The two hours we spent there went by quickly.
A film crew from Japan was there filming for a documentary about Belize.

Getting the tourist dollar, Part Two

We'd heard that every Weds at a beachfront hotel, there is the "world famous" Chicken Drop, where there's a board with 50 numbered squares, - you buy a ticket for a square, and hope the chicken drops (poops) on "your" square - it's a dollar a ticket and winner takes all.
We lined up in the bar to buy tickets, and must have stood in line for at least half an hour, enough time for them to sell lots of beer. The first time the chicken was put in (there's a net around the board) - it didn't move, and so the winner was a guy from Idaho with the middle number. G describes the second one:
"The announcer said she usually lets people who have a special occasion put the chicken in the drop, - this guy (slightly drunk Aussie) yelled that it was his 21st birthday. When she asked him to do the tradition of spinning the chicken around 3 times, he started to do so quite vigorously until there were cries of protest from the crowd, scared the chicken was going to be hurt. It was pretty funny though."
That time the chicken walked around more, but despite having 4 numbers, we didn't win the $50.00.
Watched the eclipse of the moon from the beach.

Getting the tourist dollar, Part One

We heard that every day at 4 p.m. crocodiles are fed "a few miles south of town, past the water tower, on the lagoon side." G describes it: "We rented bikes, and after a long and arduous bike ride where Dad led us astray numerous times, we finally came across an open part in the lagoon where 5 gangster looking kids called us over: - You guys want ta see da crocodiles? - After more tourists gathered they tied a rope on a frozen chicken and threw it repeatedly into the water until a crocodile came. The first one was probably about 8' long and the second about 12' long. They'd throw it in and tease it so the croc would try to bite it - to try to get it out of the water but they only got them half out."
Then they collect tips from the bystanders.

Snorkling

Our local guide took us out to the Hol Chan (Mayan for narrow channel) Marine Reserve. First we had to wait our turn to have the Marine rangers, in their boats, come and stamp our tickets (there's a fee of $10.00 US to be in the Reserve). They patrol the area and if they catch anyone fishing in the protected zone they're fined $500.00 belize, or $250.00 US.
We snorkeled as a group (of 10) to the channel and back, and saw a small barracuda, groupers, a spotted eagle ray, a green eel, tons of colourful fish, and lots of different kinds of coral.
Then we went to Shark Ray Alley and snorkled with sting rays and nurse sharks. Luckily they stay on the bottom and aren't interested in people. Nurse sharks have their teeth inside, and don't look too fearsome; but they can suck conch right out of its' shell! It was a great trip.
Met 2 young men on the dock - both from Kelowna and here on reading break. The people snorkling with us were all from Wyoming.
B and G tossed the frisbee in the late afternoon and were soon joined by quite a few local kids who wanted to play.

Water taxi

Took a noon water taxi from Belize City to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye - took just over an hour. San Pedro is not the sleepy town with narrow sand streets we saw in 1981, the last time B and I were here. Now bikes, golf carts and a few cars and vans whiz by on the paved roads, and pedestrians hug the buildings (only a few sidewalks), and fear for their lives. Easier to walk on the beach if possible. The north-south streets are Front Street, Middle Street and Back Street. Development now stretches way down the beach in both directions.
B and G went windsurfing from the beach in front of our small hotel; lots of wind for them.

Lamanai

The most amazing day. Got up early and drove an hour north to Orange Walk. Met our tour guides and got in a boat for the trip up the river through jungle to the Mayan site of Lamanai.
On the way up the river we saw crocodiles of all sizes, birds: ibis, snowy egret, snail kites, wood storks, Northern jacanas, and 2 Jabiru storks on their nest (biggest flying bird in the Americas). Saw iguanas, snake cactus hanging from trees, and passed a sugar "factory" the guide called it, and a Mennonite community.
An excellent guide took us around Lamanai. We climbed to the top of the High Temple (about 11 stories high), and G's comment was "this is epic!" The view was of the river and jungle for miles in every direction.

Arrived!

Arrived at noon - sunny and humid. Debra and Phil live at the end of a road near the Belize River and their house backs on to a canal that goes to the river. Their yard has a coconut tree, honeysuckle, and what I think is a yellow hibiscus bush.
After Belikin beer on the shady patio and some lunch, Phil took us on a tour of the city. We saw poor areas, wooden houses on stilts, fancy houses on the water, mostly up in case of a storm serge. Also saw the Governor's house, now a cultural centre, Battlefield Park, fishing boats with dugout canoes on them, the Baron Bliss monument, a cruise ship anchored offshore, and the swing bridge, which is cranked open by hand.

Packing

Enough armchair travel! Time to get going - leaving on Friday!

Finished Beka Lamb

Last summer our friends mentioned the novels of Zee Edgell, set in Belize, and I just finished her first one, Beka Lamb. It's set in Belize City in the 1950's and gives a real flavour of that time. See the link at the bottom of the page for more info on the book and author. I hope to read her other novels as well.

Saltworks

Heather McKillop is an archaeologist who's done fieldwork in Southern Belize. I've recently read her article (link below) on the discovery of 41 Late Classic Maya (AD 600 - 900)saltworks in the Punta Ycacos Lagoon. Pottery fragments on the seabed indicated saltworks in wooden buildings. The pottery jars were used to boil seawater to produce saltcakes, most likely for trade. At one site they also found a well preserved (in peat) canoe paddle, which indicates trade using canoes. The shape of the paddle matches those in ancient Maya art, incised on bone found in a temple in Tikal.

Sore shoulder

We had our shots yesterday and got our Malaria pills; Belize has the highest rate of Malaria in Central America, the doctor at the travel clinic told us. The latest book I've read is Don't Drink the Water: the complete traveller's guide to staying healthy in warm climates, by J. S. Keystone. It's an excellent book; one surprising statistic: "...98% of travellers make a food faux pas within 72 hours of arrival at a tourist destination." Yikes. We'll be very careful.

Time Among the Maya

Written by Ronald Wright in 1989, Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico only has 57 pages on Belize. A travel writer, Wright chronicles his third trip to Central America. The prologue details his visit to the Lamanai ruins during a previous visit, and the first two chapters describe the start of his journey, from the Mexican border to Belize City, then on to San Ignacio and Guatemala. The book, while easy to read and enjoyable, lacks photos, which made the previous two books more interesting I think.

Jaguar Woman

Tonight I finished a similar book, called Jaguar Woman, by Canadian Melanie Watt, written in 1989. She did field work in Belize in the mid 1980's, for her MSc in Zoology at the U of T. The book starts out describing the Cross-Country Classic, a 144 mile cycling race on rough roads in the heat of April, from Belize City to San Ignacio near the Guatemalan border, and back. Since the first one in 1929, no woman had ever finished the race. Melanie did it in 10 hours, to raise funds for the Jaguar Preserve. That in itself is an amazing story, but she goes on to photograph and track jaguars in the Cockscomb basin; her struggles and resourcefulness, the incidents and characters she meets, make for good reading.

My first post!

Wow! That was easy; I've created a blog. Now I need to learn how to use the digital camera, so I can upload photos when I travel. Our first trip of 2008 is to Belize, so I'm doing some reading. I just finished Jaguar: One Man's Struggle to Establish the World's First Jaguar Preserve, by Alan Rabinowitz. Fresh out of grad school with a PhD in wildlife ecology in the early '80's, he started collecting data on the jaguars of the Cockscomb Basin in southern Belize. His two year stay there was full of adventure, and the book is hard to put down.