Pic of the water taxi
Andrew was thrilled to be able to pay $5 to go in and feed peanuts to these parrots. They would fight with each other when he was restocking. I declined to participate, except to photograph the joyous event. Birds are so creepy!
These two pics above are tapirs. They are kind of like cows, but smaller with a weird nose like an anteater.
A jaguar sleeping.
A mama Howler monkey and her baby.
Crocodile...
...and another one.
This thing looked like a pig. It also pretty much smelled like a pig.
As you can see, you shouldn't pet it.
I can't remember what these things were called but they were having a great time. One also reached through the fence to try and grab Andrew's toes.
One of the little walkways in the zoo. It was a lovely little place. Whole thing took us less than an hour to get through. Even with the bird-feeding stop!From the zoo, it was back in the van to go to the big resort where they do the cave tubing and the zip lines. There we were met by more guides - Oscar for zip lines and Said for the cave tubing. Zip lining was first, as it was a hot day and they agreed that the river would feel even better after hiking up to the lines. The zip lines were very fun - 7 in total! We both agreed that we would like higher and longer ones, however. One of the guides told us that there is one in Costa Rica (where he was from) that totals almost 2 miles of lines, with heights reaching almost 1000 feet. Guess we'll have to go there next time!
This was the first little one that got you ready. They called it the "Chicken Run", because if you were freaked out on this one, the others were out.
Finally, it was on to the cave tubing part of the day. Good thing because zip lining helmets and harnesses in the Belizean jungle humidity make you very sweaty! We changed in to swim suits, met up with Said, and were on our way. Sorry - no photos of this portion of the day, folks. We didn't bring the waterproof camera. Next time! For those interested, here's a link to the resort site so you can see some of their photos...
This was the first little one that got you ready. They called it the "Chicken Run", because if you were freaked out on this one, the others were out.
Finally, it was on to the cave tubing part of the day. Good thing because zip lining helmets and harnesses in the Belizean jungle humidity make you very sweaty! We changed in to swim suits, met up with Said, and were on our way. Sorry - no photos of this portion of the day, folks. We didn't bring the waterproof camera. Next time! For those interested, here's a link to the resort site so you can see some of their photos...
http://cavesbranchoutpost.com/Home.html
While there were other groups tubing with guides today, we were our own group with Said so he let the rules slide quite a bit. No helmets or life jackets for us, hooray! We also will be allowed to tube "free", meaning we didn't have to be tied to our guide. He tells us that many tourists (especially "cruise ship people") have a hard time following the flow of the river and spend a lot of time bashing in to the sides. The guides tether them to help prevent that and also to help the guide keep track of their pack in the dark cave. Said either thinks we can fend for ourselves, or doesn't particularly care if we get lost or concussed. Regardless, we're happy about our freedom, even it if comes at price. What's one more injury on this trip!
To get started tubing, we had to hike about 30 minutes through the jungle to the entrance of the cave. Said then asked if we'd like to jump in to the pool from the rocks above the entrance. Uh, yes! I have a sneaking suspicion this was also against the rules, but it did give him a chance to assess whether or not he had made a mistake by letting us go without life jackets. The pool was a lovely shade of aqua and was filled with little minnows that would eat any dead skin off of you. Cute, until the bigger ones started to show up. Ouch!
The caves were amazing! Huge stalactites and stalagmites that were likely a million years old, limestone walls that the water had carved in to interesting patterns, and sections that glittered like gold from the minerals. We very quickly came to an area that was a sink hole that was open to the sky above. There were stairs coming down from the top to give access to the "Crystal Cave", which is a 6 hour tubing/walking tour through a very long cave. Said had us "pull over" at the next to a small waterfall, and we hoisted ourselves out of the river to explore the sink hole. Again he tells us, this is not typically allowed due to the risk of a tourist falling on the rocks and suing. Again, either he doesn't care if we die or didn't think we looked to be the litigious type. Either way, it was very cool!
After looking around the sink hole for a good 20 minutes, we jumped (literally) back in to our tubes and entered the main portion of the cave. In total, the section we were in was approximately 3/4's of a mile long, and was as dark as can be. Using our head lamps we could see bats hanging from the ceiling, along with amazing formations in the limestone. The whole tour seemed to only take a few minutes, so we were surprised to see that almost 2 and 1/2 hours had passed by the time we were at the end. We thanked Said profusely (and gave him a nice tip) and found our way back to Jason, who was waiting for us in the parking lot.
Starving, we were grateful to hear Jason say that we were stopping for lunch just a few miles up the road. Waiting for us at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere was stewed chicken with a mole-type sauce, rice and beans, and slaw. I don't know if it was because we were so hungry but that was one of the best things I've ever eaten!
Jason dropped us off at the water taxi about 4:15, and we were back in Caye Caulker at 5:30. Happy to be back on this little island that we love, we picked up our bikes (we had stashed them at the rental office for the day) and pedaled home.
After hanging up our wet things (we're supposed to dive tomorrow so we need dry towels), we got back on the bikes and headed back in to town. We were low on pop and I am having some pretty serious peanut butter withdrawals! We also picked up a couple of cans of cat food to try and keep the cat quiet (which worked, by the way!). We were intending to pick up pizza for dinner when I spotted a woman in her yard selling pupusas. Score! In case you didn't know this about me, I will eat pretty much anything that someone is selling from a rickety old stand or out of a truck or cooler, because I think it's about the best food you can find anywhere. This time was no exception. Pupusas, for those who don't know, are little cornmeal pancakes stuffed with beans or pork or chicken or cheese or spinach, or any combination thereof. They then get fried on a hot griddle until the insides are all hot and melty, and the outside is crispy. There is a Salvadorian restaurant in Minneapolis that makes them but, I assure you, this woman in her yard has them beat hands down. For aAgain, I didn't have my camera with me, but we'll definitely be going back there so will get a photo next time. For $7.50 US, we got four different pupusas and Andrew also got a bottle of home made horchata - a cold Mayan drink that is made from rice, sugar and cinnamon. Bargain!
So, that's it for today. It was a great day but we're tired. And stuffed full of pupusas! Tomorrow morning we're scheduled to dive, so keep your fingers crossed for no wind!
To get started tubing, we had to hike about 30 minutes through the jungle to the entrance of the cave. Said then asked if we'd like to jump in to the pool from the rocks above the entrance. Uh, yes! I have a sneaking suspicion this was also against the rules, but it did give him a chance to assess whether or not he had made a mistake by letting us go without life jackets. The pool was a lovely shade of aqua and was filled with little minnows that would eat any dead skin off of you. Cute, until the bigger ones started to show up. Ouch!
The caves were amazing! Huge stalactites and stalagmites that were likely a million years old, limestone walls that the water had carved in to interesting patterns, and sections that glittered like gold from the minerals. We very quickly came to an area that was a sink hole that was open to the sky above. There were stairs coming down from the top to give access to the "Crystal Cave", which is a 6 hour tubing/walking tour through a very long cave. Said had us "pull over" at the next to a small waterfall, and we hoisted ourselves out of the river to explore the sink hole. Again he tells us, this is not typically allowed due to the risk of a tourist falling on the rocks and suing. Again, either he doesn't care if we die or didn't think we looked to be the litigious type. Either way, it was very cool!
After looking around the sink hole for a good 20 minutes, we jumped (literally) back in to our tubes and entered the main portion of the cave. In total, the section we were in was approximately 3/4's of a mile long, and was as dark as can be. Using our head lamps we could see bats hanging from the ceiling, along with amazing formations in the limestone. The whole tour seemed to only take a few minutes, so we were surprised to see that almost 2 and 1/2 hours had passed by the time we were at the end. We thanked Said profusely (and gave him a nice tip) and found our way back to Jason, who was waiting for us in the parking lot.
Starving, we were grateful to hear Jason say that we were stopping for lunch just a few miles up the road. Waiting for us at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere was stewed chicken with a mole-type sauce, rice and beans, and slaw. I don't know if it was because we were so hungry but that was one of the best things I've ever eaten!
Jason dropped us off at the water taxi about 4:15, and we were back in Caye Caulker at 5:30. Happy to be back on this little island that we love, we picked up our bikes (we had stashed them at the rental office for the day) and pedaled home.
After hanging up our wet things (we're supposed to dive tomorrow so we need dry towels), we got back on the bikes and headed back in to town. We were low on pop and I am having some pretty serious peanut butter withdrawals! We also picked up a couple of cans of cat food to try and keep the cat quiet (which worked, by the way!). We were intending to pick up pizza for dinner when I spotted a woman in her yard selling pupusas. Score! In case you didn't know this about me, I will eat pretty much anything that someone is selling from a rickety old stand or out of a truck or cooler, because I think it's about the best food you can find anywhere. This time was no exception. Pupusas, for those who don't know, are little cornmeal pancakes stuffed with beans or pork or chicken or cheese or spinach, or any combination thereof. They then get fried on a hot griddle until the insides are all hot and melty, and the outside is crispy. There is a Salvadorian restaurant in Minneapolis that makes them but, I assure you, this woman in her yard has them beat hands down. For aAgain, I didn't have my camera with me, but we'll definitely be going back there so will get a photo next time. For $7.50 US, we got four different pupusas and Andrew also got a bottle of home made horchata - a cold Mayan drink that is made from rice, sugar and cinnamon. Bargain!
So, that's it for today. It was a great day but we're tired. And stuffed full of pupusas! Tomorrow morning we're scheduled to dive, so keep your fingers crossed for no wind!
That's too bad about the camera, sounds like a blast though.
ReplyDeleteAlso you are correct, birds are creepy!