Extreme Adventures

Sunday night we had dinner at the gathering place in San Agnacio, Hode’s. They had everything from bar to outdoor restaurant to juke box to arcade to playground and the place was hopping. Rick had “enchiladas”…the sauce was a cross between spaghetti sauce and picante sauce and the cheese inside and out was tasty, but unique. Linda had shrimp fajitas…again tasty, but unique in presentation. After several attempts they were able to get the internet up and we were able to update ourselves on the “outside world”.

Monday morning we arose early for our tour of hiking, climbing and swimming in Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) ancient Mayan ceremonial site and cave. This has been described as one of the most unforgettable and adventurous tours you can take in all of Belize and they described it right. The tour started with an hour drive, most of which was on dirt roads, then a 45 min hike through the jungle, crossing through roaring creek three times, getting us ready to be wet all day long. After the hike we rested and ate half of our sack lunch to get our strength up for the adventure to come. At the wide, hourglass shaped entrance to the cave, we donned our helmets, complete with headlamps. We then started with a frosty swim into the cave through a deep pool and then we followed our guide, walking, climbing, twisting and turning our way through the blackness of the cave for over 4 hours (2+ hours in and 2+ hours out). Giant shimmering flow-stone rock formations competed for our attention with thick calcium carbonate stalactites dripping from the ceiling. Phallic stalagmites (see photos) grow up from the cave floor. At one point we were required to replace our shoes with socks to protect our feet from sharp rocks and to prevent damage to the cave surface from oils in our skin. Eventually we ended up in a gigantic underground room strewn with hundreds of pottery vessels and shards, along with human remains. Our final destination required us to climb a 16 ft extension ladder which had been anchored to the cave wall. Once on top we discovered one of the most shocking displays, the calcite-encrusted full skeletal remains of the woman who Actun Tunichil Muknal (cave of the stone sepulcher) is named for. She is one of fourteen human skeletal remains, seven of which were children that have been discovered in the cave. All are believed to have been offerings to the rain god, Chaac, in sacrifice for rain in a time of drought in the second half of the 9th century. The woman had been killed by breaking her back and leaving her in the cave to die. By this time we were quite worn out, but realized we had to do the entire journey again, backwards this time (including the cave, the hike and the drive). When we got back to our room we were past exhausted, but felt blessed that we were able to experience this magical place since there is word that the site will be closed to the public sometime in the near future. After a shower we returned to town for dinner, then back home for fire-flys and bed.

Tuesday morning we got out of bed feeling better than expected with only a few aches, pains and bruises…thank God for fish oil (thanks, Beth!). After a breakfast of French toast we drove to Xunantanich, one of Belize’s most easily accessible and impressive Mayan archeological sites. Along the way we saw many of the locals washing their clothes in the river…scrubbing with brushes on the rocks. Amazingly, the whites stay very white! We then crossed the Mopan river on a hand-pulled wooden ferry (see photos). Linda asked the ferry operator for his permission to photograph him and he agreed only because we were kind enough to ask (native people in this country aren’t very keen to having their pictures taken as it “draws away life energy”). The ruins were beyond incredible (see photos), the tallest being 157 ft tall. We climbed steep, stone steps which were built into the walls of the pyramid-shaped structure. From the top of El Castillo was a spectacular 360 degree view of the Mopan river valley with Guatemala a mile to the west. After leaving the site we returned to the ferry and then drove on to DuPlooy’s Jungle Lodge, home of the Belize Botanical Garden (Rick was in heaven). The park is 45 acres with 2 miles of trails identifying many of the trees and shrubs found in the four different Belizean habitats. It even had a native orchid house and a special exhibit on the products and uses of the native palms of Belize. After two hours of exhaustive study we decided to return to town for lunch (or so we thought). On our way back on the right side of the road we saw the Princess Hotel and Casino! We decided to try their café and our luck. Lunch was tasty and Linda’s luck was pretty good, but Rick made up for that! We finally made it home for a break and maybe happy hour before dinner. We later returned to town for dinner and internet update, but all the restaurants internet was down. We ate at Flayva’s and Rick decided to try Gibnut, the Royal Rat. This rodent was served to Queen Elizabeth II when she was in Belize a few years ago. It was outstandingly delicious….Linda even tried it. Afterwards, we found an “internet café” to check our messages and then home to bed.