You Better Belize It!

This post is originally from February 24, 2023

Yesterday we sadly bid farewell to Guatemala. I can’t stress enough how friendly and inviting the people are. It’s such a gorgeous country with so much to see, but as one of my friend’s always says ‘people make the world beautiful’, and it can’t more true in Guatemala.

Crossing the border threw our whole group a wrench. We exited Guatemala with flying colours but getting through the Belize customs was a whole different story. Each of our group of travelers was approved entry, however our guide Lula was held back. She holds a Peruvian passport and for some reason they held her for questioning. She told us to go ahead and she would be with us shortly. Shortly turned into well over an hour and after quite some time we decided to go back in and check on her. Sadly they were not allowing her into Belize. They told her that the entry requirements had changed and as a Peruvian citizen she needed a Visa. The weird thing is that when we Googled the entry requirements, it clearly still said that a Visa was not needed. The border control staff did not want us coming back in so it was such a sad way to say goodbye. Without any explanation the group got into our vehicle that took us to the next stop of San Ignacio. It is not likely that she will be able to do the Belize leg with us, however we are crossing our fingers that we will see her again in Mexico. G Adventures sent us a new guide but I’m still hoping that Lula will join us soon. You really can’t have any expectations when traveling as things can change on a dime, but it was sad to leave her behind as we have really become close over the last few weeks.

San Ignacio is well known for its caves. These caves were known to be sacred for the ancient Mayans. The Mayans believed that they were breathing holes that led them to the lungs of the earth and the underworld. With this being said, how could we not do an excursion that involved the magnificent caves?

We were picked up this morning by a local guide and driven an hour to the entrance of a dense jungle. From there we were suited up with helmets, headlamps, inner tubes, life jackets and water shoes. Then we set off with Sisco (our guide)through the jungle as he explained so much of the local knowledge. He has been exploring, spelunking and guiding this area for the past 17 years. He was even the guide who found the location for the tv show Naked and Afraid. His knowledge is vast as his grandfather taught him everything he knows about the flora and fauna of these jungles. All the information has been passed down through generations and during our 40 minute hike through the jungle he taught us about the different trees and plants and how you could survive off them. It truly is miraculous how nature survives and thrives and how the entire ecosystem depends on each other.

During our hike we had to cross the river three times. When it is +30 degrees, it is a welcoming and refreshing reprieve. When we finally reached the base of the cave it truly looked like an oasis that was surrounded by pristine turquoise water. Nobody else was in sight except for our small group so we were able to swim among tiny colourful fish and look into the mysterious underworld that was before us.

Eventually we all jumped on to our tubes (some not so gracefully – most likely me) and floated into the mouth of the cave. As we floated through, there were so many formations from the stalagmites and stalactites. The calcite made them sparkle like glitter and some made formations that truly looked like well thought out statues. When we got to a certain point our guide asked us to get off our tubes and swim to the edge. It was probably a good thing he did that as my narcolepsy was setting in and I was starting to get a bit sleepy. For those of you who know me well, you know that I tend to fall asleep in the most random places. Although I don’t have narcolepsy I do have a talent for sleeping pretty much anywhere. Anyway, we tied the tubes up and left them behind as our guide took us on a real adventure through the caves. Most of it we either waded through the water or fully swam. At times the roof of the cave was so low that we had to have our chin touch the water to get through, while at other times the cave opened up like a cenote and you could see the jungle and sunlight stream through. Every turn was a new adventure and it’s hard to put into words an experience that was so magnificent.

After much exploring we got back on our tubes and floated down the river until we were back in daylight. We swam through the clear river for a while and eventually it was time to get out and let our fingers return to normal as they we’re incredibly pruned.