We added Belize to our itinery as we had heard good things about it and i have to say they were right. The three of us only had 10 days there but loved every bit of it. A short bus trip over the border from Guatamala and we were in San Ignasia which was completely different from the rest of our American travels. Firstly everyone speaks English (horay), Secondly everyone says ¨Hello¨to you and it´s like jumping into the Caribean with dreaded Rastas everywhere and Bob Marley pumping out of every stereo, even on the bus! Very relaxed, which was definately needed.

Here I am relaxing with a Belikin, the local Belizian brew. Like many of the beers we have had it is absolutely fantastic. Miriam is also developing a bit of a taste for the cocktails, especially the tequilla sunrises, very apt really. We have to soak up the local specialities as part of the travelling experience, well that´s our excuse anyway.

Yet another kayaking trip, but this time it was in a massive cave that the Mayans had used to bury their outcasts in. There were bits of pottery and skulls that had fused into the rock sides of the cave. There were also bats and plenty of stallectites/mites.

This was our guide David, who as you can see, is a crazy rasta man. He has grown up in the area and was one of the first people to rediscover the caves. The cave system is 9 miles long and he has kayaked/swam/walked the whole system which took 2 days! 

Not only was the inside impressive, but this was the stunning view of the caves we got on the way out. The entrance was in the jungle. Later on Miriam swam in one of the traquil cool pools.

After a few days in San Ignascia we headed down to Caye Caulker ( via Belize city very briefly!). It was a 50 min boat trip from the mainland and this is the sort of pier we were greeted with. The island was small with no cars, only golf buggies to get around.

 

This crazy guy makes these crazy hats from palm leaves and was happy to show us how to make it. This was at the Lazy Lizard bar which was very apt as we saw 3 or 4 large iguarnas basking in the very hot sun. 

The island was surrounded with crystal clear waters and a reef, perfect for snorkelling. We all went for several trips to various parts of the reef. Some of the equipment was a little big for action man! The first boat trip we swam with rays, turtles, nurse sharks as well as baracuda and tuna. The second trip we were surrounded by huge ray which were 4 foot across. We were only in 3 foot of water and there were about 15 rays which were very enquisitive and swam right up to us and over our feet. The guide picked up some of the rays and handed one to me to hold in my arms because of the size of it. Pretty scary as the guide had just pointed out the huge stinger on the tail( and the Steve Irwin thing)!

 

As well as getting involved with the snorkelling, the big man did his fair share of eating and drinking. Here he can be seen sharing lobster tails with Miriam, who was in her element, trying all the local seafood. We had seen a huge lobster earlier in the day.

The last part of our Belize adventure took us on a speed boat ride to the mayan ruins of Lamanai. They were set amidst jungle with several large temples. This is a picture of us on the largest temple overlooking the jungle and river. On the way back we saw a huge crocodile sitting on the river bank. 

Belize has been a nice relaxing few days and now we are going back in to Mexico for the chaos of Spanish speaking people, cities, tacos and more temples. 

Watch this space!!