<<<<<<< iPOSTCARDS OF MY >>>>>>> " VACA(SEAN) / (SABA)TICAL ": 02.2004

"BELIZE it or not, you've got to see it, to BELIZE it!"

Keel-Billed Toucan - National Bird

iPOSTCARD FROM THE BELIZE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

We were supposed to fly on Taca Airlines 'cuz they were the cheapest, but someone told me that Taca is "Kaka", so we flew on Continental Airlines via Houston instead. Belizeans were friendly, but once again I got hassled at immigration. And to think I was the one who filled out both Bill's and my own arrival form and yet only I was asked to supply more information and answer more questions... "Grrrrrr+_)(*&^%$#@!!!"

We were met at the airport by our limo driver, Rodrigo...only he didn't have a limo but a dilapidated van instead. He was very nice and informative about his beloved country during the approximate 3 hour drive westbound to the jungle. Half way we noticed that the van kept on swerving...only to discover that Rodrigo had fallen asleep on the wheel. He apparently had been drinking the night before. Bill offered to take over the wheel. Rodrigo gave in, only if we promised not to tell his boss. "You don't have a choice man, move over!". Rodrigo had to then keep awake to alert us of every road bump which was there every 10 yards of the way.

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iPOSTCARD FROM CAYO

iPOSTCARD FROM A MAYA MOUNTAIN JUNGLE LODGE

We stayed in a Maya Mountain Lodge in the heart of the jungle. Our cottage was made of concrete, thatch, and screen. We slept off our jet-lag on a hammock outside the cottage. It was awesome to sleep with the sound of wild life all around us and to wake up with the chirping of the birds. I later on discovered that Bill slept with one eye open and one hand with a flashlight...just in case a lizard or cockroach fell from the thatched ceiling and inadvertently decided to crawl on us in the middle of the night. Thanks to Avon's Skin So Soft Bath Oil, our skin was not only baby smooth, but we never got bitten by mosquitoes. It worked like a charm...better than Off Lotion. The only thing that bit me was a tick...(yes, like the one on a dog). That taught me not to reject the Avon Lady the next time she knocks on the front door.

outside our cottage

iPOSTCARD FROM THE JUNGLE-RAINFOREST

We only had time to see one ruin, Cahal Pech "Place of Ticks" Ruins. We went inside the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest which manifested the devastating effects of the bark beetle infestation. We saw the 1600 foot falls in the Hidden Valley. We swam in Rio on Pools, which is a unique granite pool formation spring fed from deep within the Mayan underworld and cascades through a riverine habitat supporting a wide variety of exotic flora and fauna. We explored the Rio Frio Cave, which has the largest cave entrance in B

elize. The strangest feature of this cave are sulfur deposited colored stones and large stalactites that seem to be sweating water droplets.

Cahal Pech Ruins

Place of Ticks Ruins

Royal Chambers

"I'm thirsty."

1600 foot falls in the Hidden Valley

Rio on Pools

Rio Frio Cave

iPOSTCARD FROM THE CAVE
The next day we went on a high adventure trip to Actun Tunichil Muknal "The Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher". It entailed driving through the forest seated on the back of a jeep, walking through mud, hiking through the jungle, crossing 3 raging rivers, and spelunking deep below the Earth's surface to witness some Mayan artifacts and skeletons through various rock and crystal formations in the wet darkness. They warned us that it was a kick-ass tour and to say good-bye to the clothes on our back and shoes on our feet. Some people, including some butch lesbians who had previously enlisted, backed out after they heard the stories from the previous tour group. Ohh ohh...I started to worry...but we decided to go ahead and do it. When we met a 69 year old woman in our group, I knew we had nothing to worry about except to watch over her. WOW...I'm glad we did it...It was an awesome workout! We and our shoes survived!

toilet in the jungle - "Can someone please pass me a leaf!"

entrance to Actun Tunichil Muknal

the "Jesus in a manger" formation

Mayan pottery

skeleton of the virgin sacrifice

skeleton of the the Princess

swimming in the freezing water to get out of the cave

iPOSTCARDS FROM AMBERGRIS CAYE

iPOSTCARD FROM THE BELIZE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT

We needed to fly from the mainland to the Cayes. We got on a 6-seater puddle jumper by Tropic Air. I wanted to sit beside the pilot but lost my spot to a 350 pound Belizean woman due to distribution of weight reasons. We had to drop her off at Caye Caulker, the cheaper and less crowded baby sister of our final destination, Ambergris Caye. It was a scenic flight looking down at the cayes and barrier reef. The landing strip was lined from east to west and the cold front was naturally blowing from north to south. When the time came to land, I could see the pilot's arm muscles throbbing as he attempted to control the landing of this turboprop at an angle. I thought we were going to flip! If it wasn't for the engine noise, my video cam would have recorded our screams, "We're going to die!"...Luckily we didn't. :-)

boarding our turboprop

iPOSTCARD FROM A BEACH RESORT IN THE CAYES

So it took a puddle-jumper, then a van, then a boat to get us to our beach resort in the northern part of Ambergris Caye. Since it was high season and our planning was sort of last minute, we settled for a beach nook that opened up directly on the beach. Like our hosts in the jungle, our hosts in the cayes were Canadian. Unfortunately, this was the only unpleasant aspect of the entire trip. Both sets of hosts didn't give that personable service that we've become accustomed to in luxury properties. No offense meant to my Canadian friends. Belize is a hot spot for Honeymooners. PDA's (no, not the electronic gadget) was everywhere, that you would think they would get a room or something. Most guidebooks indicated that the food in Belize is nothing remarkable. Well, I gather in the past years they've accumulated 10 of the top chefs in the world. The food we had in the jungle and cayes was awesome. My only regret is that we arrived the day before the last day of lobster season. As we explored the beach, we began to look into real estate. Bill was thinking more for retirement, while I, on the other hand, was thinking more on the lines of having our own beach resort to cater to both "happy" couples and "breeder" couples.

view from the room

view from the restaurant

iPOSTCARD FROM THE LARGEST LIVING BARRIER REEF

There was a cold front when we arrived, thus the sun was taking a siesta on this tropical Caribbean paradise. I didn't want to imagine spending the rest of our trip locked in our beach nook hiding under a mosquito net. So we braved the cold weather and went kayaking to the barrier reef. The water was choppy and challenging, but it was well worth it when we got there. Fortunately, the sun started to come out in the middle of the day and we were able to take a boat trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark/Ray Alley. I was thinking I was going to regret not having enough time to go scuba diving, but we ended up being more than satisfied with the awesome snorkeling. We swam with the rays, eels, manatees, beautiful colored fish like Nemo and his friends. I tried to chase after a sting ray and Bill wrestled with a baby great white...aahh...nurse shark. As we were leaving Bill threw the remaining shark feed around me and so the sharks started nibbling. It's a good thing I wore my wire-mesh thong...LOL.