Belize tour 5/5 - St Ignacio

After a week at a reef atoll, it is time to move back to mainland for the last part of the tour. St Ignacio is inland in the west surrounded by mountains, it is a stopover spot to enjoy birdwatching, river sport and Mayan ruins.

red custard apple

soursop & custard apple

St Ignacio turns out to be a pleasant and relaxing small town, still basic simple houses, but with a farmer’s market every day selling lovely fruits, and a few decent restaurants to dine in.

We joined a bird watching tour at Black Rock area. It was a rare 37 degrees hot day and viewing birds along a dusty road looking towards the forest in the distance was too uncomfortable. We did see a number of birds, including Keelbill tocan, blue bunting, trogon etc. Compared with our birdwatching experiences in Costa Rica and Panama, there are far less birds here and are far away, not an experience to rave about.

Xunantunich

Barton Creek cave canoe to see offerings

Joined two tours to visit Mayan ruins, Xunantunich and Caracol, the previous one followed by canoeing in Barton Creek into a cave with stalactites and Mayan offerings. It is nice to know more about the history of Mayan in this area, from 500BC to the peak at 750 AD with estimated 3 million inhabitants (compared with 40,000 Belizian now), and the final decline at around 900AD after 150 years of drought, when the area was deserted. There are estimated close to 300 of such Mayan settlements, only 5 being excavated, partly, and renovated to open to visit.

Caracol, the tallest amd most extensive Mayan Ruin

The last day in Belize we joined the famous ATM Mayan cave tour. This is an underground cave half filled with water, where we need to wade across 3 rivers to get to. Once inside the totally dark cave, we wear life jackets, helmets and headlights to swim, climb over stalactites, squeeze through gaps, climb up 2 floors, and return the same way . 

 

The total trip is around 3km return and took 3 hours. Along the flat areas in the cave, where there are shallow depressions, we could see offerings, near the entrance are pots carrying grains gradually changed to human remains, from commoners to nobles further in, then small children. The timeline of thr offerings coincide with the long drought period from 750 to 900AD, suggesting that the Mayans were desperate and had been increasing the preciousness of the offerings to please the underworld powers to pray for rain, but in vain, leading to mass death and deserting the sites.

One contribution to drastic climate change was the vast deforestation during the Mayan period to sustain population growth.

It may look like the settlements were surrounded by forest, but actually it had been cleared to bare ground for farming, and trees burned to make lime to use in stone wall building.

History is repeating itself, and there is a lot to learn from past events.

Belize tour 4/5 Glover’s reef atoll Isla Marisol resort

The next part of the journey is an all inclusive week long stay at Glover’s reef atoll at Isla Marisol resort. It turns out to be a local family owned small resort.

We were picked up by the owner at Dangriga and takes 90 minutes in his speedboat to reach the resort.

There is around 10 individual cabins, we picked one that is half in the water, no one can walk in front. Not really a concern here as there are not many people around. It is really quiet, no noisy bars and people around, much more secluded than the resort we stayed in Maldives before. All meals are cooked to serve, no buffet, hence can tell the chef your preferences.

I even managed to ask the Chef to show me how to prepare conch, my favourite seafood here, and to cook it.

Protected by its own barrier reef, the water in the atoll is so calm, and easy to see a lot of fish swimming around.

They offer diving sessions, guided deep sea fishing, fly fishing, snorkelling trip, swim with dolphins, and in the right season swim with whale sharks.

There are many mini atolls within Glover’s atoll, with one in front of the resort. Just a short kayak away and I can enjoy snorkelling in super calm sea, among beautiful corals and fish on bright sandy bottom with water just up to my shoulders, fantastic! Other than colourful reef fish, also spotted fierce looking tarpons, cute swimming backwards group of cuttlefish, and a few nurse sharks coming around corners.

The amount of reef fish is not as aboundant as in Maldives, but I like the less commercial less crowded atmosphere in this resort.

With a water front location, it is a pleasure to relax in the balcony to watch the view, the light and colour changes all the time, and the various creatures that swim pass.

Belize tour 3/5 Hopkins

Took water taxi back to Belize city, then transfer to Hopkins down south by taxi, a two hours drive. Hopkins is a layback beach town, but better maintained than Berlize city and Caye Ambergris. What shocks us is the high humidity here, worse than previous places, sweat pour out the first time.

Cashew fruits

Went to eat at Maximo at the waterfront, recommended by both the taxi driver and our landlord. Wonderful location, and the very well prepared conch in spicy sauce. The first very satisfying meal here.

Hopkins area is where an ethnic tribe Garifuna settled in Belize. They are descendants of a group of Africans taken as slaves in the 18th century and stranded in an nearby island after a shipwreck. They maintained their own language and culture.

We joined a Garifuna cooking and drumming lesson at Palmento Grove.

The cooking class is very hand on, including picking and learn to use machete to open green coconuts to drink; hack open the husk of old coconut using a sharp stick anchored in the ground, chop open the nut, shred the coconut meat to make coconut milk. Very useful hand on tricks to get fresh fragrant coconut milk.

Also interesting is to pound boiled plantain into a sticky pulp, very much like mochi, to serve with coconut mix herb broth and deep fried barracuda.

We are all well exhausted with the work needed to produce a meal in a traditional kitchen in the humid heat.

After that is drumming class, my first experience in playing drum, African style. We are taught 3 different simple tunes, each one practiced repeatedly, progressively faster until it burns in our head.

I appreciate the joy of learning and playing “music” like that.

In the evening, we joined a kayak trip organised by the same Garifuna group, to tour the mangrove swamp area. They are seafarers and catch fish in the swamps. It is an experience to kayak under a starry sky and directed through different pathways through densely grown plants. On the way, managed to see bioluminescence in some dark corners of the sea.