Belize Zoo and Cave Tubing

During our time in San Pedro there were plenty of day trips you could do. I spoke to a tour operator and asked what was the best tour on offer. He recommended the cave tubing and explained a little about it. It sounded like a fun day.

We started early and caught a water taxi from San Pedro to the mainland of Belize, and to Belize City, the country’s old capital. We were met by the tour operators Tuff E Tuff Tours, and drove for about an hour and we were at the Belize Zoo. To our delight we were the only ones doing the zoo tour so we had a guide to ourselves. There is nothing better than personal attention on a tour. The Belize Zoo has an interesting history. Back in 1983, a young woman was the animal handler for a documentary about Belize. Once the production finished she took on the role to care for the animals as they had been domesticated. She set up the zoo and used it as an educational base. The zoo also took in injured animals and started a breeding program for endangered species. All the animals now at the zoo have been injured, orphaned or born in captivity. Some animals are rehabilitated and set free but they have found that these animals return to the zoo on their own. It was lovely to see as well that the zoos enclosures were large, full of trees and places for the animals to hide. We soon discovered that sometimes it took several minutes to see the animals.

I was excited to see Ocelots for the first time. The smallest of the big cats with a short dappled coat. Absolutely stunning!

The most interesting (if not freaky) was the Howler Monkey. One prompt of a call from the tour guide and the monkey was off. It had an incredible howl that rang through the zoo treetops.

I also was lucky to handle a local boa constrictor. I love the feel of their pure muscle sliding over my skin.

After about an hour at the zoo, we were off to the second part of our day, Cave Tubing. A 20 minute walk in the jungle wearing our swimwear and holding a large inflatable tube we saw some interesting things along the way including Leafcutter ants and a Tarantula.

The start of the tube ride was a pond with a looming limestone wall that came up and over the pond. The formation was an incredible site. We could see the entrance of the cave as we swam in the crystal and cool waters of the river. We were greeted by a small group of people floating from upstream. Apparently you could float down the river for 6 hours. We were taking the 90-minute version.

Once we started on the tubes it was only a minute until we came across our first small rapids. It involved lifting yourself up so any rocks underneath us didn’t bruise you. Soon we were in the cave and it opened up to a huge space inside. Stalactites, stalagmites and crystal formations soon appeared and they took many shapes and sizes including Mary holding baby Jesus ‘Use your imagination!’ the guide said, a giant mushroom and a Toucan the Belizean animal mascot. Towards the end of the cave we saw some tiny bats that call the cave home. They were almost invisible stuck to the rock, only becoming visible once they flew.

It really was quite amazing to be inside a massive cave for an hour floating down a tube. Quite surreal!

See my other Zoo pictures here…
Bridgette’s Flickr – Belize mainland and zoo