During my sailing trip I realised that my next step was to hire a car and drive through inland Belize. I discovered that I could hire a car and leave it some other destination. I had an idea I wanted to see some jungle and some wildlife and caves as I’d heard Belize has some beautiful places to discover.
My first day, I set out from Placencia heading North to Hopkins, a small coastal town that was supposedly a favourite amongst backpackers. The road in from the Highway was terrible and the town didn’t seem much better. I left after driving around a few streets. This was the beauty of having the car. Very independent! I decide to head further North to Dangriga, which is South Belize’s largest town. By the time I got there I was so desperate to hear Vybz Kartel's Dance Hall Reggae hit Street Vybz. So my first stop was a CD shop where I stocked up on a bunch of Dance Hall ‘Best of’ compilations. I drove around Dangriga not very impressed, the streets smelt like cat piss and so did the hostel that I decided to stay at. I decided I’d stay until daybreak, then head west inland along the Hummingbird Highway.
Belize has another Blue Hole, this time surrounded by jungle. I decided to check it out. Surrounded by a dense rain forest and plenty of wildlife was the famous sinkhole. A little green due to the recent rainfall and Hurricane Harvey but still impressive. There was also an information centre quite close so I headed there and decided to go on a small 30 minute hike to St Hermann’s Cave. Walking along the walk track I saw a woodpecker, hummingbird, lizards, frogs and lots of butterflies. Entering the cave was quite surreal, coming over a small landing I could see mist rising from the depths. The smell was damp and fresh. I was on my own and slowly walked inside the massive hole in the ground closely hugging the rope to stop me from slipping in the mud that has formed due to the recent rain. Once inside I needed to turn on my headlight, the darkness quickly surrounded me and I was absolutely alone in this cavern of darkness.
Once I finished the self-guided tour, I decided that I would come back and go through the cave with a tube. I had done the cave tubing at Jaguar Paw the day I went to the Belize Zoo. I thought if it was half as amazing as that experience it would be worth doing. This cave tubing experience in St Hermann’s Cave was very impressive as well, although much more of an adventure as there was some strong currents to maneuver through and a little climbing inside the cave. A highlight was when the cave opened up and I saw hundreds of bats flying around the ceiling. Quite a sight!
On route to the cave I saw a sign for ‘Caves Branch’, and was reminded that someone had told me about a resort in the jungle close to the Blue Hole National Park. Again, the advantage of having the car came into play. I decided to back track and check it out. A mile or so off the highway and into dense forest, the well made pebble paths led me to an entrance of what was to become my temporary home for the next 3 days. A beautiful jungle resort besides a river. Accommodations ranged from campsites to bunks in shared cabins, to bungalows and tree houses. Each accommodation was nestled in the jungle in a way that was private and secluded. You couldn’t see any other cabin or cabana from your own. It was absolutely gorgeous to be surrounded by such a natural environment. Going to sleep at night was heavenly. Gentle frog croaks and distant crickets soothed me to sleep. In the morning I awoke to the signing of tropical birds.
The resort offered a plethora of adventure tours from Cave tubing to overnight jungle and cave exploring. I decided to do the early morning ‘Bird Watching’ which I saw some beautiful birds including Belize’s mascot, the
Toucan.
I also strapped on some climbing gear and reclined down a 300foot vertical wall in the adventure filled ‘Black Hole Drop’ tour. This involved about a 90-minute trek in the jungle uphill in dense vegetation. The tour guide carried a machete, and needed to use it several times to cut a path through fallen trees and palms.
We reached the spot where we were to start our descent and we said hello to a beautiful big female tarantula who has taken up residency next to the rope lines. The hardest part of the recline is taking those first steps over the edge and seeing how high up you were with nothing to hang onto but the ropes and the harnesses the only thing supporting you. It was exhilarating!
Once at the base we had lunch and then made our way inside a huge cave. The rock formations were amazing. No photographs can capture the awesomeness of the scene. We were told that it is the second largest cave in Central America. That’s saying a lot as the whole of the region is honeycombed with hundreds, if not thousands of caves!
Once back at Caves Branch resort I decided to do the evening jungle trek which involved going for a 1 hour walk in the jungle surrounding the resort, with a guide and a torch and searching for animals. We saw a few frogs, some spiders and a small monkey. Nothing too exciting, but just being in the jungle at night was pretty exciting anyway.
See my pics of my adventure here…
Bridgette’s Flickr – Belize Road Trip
See my other Flickr pictures here…
Bridgette’s Flickr – Sets
