For my only full day in the Cayo district of Belize we traveled to the Mayan site called Caracol.
It was another full day guided trip so we left Maya Mountain Lodge about 8 AM.
We traveled south of San Ignacio on paved and unpaved bumpy roads. There were a few small towns along the way and eventually we made it to an area where we would meet up with a military escort. Military accompaniment was required since there were bandits that had robbed tourists a couple of years before.
While we waited for the official departure time our tour bus took a small side trip down to the Rio Frio cave. The attraction of the cave is it's enoumous mouth and ease of travel to fully explore it's 1/4 mile length. We were able to go in about an 1/8th of a mile to look around, take photos, examine some species of trees at the entrance and then return to our van.
With our miliary escort we were able to travel further into the Pine Mountain Ridge. If you think you'll see jungle everywhere you travel in Belize you'll be in for a surprise. The Pine Mountain Ridge area is at a higher elevation and feels a lot more like places in the northern latitudes. If you've ever been to the Pine Barrens in New Jersey - or have heard about them - then this region will remind you that northern ecosystem.
Caracol
The final few miles of the road became paved again - although narrower than 2 lane roads in the states.
When we finally arrived at Carocol's entrance and grassy parking lot a more jungly ecosystem was readily apparent. There were no major Mayan ruins within eyesight of where we parked so we did have to hike in (1/2 to 1 mile of hiking) to see some of the more famous buildings to this huge archaeological dig.
Since this was our 6th full day in Belize we were eventually going to get showered upon and our visit to Caracol provided us the precipitation that we didn't get while down in the Toledo district.
Although we were officially in the dry season some locals felt it became a drier season in the Cayo district from February through May. Regardless, it was nice to have some rain while visiting Caracol. It gave the ruins and the surrounding forest a more dreamy feel.
The ruins were great. The A and B groups were terrific. We hiked the tallest structure in the site (located in B group): Canaa, while the rain was really coming down. The structure is almost 150 feet high and once you got to the top the view to the surrounding forest and lower structures was spectacular.
We did have lunch after our tour and then headed back on the bumpy road back to San Ignacio.
On the way back we did stop at a river to swim but it started to rain again our group quickly got back into the van. We did stop by a craft house for local artisans and then finally got back to Maya Mountain a little after 4 PM.
Dinner was great. One of the best features to Maya Mountain is their food and dinner is quite good. Their packed lunches were also quite good too.
It was another full day guided trip so we left Maya Mountain Lodge about 8 AM.
We traveled south of San Ignacio on paved and unpaved bumpy roads. There were a few small towns along the way and eventually we made it to an area where we would meet up with a military escort. Military accompaniment was required since there were bandits that had robbed tourists a couple of years before.
While we waited for the official departure time our tour bus took a small side trip down to the Rio Frio cave. The attraction of the cave is it's enoumous mouth and ease of travel to fully explore it's 1/4 mile length. We were able to go in about an 1/8th of a mile to look around, take photos, examine some species of trees at the entrance and then return to our van.
With our miliary escort we were able to travel further into the Pine Mountain Ridge. If you think you'll see jungle everywhere you travel in Belize you'll be in for a surprise. The Pine Mountain Ridge area is at a higher elevation and feels a lot more like places in the northern latitudes. If you've ever been to the Pine Barrens in New Jersey - or have heard about them - then this region will remind you that northern ecosystem.
Caracol
The final few miles of the road became paved again - although narrower than 2 lane roads in the states.
When we finally arrived at Carocol's entrance and grassy parking lot a more jungly ecosystem was readily apparent. There were no major Mayan ruins within eyesight of where we parked so we did have to hike in (1/2 to 1 mile of hiking) to see some of the more famous buildings to this huge archaeological dig.
Since this was our 6th full day in Belize we were eventually going to get showered upon and our visit to Caracol provided us the precipitation that we didn't get while down in the Toledo district.
Although we were officially in the dry season some locals felt it became a drier season in the Cayo district from February through May. Regardless, it was nice to have some rain while visiting Caracol. It gave the ruins and the surrounding forest a more dreamy feel.
The ruins were great. The A and B groups were terrific. We hiked the tallest structure in the site (located in B group): Canaa, while the rain was really coming down. The structure is almost 150 feet high and once you got to the top the view to the surrounding forest and lower structures was spectacular.
We did have lunch after our tour and then headed back on the bumpy road back to San Ignacio.
On the way back we did stop at a river to swim but it started to rain again our group quickly got back into the van. We did stop by a craft house for local artisans and then finally got back to Maya Mountain a little after 4 PM.
Dinner was great. One of the best features to Maya Mountain is their food and dinner is quite good. Their packed lunches were also quite good too.
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