This morning we again joined Dave and Barb for breakfast. Before coming to Caves Branch, they spent several days at Caye (pronounced “key”) Caulker, which is our next destination. We take this opportunity to do a little advanced scouting for our next stop. What should we do? What should we see? Where should we eat? They are full of suggestions and recommendations. From the sounds of it they loved Caye Caulker and are confident that we’ll love it too. They are leaving today and heading to San Ignacio to see a traditional Belizean market. I know how much I love seeing [View Full Entry]

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Wow. Words really can’t describe what we experienced last night. Sometime in the middle of the night Karin and I were awakened by perhaps the most frightening sound I have ever heard in my life. It sounded like a cross between a lion roar and a wounded wild boar (not that I’ve ever personally heard a wounded wild boar or a lion for that matter). It started as a long, throaty, scream followed by three quick grunts. There was a 10 second pause and then it would start again. I sat straight up. My heart was pounding. The animal was somewhere [View Full Entry]

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We are met at the airport by our driver Enrique. He greets us with a warm smile and a friendly handshake. Enrique is taking us to “Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Adventure Co. and Jungle Lodge” where we will be spending the next three days. Caves Branch offers nearly 30 different adventure excursions from basic stuff like jungle hikes, mountain biking, and kayaking to more unique adventures like cave tubing, waterfall climbs, and the famous “Black Hole Drop” where you hike up the side of a mountain and repel 300ft down into a natural sinkhole at the top. They even o [View Full Entry]

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Cave's Branch Lodge near Belmopan, Belize We spent one week at Cave's Branch Lodge, located southest of Belmopan on the Cave's Branch River. The lodge was amazing, and our room was the most lavish of all our accomodations. Below are some pictures of our room, some of the views, and the main lodge. [img=http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/3712/25 [View Full Entry]

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Pook's Hill near Belmopan, Belize Our next destination was Pook's Hill Lodge, located in the heart of the Jungle about 40 miles west of Belize City. We took a flight from San Pedro to Belize City, and then our friendly guide picked us up from the airport to take us to the lodge. On the way, we had a chance to stop at the Belize Zoo, which was amazing. The zoo was created to protect the native animals of Belize. All the animals are found in the wilderness of Belize, and the ones living here are rescue animals... all of which [View Full Entry]

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We went down a bumpy road like the one we went down for Barton Creek Cave to do a hike through the rainforest. We went through caves and over vines. No animals were seen, since it is the dry season and the animals are by water. In the rainy season, more animals are out and the jungle is dark, since all the trees have their leaves. We continued to the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve to go to Rio on Pools. The pools are slippery, I should know first hand. As I slipped immediately, even with water shoes on. The water [View Full Entry]

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We went to Xunantunich, pronounced Shoe-nan-tune-itch, it was absolutely beautiful so we decided we will have our wedding there tomorrow, it has spectacular views of the Cayo District in Belize and the border of Guatemala. After that, we went to Belmopan to get the required licenses and forms so we could get married tomorrow. The capital is so small but everyone is real friendly and supportive. We went back to the resort to wait for my father. From there we went down a long bumpy road to Barton Creek Cave, where we canoed into a beautiful cave. The bats were [View Full Entry]

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Saturday afternoon me and Kyle caught a bus headed out of Belmopan towards Dangriga. We arrived at the Blue Hole at about 1:30 in the afternoon and immediately got in the water. What an incredible spot! The water was a bit cold, but it was an amazing emerald/turqoise blue. The hole is fed from an underground cavern, and there's some cliffs above that you can jump from (about 30 feet). The bottom was filled with pebbles, and a group of fish seemed to really enjoy swimming with us. About 15 meters downstream is a cave you can swim into, but the [View Full Entry]

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Back for the 2nd time in Belize. It's been great, reuniting with the staff. I've only known them a short time but it already feels like they are life-long friends. We've been setting up the past couple of days for the trip coming in today. There are 126 people coming from Houston. It's gonna be crazy & amazing! We'll be staying in Belmopan, the nation's capital, with only 2 restaurants! Beans & rice, here we come! So...the trip was awesome! Very different from our other trips, but still great! We did mostly logistics...not much "leading." They had plenty of their own [View Full Entry]

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The office, my new office, is great. My own desk, computer, air-con. Constant supply of ice cool water. I feel slightly guilty, overseas voluntary work should be less comfortable. I feel Im perhaps cheating the programme somewhat. Belmopan is small, certainly for a capital city. With a population a little over 8000 it's mostly navigated on foot. That is, gravel tracks and dirt paths alongside the main adjoining roads. Smack bang in the middle of the country it's somewhat isolated yet central to accessing most of the country. Well it would be were there more expansive road networks. Still, it's [View Full Entry]

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