San Ignacio

---

---

Belize city turned out to be a bit of a hell hole, and 1 night there was more than enough. It's dirty, smelly, falling apart and there is someone waiting to hustle you on every corner. The following morning we packed up and set off early for San Ignacio via Belize Zoo. Upon entering the zoo Karen was 'stoked' to discover Steve Irwin and Dolly Parton were previous visitors. We got pretty snap happy and were tempted to pretend we had taken the photos on a jungle trek as the animals were easy to view in their natural surroundings. We collected our bags from the nice lady in the gift shop and continued on our way to San Ignacio.
The town turned out to be a nice surprise and we have stayed longer than expected. The people here are used to welcoming travellers being the main thoroughfare to and from Guatemala. The town proved much more lively than Orange Walk with people singing, dancing and drumming in the street. When we asked what the occasion was, we were told it was the start of the weekend (this was Wednesday evening!) Before we even explored the town, we had a random encounter with a redneck Canadian cowboy who had driven down in 7 days, fuelled by beer and a death wish. He clearly didn't mind standing out in a crowd with black cowboy hat and boots, giant handle bar moustach and Hawaiian shorts! Thursday was spent on a tour of Mountain Pine Ridge. We initially felt a bit swizzed as around 70% of the trees are dead due to a freak infestation of beetles some years back. The tour included an impressive cave, jungle trek and 3 seperate waterfalls, each stunning in their own way. We swam and played around in two lots of falls, the first being great for natural waterslides and massaging mini waterfalls. The second was higher and more fierce with great cliffs for diving into the deep plunge pools.
The next day we caught a bus up to a butterfly farm. The planned trip to nearby ruins in the afternoon was swiftly abandoned upon the discovery of frisbee golf! The 9 hole course twisted and turned through the jungle ending up in someones back garden. We enjoyed it so much we played it twice!
That evening we met Chris, an American guy who had given up his job in the States to build a jungle retreat in Southern Belize. He was in the area shopping for equipment in the Mennonite town of Spanish Lookout. We got on so well he invited us to go with him the following day. It wasn't the full costume drama we had been expecting, more like a hillbilly country town. While we were waiting for Chris to finish up his business, the day took a surreal turn with Mark falling asleep on a showroom bed while Karen watched Mennonite kids pulling record breaking wheelies on their bicycles. Chris invited us to drive back with him and camp on his land, but it was too far out of the way, so unfortunately we had to decline.
Today we took a taxi to the 'Panti Trail'. Don't be filthy, it's not what you're thinking, it's actually a Rainforest Medicine Trail. All the trees are labelled and with a guide book in hand detailing all their healing properties. Our favourites were the "Tourist Tree" so called because of its red peeling bark and the "Bastard Tree" which is covered by long, sharp spikes. This afternoon was spent wandering around the town and exploring the nearby ruins of Cahal Pech. Tomorrow we are leaving Belize for Guatemala where we are looking forward to being able to live a bit more cheaply and hopefully get a decent nights sleep. The beds at the are hostel are easily the most uncomfortable we have ever slept in....it's no coincidence that the owner also runs a flourishing massage business.

---

Comments

[Dad]

Jealous
Well, you certainly seem to be having a cracking time!! Great! Enjoy yourselves but watch out for creepy crawlies.