Our Belize mainland tour...

We had a group of people visiting here in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize from the U.S., a total of 10 adults and two teenagers. We all decided to take a tour on the mainland of Belize on Tuesday, June 21, 2010. Ecologic Divers is associated with Mark's Tours, whose owner is Mark Cal, a Belizian native and a Mayan descendant. Our decision was to visit a Mayan archaeological site called Xunantunich, and to go cave tubing.

Our trip began at 6:30AM when we were picked up by two taxis to take us to the airport in San Pedro. We chartered a single engine, propeller driven airplane from Mayan Island Air to take us to the municipal airport in Belize City, a short 15 minute flight. The flight is exciting in that the views of the ocean and cayes at an altitude of around 2,000 feet are mesmerizing. The airport in Belize City a was tiny, a single strip of asphalt bordering the ocean only feet away and maybe one or two feet above sea level. We were asking ourselves if it was possible for a plane to land on what looked like a postage stamp on our approach. Anyway, our landing was uneventful, and we soon boarded our van for a trip across the width of Belize to San Ignacio, our destination being the ruins of Xunantunich (Say {Zoo-nan-two-nich}) which means "stone woman" in Mayan.

The drive took us a couple of hours over a two lane highway frequented by speed bumps which slowed our forward progress in places to stop and go speeds. Annoying but with no highway patrol, an effective means of speed control in more populated areas. The terrain along our route was relatively flat to hilly through heavily wooded areas and sometimes into what I would classify as jungle. To get to the ruins, we had to take a man powered, one car ferry across a small river. During the crossing we had to leave the van as a precaution against the possibility of the ferry sinking. A very short drive later we arrived at the Xunantunich visitor center where we each paid a $5 USD admission fee to the "dig".

We were not expecting much, but when we finally saw the ruins, we were blown away -- they were simply awesome. Everything was well manicured, the ruins were surprisingly intact, and much bigger than we expected, the pyramid, El Castillo, being around 130 feet tall. We all decided to climb to the top following our guide Mark. This climb at times was a bit unsettling in that there are no railings, and there is the real potential of falling. Needless to say, we were all very careful, and everyone made it up and down with no missteps. The view from the top was stunning allowing us to see many miles in every direction, and to the west, the hills and forests of Guatemala.

We then went to a restaurant in San Ignacio where we ate chicken, rice, beans, and plantains, the staple foods of Belize. Very tasty. Soon we were heading back toward Belize City and the turn off that would take us to the cave tubing site. About an hour later, we arrived at the Cave Tubing Visitor Center.

Luckily there were no cruise ships in Belize this day, and as such, there were no maddening crowds. We got our truck-sized inner tubes, life jackets and battery powered head lamps, and began our trek upstream through a beautiful forest. I am guessing the hike was about a mile or so on relatively flat trails, and about half an hour later, we arrived at the entrance to the cave. It was awesome -- giant limestone cliffs with a crystal clear river flowing out of one cave and almost immediately into the mouth of a second mammoth cave. Wow! The cave was much bigger than I expected. We all entered the clear, cool, refreshing water, got into our inner tubes, rafted together, and began our drift into the cave beginning with some minor rapids. The cave quickly got dark and we all turned on our head lamps. The water was slow moving and progress was relaxingly slow. The cave was huge -- probably twenty feet tall and maybe fifty feet across, with the water being relatively shallow, sometimes to the point where our rear ends would hit rounded river rocks on the bottom. The excitement level of this excursion likely varies depending on the flow of water. In our case, it was very tranquil. I am guessing we were in the cave for about half an hour before the river emerged into sunlight. For the next half hour we tubed down the river through the amazingly beautiful forest. All too soon we arrived back at the visitor center, and dried off for our return trip. Cost was $5 USD admission fee, and $5 USD for gear rental -- a real bargain.

Our trip back into Belize City took about another hour as we headed to the municipal airport. We were split up onto two airplane for our trip back to San Pedro. At approximately 6:00PM after a short flight, our remarkable excursion was over ... but never to be forgotten...

San Pedro, a sleepy little drinking town with a bit of a diving problem...

The title of this blog is a slogan that was taken from a t-shirt for sale here in San Pedro which humorously characterizes the town as a place that has a lively night life with one of its main activities being its focus on scuba diving. Most of you probably got it, but an explanation was in order for those that didn't.

Ecologic Divers is located in San Pedro here on the island of Ambergris Caye, 15 miles off the northern coast of Belize. It is a town of about 4,000 people with the island having a population of around 20,000. Ambergris Caye is about 25 miles long with its width varying from maybe half a mile to several miles wide. It is a flat island with sandy beaches lined with palm trees and surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Caribbean -- truly a tropical paradise.

People come to San Pedro and Ambergris Caye to enjoy the sea, whether it be diving, snorkeling, fishing, sailing or other water sports. Belize is renowned as a world class diving destination with diving along the length of the Belize Barrier Reef, and in and around the three atolls off the coast of Belize.

The town of San Pedro is a particularly interesting place. Once a quiet fishing village, it is now a bustling tourist town with countless shops, stores, restaurants, bars and resorts. The waves and surf breaking over the barrier reef, about a mile offshore stretching the length of the island and beyond, keeps the wave action on the sandy beaches to a minimum. Accommodations here range from backpacker hostels to luxury beach resorts.

Along the beach are many docks and piers jutting out into the calm waters, some as long as 300 feet. There are often small buildings built on the docks. Needless to say, boats, especially power boats, are everywhere. People are often surprised at the size of San Pedro and the proliferation of resorts and homes along its 25 mile shoreline. The turquoise waters near shore are crystalline -- some of the cleanest water we have encountered in the Caribbean.

The beaches are lined with beach bars, small restaurants and resorts set among countless palm trees. Many of the restaurants in San Pedro can be described as "holes in the wall" having only a few tables. We frequently purchase food from street vendors -- grilled chicken, tamales, doughnuts, hamburgers, hot dogs, burritos, tacos, pastries and meat pies are common fare. Also the street vendors will hawk goods which include wood carvings (which are simply beautiful), blankets and other cloth goods, and hand made jewelery such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other trinkets.

The town is difficult to describe -- eclectic, quaint, and charming are words that come to mind. The town is old, but very clean -- in short, it has character. The streets are narrow, and as such, the primary means of transportation is golf carts -- they are everywhere, hundreds of them! Old time bicycles like we rode as kids where you peddled backward to brake are common -- no bicycles with hand brakes here. Taxis are ancient Toyota mini vans. An occasional motorcycle, pickup, or small car will sometimes be seen traveling the streets. Green John Deere tractors are commonly seen pulling beverage carts to supply bars, restaurants and resorts with beer and soft drinks. So what is our preferred means of transportation? We walk pretty much everywhere.

The airport is in the middle of town, and is only big enough to handle single engine propeller driven airplanes. Tropic Air and Maya Island Air fly into San Pedro almost continuously all day long, and provide a 15 minute flight from the international airport in Belize City.

The streets are filled with people at all hours of the day into the evening. Kids are everywhere, especially on weekends where they play in the shallow waters along the beach. We have always felt safe walking the streets, even at night. The people of San Pedro are very friendly and always willing to help, an attitude that we rarely found in our travels throughout the Caribbean. English is the primary language of Belize, and as such, you will rarely encounter anyone with whom you cannot enter into a conversation. For you looking for a place with a lively night life, San Pedro is the place to be.

You will not find name brand stores, hotels and restaurants here, and forget the fast food restaurant chains like in the U.S. In short, you will see virtually nothing that you will recognize. This is a good thing, and adds to the unique flavor and character of the town. A walk in San Pedro can be likened to a walk back in time...