You better Belize it!

With all the cold weather lately that we have been having, I couldn't help but think that last year at this time I was on a beach in the Caribbean. Yes, I was in Belize doing research for a class I was taking to finish up my degree. OK, maybe it wasn't really research or even work, but I did get credit for it and I graduated.

Upon arriving in Belize City I had to exchange my American dollars for Belizean dollars. I changed $300 for the first week and the exchange rate is 2 Belize dollars for every 1 American. All my buddies went straight to the taxi and when I came out from the bank I showed them how Belize money looked exactly like ours. NOT! The bank teller accidentally exchanged American for American. I now had an extra $300 (total $600) in my pocket. Needless to say I went back and explained to the bank teller what she did to which she said about 20 thank yous.

We then hopped into the taxi to take us to the water taxi, which then took us to this little island about 30 miles north on the barrier reef. On this little island there were no motorized cars except those used for construction. We got around on golf carts. The water was BLUE, the sand was white and it was amazing. I should mention that we were studying the effects on the environment from eco-tourism. Anyways, we snorkeled and enjoyed the local seen and enjoyed some great food that fisherman caught that day and grilled that night. I also got Montezuma' Revenge on the 3rd day we were there which is weird because I thought he was from Mexico.

After the island we went into the mainland and stayed at a the only Jaguar preserve in Central America. I swear it looked like we were in Jurassic Park. Green, green, green. Our accommodations were not like the island though. No electricity, composting toilets and mosquitoes everywhere. We did take some hikes and found an awesome waterfall, and we even saw a crocodile on a night hike. I was happy too, that I slept on the bottom bunk in our room as rats would sometimes fall from the rafters onto my friends in the top bunks.

After that stop we traveled to the 5 Sisters resort in the Mountain Pine Ridge area of Belize. This was starkly contrasting to the jungle as this region has mostly tall pine trees as opposed to palms. The resort we stayed at was by far the best. While here, we visited Caracol, the Mayan ruin. This is one of the biggest ruins in Central America and at it's height rivaled Tikal. We had to be escorted by the military as Guatemalan mercenaries were kidnapping tourists and holding them for ransom.

We then traveled to within 2 miles of Guatemala and stayed at Trek Stop. A little place owned by a older gentleman and his wife. From there we saw other ruins, the botanical gardens and got to go spelunking. The cave that we got to enter was used for Mayan sacrifices and we saw whole skeletons and broken pottery. To get to where that stuff was we had to swim, yes I said swim, in the entrance and hike through a river. There were times where our guide would seemingly slip though a crack in the wall and say to follow him. I seriously considered turning back as I am rather large and was afraid I would get stuck. But alas, I made and I'm glad I didn't turn back because it was awesome.

Our final days were spent at an Autobon sight near the coast. We saw more ruins, looked at some educational places (ranger stations) and studied some social issues related to environment.

I recommend going to Belize to anyone. There is so much to do and it is amazingly beautiful.