Belize

I came to Belize on a huge whim. I needed to get away for a weekend, so I booked my flight Thursday night and flew out Friday for a weekend. It was a very brief trip, and it was raining when I arrived, which put a bit of a damper on things.

I signed up for a cave exploration tour the morning after I arrived on a red eye flight. After arriving at the airport, my guide picked me up, and asked "Is it just you?" with some surprise in his tone. I assured him it was, and asked why. He stated that there would be no one else on the tour but me. But surely there would be other tour groups there, right?

Wrong. Apparently I had picked a relatively unknown and non-commercial cave, called Crystal Cave (also known as Mountain Cow Cave) located in Blue Hole National Park in Belmopan. Please note that if you are interested in caves and want to do this cave, you must be fit. It starts with a 1 hour slosh through the jungle to get the cave entrance. After that, 1500 feet down into the earth with some technical climbing routes.

After splattering in the rain through the mud and hearing mosquitoes all around me, we finally made it to the entrance of the cave. But there was no clear path to get down to it. Not to worry, as my trusty guide pulled out a rope from within his pack, which he then tied around the base of a tree near the side of the cliff. He told me we would lower ourselves down the side of the cliff until we made it to the entrance.

After that, he also gave me a helmet with a headlight attached to it. Apparently, it would be pitch black inside. After getting past the mouth of the cave, I realized he would be quite right. However, you are rewarded by magnificent formations. The only light comes from this entrance, but the real exploration is to go down, way down into the earth, with your headlamp. I had already slipped a bunch of times up to this part, owing to the rain and the lack of proper shoes, but he mentioned it would get worse later, so it was best to maintain 5 point contact - on all fours, with my butt as the fifth point. Hooray!

From there on, we squeezed between impossibly narrow spaces and slid on our butts on descents to find the next area of stable footing. The air below was so dense I felt a little suffocated. With only our headlights as guides, I could see particles of dust and air swirling.

At one point, quite deep inside the cave, I thought I heard a voice from within. Still do not know what that was. I wanted to turn back right after reaching the cave entrance, but my trusty guide encouraged me to at least make it to the offering room. The area where the ancient Mayans made offerings to the dead. This is seen through various pottery offerings which are still there today.

At one point, we reached a cavernous area within the cave. It was pitch black, and things came into illumination when your headlight caught it. While sweeping my headlights across this space, it came to rest on the image below, which gave me quite a startle. This bulbous formation hung from the cavern ceiling, almost as if suspended by nothing. It reminded me of something from Ridley Scott's Alien. Don't let the image full you either, this formation was absolutely huge. It looks like I'm in the deep sea and a jellyfish is there- but I'm not underwater!

In this cavernous space, we also took a break for a bite to eat. Honestlly, I wasn't quite in the mood to have a meal!

After this area, do not turn back. If you continue on, you will be rewarded with "Wonderland", which is a chamber filled with crystal formations.

But not all of my time in Belize was spent in a cave! I stayed in a boutique hotel (pictured above), right off the water on the island of Ambergris Caye. My hotel room opened right up onto this pool, and beyond that, the ocean. The hotel bar opened up in the evenings, and that is how I met some of the guests there as well as the local bartender. Beware, for at night, the sand flies come out and if you are the type to get bitten, like me, you will get eaten alive!

Ambergris Caye is not very commercial. But if you are into something off the beaten path and quiet, then this is the place for you! I found myself frequenting the same few bars.

Almost nothing stands in the way between you and the ocean on this tiny island.

This flag hangs all around Ambergris Caye. On my nights out, I was fortunate to meet and go out with some soldiers from England who were stationed nearby. It was a blast, and one of the reasons I love to travel - you never know who you will meet.

Most of the houses were colorful, but very run down.

While here, you should make a trip to Caye Caulker - where the theme is "Go Slow" - and which many people prefer over Ambergris Caye because it's more low-key, although I found Ambergris Caye very low-key already. Either way, it's a good place to go for solitude.

I took a small plane from Ambergris Caye back to the mainland, and was rewarded with beautiful views. The plane did look a little run down though.

Finally, if you're able, you should visit the Great Blue Hole, which is one of Belize's most famous attractions. It is a giant submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize, and one of the top ten dive destinations in the world.