In the jungle, the mighty jungle

After five relaxing days on an island our brains were in full vacation mode. No one ever knew what day it was so we were lucky to be aware enough to leave when we were supposed to. We squeezed in some last minute wandering about town and are now all proud owners of clam chairs! Don't worry, they're not the ones Ariel sits in - we have better taste than that. Getting them home is another story. In our rush to catch our water taxi combined with our vacation brains, we gave them our money and left, no receipt, nothing, AND we missed our water taxi! Oh well, hopefully it all works out. We've learned that Belizeans are very trusting and everyone seems to be good on their word. We Americans are too skeptical. Anyhoo, we left Ambergris Caye on the next water taxi and headed west to the Cayo region where we lived in the jungle for the next few days. Thanks to Andrew's recommendation the next part of our trip was filled with epic adventures and great company on stunning grounds at Caves Branch. 

Here we visited the Mayan underworld, or so the natives believed the caves to be. Florence, Nikita and Krisna chose the waterfall caving adventure to start. This consisted of a bus ride (another top of the line school bus) where we drove through orange groves, forged a river (who knew school buses could do that) and entered a secure area where the bus had to be sprayed down upon entering (pesticides we think). We reached a trail in the jungle and this is where we started our hike. Our guide Marvin, with machete in tow, warned us of the 9 poisonous snakes we might encounter and the bot fly. You think mosquitos are bad, this fly lays its eggs onto a host, aka you, where they get embedded into your skin. Mosquitos can also carry the larvae and deposit that into you when they bite so once again mosquitos are the devil. To rid yourself of this pest who's making you his new home, you must suffocate it with vaseline and duct tape, once the eggs die you pop it like a zit. Lovely huh? Bring on the poison and parasites! Thankfully we reached the mouth of the cave unharmed. Once in the cave we traversed through the water, up to waste high at times, and through very low ceilings that we had to crouch and crawl under to reach the waterfalls. The cave formations were spectacular, crazy stalactites and stalagmites, jellyfish, brain coral and a number of other formations we can't remember the names of.

Hiking to the waterfalls with the slippery rocky terrain was one thing, climbing the waterfalls was another. Think rock climbing with water rushing down your face so you can't see. 

The only way back was the way we came so we had to jump the 4 largest waterfalls to get back. Sounds a little scary and challenging but we all made it and it was really fun! After our descent from the falls the guides had lunch set up for us in a cave. It was an amazing and unique experience. The only downside was that we all came down with what we've coined the "Mayan Ruins," that cave water man...deadly on the tum. 

Verna visited Actun Tunichil Muknal (aka ATM cuz who can actually say that?), an archaeological Maya site located in some deep caves also in the area. It's one of the rare sacred sites of the ancient world and they meant serious business with what you had to wear (try wading through cave systems and swimming underground in long pants and hiking shoes) and what you couldn't bring in (aka anything. No cameras... Not even a Chapstick!) Similar to the waterfall adventure the rest of the group went on, you hike, cross rivers, wade, swim, crawl, squeeze, boulder, and climb into some pretty enchanting geological and archeological finds... Stoneware, pottery, and glittering skeletons. Glittering skeletons you guys! So Indiana Jones. At one point you had to squeeze your head through two rocks with only an inch to spare by your neck to get down a waterfall. Deep in the cave near the remains and artifacts we even had to hike barefoot for a couple of hours. 

The next day we all went cave tubing and zip lining. Cave tubing involved sitting in a tube and floating on the Caves Branch river, which went through five caves and the jungle. 

With the water level being a bit low the day we went, this meant less floating... And mostly paddling with your arms for 7 miles. So we're all pretty buff now. Don't be jealous. During a short mid tubing hike we also saw jaguar paw prints in the mud near the trail.

Finally we have to mention that every evening at Caves Branch ended with a big family style dinner with all the rest of the guests, some of the staff, and Ian himself (the owner who discovered and starting caving in Belize) - we met amazing people and traded stories of our days over incredible food. And on one night a bunch of us hung out late poolside while one of the guests entertained us with his guitar... it was an incredibly clear night and you could see thousands of stars out! It was unbelizable!