The bus ride from Flores to the border of Guatemala went smoothly. Nice bus, good road and the border crossing went smoothly as well. The last 5 miles before the border was a graded gravel road. But it was pretty smooth. Maybe it was because we were in the dry season and no mud. At the border we had to get off the bus and take all of our luggage to the Guatemalan customs officials and pay a $2.00 fee. We then had to carry (or drag) our bags across the border to Belize and go through their customs before reboarding the bus. Not a huge problem Probably took less than 30 minutes.
We pulled into San Ignacio about 5 miles down the road. The bus let us out and it went on to Belize City. We wheeled our suitcases down main street looking for a ATM and a telephone to call a hotel. We found both in short order. Located a taxi who took us to the Mayan Mountain Lodge a short distance out of town. The lodge is located on a beautiful piece of very lush tropical hillside. They have both bungalows and regular hotel style rooms. We chose a regular room to help hold down the expense a little. The meals were spectacular. Served in a outdoor dining room surrounded by lush vegetation the staff waited on our every desire. The owners were very nice and most knowledgeable about the local area. They have had the lodge for over 25 years. The following day we took a tour of the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) cave. It was about a hours drive and then a 45 minute walk through the jungle crossing a river 3 times. With hard hats and headlamps in place we swam through a cool pool of water at the entrance. Then it was wading through waste deep water passing beautiful geological formations to a area where we were able to get out of the water and take our shoes off. Wearing socks only we tip toed through a Mayan artifact area with numerous pots and bones. Two or 3 skeletons were evident and one complete skeleton. After 3 hours in the dark it was good to arrive at the entrance and see the beautiful green of the jungle canopy.
The following day we toured the ruins of Xunatunich and kayaked the Mopan River. We learned alot from our guide about the many types of trees over hanging the river. The next day we caught the 7 am bus to Belize City with a connection via the water taxi to Caye Caulker. We arrived at Caye Caulker in time to have lunch at "The Bamboo Restaurant" for their wonderfully taste cheese burgers. Caulker runs on a network of golf cart taxis that will take you any where you want to go on the 4 mile long island. We stayed at the "Anchorage Hotel" It was on the beach with AC. So for Caye Caulker standards it was pretty nice. We rented bikes and cruised the boardwalk stopping to have a beer now and then. The next day was spent viewing manatees and snorkeling. The manatee viewing was disappointing. Maybe because of the limited sighting. Supposedly created from the wind and cooler weather. However, the snorkeling was superb. We saw our first stingray. He was probably 6 to 8 feet across. The colors in the fish were almost beyond descriptions. We were told that the wind would probably continue to blow for at least 3 or 4 more days. So we caught a flight home to Arizona the next day. We arrived in Phoenix about 8 pm. Great trip.
