I wanted to go somewhere warm in the middle of the winter. Jaguar Lodge, Belize, which combined adventure in the form of about a dozen day trips to Mayan ruins and interesting hikes with beach time was perfect.

The resort was wonderful. The dining room was large and airy.  The patio doors were open and it was warm and lovely. While eating I felt like I was still on the beach. On the sand there were comfortable beach chairs and hammocks available. The cabins were comfortable and right on the beach.

Our first excursion was to Mayan ruins in Xunantunich and Cahal Pech. At Xunantunich, which means Stone Lady, we climbed up (5 minutes) to a large grassy area. There, in front of us, were the ruins of an old palace, an altar and the religious temple which is a step pyramid. This pyramid is amazingly high – yes we climbed it. From the top you get a fabulous view of the area as far out as Guatemala. The pyramid had carvings on it, but the ones we saw were fiberglass replicas. The real ones are behind them. Obviously visitors have been destroying the real ones so now they are preserved behind the fiberglass.

The Mayas lived in this area around 400-200 BCE then when they depleted the land, they moved to another area. Around 800 AD they returned and built these structures. 

Cahal Pech, is not as high but it is more extensive than Xunantunich.

The next excursion was to the Jaguar Preserve.  It was fabulous. We hiked in the jungle to a waterfall. Didn’t see any Jaguars – didn’t expect to see any, but we saw lots of birds. The waterfall wasn’t very large but there was a pool at the bottom and we went swimming, which felt wonderful. There were 15 people on the hike – which was probably 10 too many.

The Scarlet Macau hike was our next adventure. We drove for an hour then climbed at a 45-degree angle for 550 ft. The reward was seeing dozens of the Scarlet Macau when we got to the top.  What magnificent red, blue and yellow birds. They glide so gracefully but they also make a racket. We watched them for about an hour. Then we had to climb down the 45-degree angle.  At the end of the hike we swam in the river for a bit. We were really hot so it was great.

Snorkeling is not my favorite activity but I am always glad when I push myself to do it. Many years-ago, my daughter, Maggie talked me into going snorkeling with her. It was an act of love to snorkel with her because I am afraid of putting my face in the water – or more accurately, I feel like I am drowning when my face is in the water. I now know that I can do it, but I always hyperventilate at first.

Luckily that day the seas were as calm as could be and the boat was never far away.  It helped to have my partner there to hang on to.  We swam together my hand on his shoulder and I also wore a life jacket.  The fish were lovely but the corals were even lovelier. 

The Mayflower Waterfall hike is rated difficult. We almost didn’t get to do that hike because we needed 4 people and we only had 3 sign up. Maybe it would have been better if we hadn’t gotten to go. Wow. This one was tough.

We were warned so we had our hikers and sticks.  It was a very steep climb using ropes to pull ourselves up some of the time.  It was also hot.  We had our long sleeve bug shirts on and long pants. 

Our guide, a Mayan, was very interesting man. He said that he learned English while working with archaeologists.  He left home when he was 14 and worked for the forest department.  He was great about helping me down the mountain.

The zip-line and tube trip.  I had never done zip lining and rappelling and I decided that this was a good place to try it.  There were 6 stations.  I was pretty scared but still felt very safe.  The first one was pretty easy.  I followed instructions and got to the other side easily.  The important thing is to keep open the hand on the wire, or you break too early.  That’s what happened on the second run.  It was a long run and even though I didn’t break – I stopped short of the platform.  I had to turn myself around and go hand over hand backwards the couple of feet.  After that I went as fast as possible to get to the other side.  In fact, one time I didn’t slow down in time and almost knocked the guide over, getting on the platform.  All in all, it was really fun zipping.  The rappelling was not too far down and not scary.

Anyone who had ever gone tubing with me, knows that I am pretty hopeless on tubes – I can’t seem to go forward. My tube wanted to go to the right or left – it isn’t the tube’s fault – I must paddle unevenly.  The guide came to my aid once, then Jerry hooked his feet to my tube and guided me down.  Once he did that, I could relax and enjoy the ride. 

We should have looked at the boat before we booked it.  It was too tiny (about 6 by 20 feet) to feel safe on the open sea.  Two men manned the boat. It was calm going over to Placencia but really rough coming back.  I sat in the bottom of the boat in order not to fall out. We bumped along but made it to the resort back safely.

Placencia was larger than the town by our Lodge, and had a lovely walkway along the beach.  But it wasn’t really worth the bother to go there.   

Final Thoughts:

1. With a bit of planning, a beach vacation and adventure trip are not mutually exclusive.
2. New experiences such as zip lining are very empowering.
3. The hikes and ruins were well worth the effort.