While JB’s favorite activity in Belize was the Green Iguana Project, RB’s was Barton Creek Cave.  Caves play an important role in Mayan history.  The Maya believed caves were a portal to the underworld (known as Xibalba, or “Place of Fright”) and used them as a site of offerings, ceremonies, and sacrifices.  Many believe that the collapse of the Maya in the 9th century AD was largely due to drought, and there is evidence that the ceremonial activities in the caves were a last-ditch effort to appease Chac, the Mayan rain god.  Belize’s large cave system is fascinating to explore …

After coming back across the Mopan River on the hand-cranked ferry from Xunantunich, we stopped for lunch at Benny’s Kitchen.  Serving traditional Belizean cuisine (as well as basic kid-favorites like burgers and hot dogs), the open-air dining restaurant recommended by our guide Roque did not disappoint.  I had a good chicken and rice dish but my husband made the even better choice and tried the pibil, which is a slow roasted pork dish.  It was amazing.  We enjoyed our meals and the boys enjoyed drinking from the tallest Sprite bottle I’ve ever seen and using our Belizean change to get …

After a good night’s sleep (despite the howler monkeys’ 4am wakeup call), we were ready for our first full day of adventure in Belize.  Breakfast was our first order of business, specifically getting pancakes for JB.  We had failed in our attempt to get pancakes at three different restaurants in the airport and I had promised him that Black Rock Lodge had them on the menu.  They did and they ended up being worth the wait.  During breakfast, we got the awesome news that Roque would be our guide again today.  Pancakes and Roque – this day was off to …

We arrived at Belize’s Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport around 1:30 pm local time.  It was a new experience for the boys to exit an airplane directly onto the runway and they were excited to walk down the steps from the big plane.  We immediately felt the heat his us when we stepped off of the plane, but it was actually a bit of a relief as we had all been shivering through two different plane rides and the Houston Airport, all of which were unusually cold.  We took our customs and immigration forms and our passports and joined the …

While eating lunch in Manarola, we briefly considered whether we should complete our hike there or continue on to Riomaggiore.  We knew the easy path (Via dell’Amore) was closed and after a long and strenuous hike, thoughts of food, drink and relaxation briefly outweighed the idea of another steep hike.  While the last segment was one of the shortest hikes distance-wise, it was reputed to be one of the most challenging.  But we had come all this way to see all five towns and it seemed silly to stop now.  Taking the train was technically an option but seemed like …