Birding and Mayan Ruins in Belize

Cindy and I took a quick trip to Belize in Early December. We went inland near the Guatemalan border to a place called Crystal Paradise Resort owned by the TUT (pronounced Toot) family http://www.crystalparadise.com/. This Belizian family really made us feel at home as we stayed in one of their dozen or so thatched bungalows in the jungle.

During the trip we got to do a few different activities including canoeing, bird watching, some Mayan ruins, dining out (of course), a little hiking and renting a car and explored the country. The best parts were definitely the birding and Mayan Ruins.

One of the Tuts sons Jabroni was our guide. You can check out his services at http://www.birdinginbelize.com/ Not only did this man have incredible local knowledge he also had the best equipment (scopes and Binos). We accomplished our trip goal and saw a Toucan the first day. In fact we saw two varieties and multiple toucans so it was a real hit. We also saw Brown Hooded Parrots, Social Flycatchers, salttaters just to name a few. The birding is really fun and a great way to see Belize. Most of this birding took place in the El Pilar reserve which is also a Mayan area that has not been excavated.

The next day another Tut son, Averil, better known as Caracol King took us up the the Caracol archeological preserve. The ride itself was part of the fun and included a trip through the Mountain Pine Forest Reserve. We even had a military escort due to some recent bandit activity in the area.

Once we got the Caracol it was amazing the size and beauty of this Mayan site.

Occupied as early as 1200 BC, The site was rediscovered in 1938 by a logger. The true name of this ancient city, found in hieroglyphics throughout the site, has not yet been successfully deciphered. Its modern name is Spanish for "snail," the derivation of which is not entirely clear. One translation of the emblem glyph, indicates it may have been named "Place of Three Hills," but this is also uncertain. The comprehensive work done by archaeologists Diane and Arlen Chase, of the University of Central Florida, tells us that in 650 AD, a population exceeding 150,000 was occupying the epicenter of the site.

We were able to experience this special place in relative isolation. On the day we visited there were only 8 other tourists at the site. It was amazing to see the creation from so long ago that he jungle had completely enveloped and now thanks to some modern day Indiana Jones is open up for the modern world to see. If you get a chance to go to this or any other Mayan site it is worth your while.

The next day we rented a car and gave a lift to a fellow traveler Sarah from Olympia Washington that was heading down from the Jungle to Hopkins on the Belize coast. We took the famed Hummingbird Highway through more mountains, orange groves and salt marshes till we dropped off Sarah at the beach. That night we checked out the running W Steak House in San Ignacio. This was a true first class steak house overlooking Macal River. http://www.sanignaciobelize.com/home_page.html

The next day brought some rain that looked like it would stay all day so we checked out of our jungle accommodations a day early and headed to Belize City to the Best Western Biltmore. Truth be known it was Sunday and NFL season so we picked the hotel based on the knowledge they had satellite TV. We were not disappointed and spent the day watching football.

All in all Belize is a great vacation and I encourage you to get off the beaten beach path and check out the interior jungle