By Steve Barnhart
We had a great experience in Costa Rica last year for spring break, so we decided to try Belize. It offered many of the elements that worked well for our family last year: warm weather, lots of outdoor activities, a mix of activities for adults and kids, good flight connections, only one time zone change, and the chance to see how another culture operated.
We flew American Airlines to Belize City via Miami. Other than some de-icing at O’Hare, it was a very smooth trip. The Belize City airport would qualify as rustic, but operated smoothly. The transportation from our first place of lodging, Chaa Creek, was there to pick us up.
As we headed out of the airport, we had our first change in plans. We were going to stop at the zoo on the way to Chaa Creek, but we were traveling on Good Friday, and the zoo was closed. This was not a big issue, and we went on our way. The first big surprise was to find that English was the primary language. We had assumed it would be Spanish (o.k., our homework on local customs and history had been weak up to this point) as it was in Costa Rica, and in all of Belize’s neighboring countries, but had we remembered our geography well, and tracked the evolution of the British colony outpost of British Honduras into Belize, we would have understood why English was the main language, although Spanish, Creole and Mayan, along with other tongues and dialects, are also spoken.
Belize is surprisingly small, about the size of Massachusetts, 300,000 or so inhabitants, and apparently really only 4 major roads. The highways are fine. The dirt roads, well, I grew up on a gravel road, and dirt is a real step down, but it certainly helped define the undeveloped nature of the place.
The lack of development was both surprising and refreshing. A large part of the country is set aside in parks and preserves, and there are also a lot of orange and banana fields, so almost all the country felt green and vibrant. The variety and number of birds is very high, as billed, and the rest of the wildlife is also truly all around you. On several occasions we saw spider monkeys, and not only saw howler monkeys, but had one climb on our middle child (that is not a recommendation).
We stayed 3 nights at Chaa Creek, the first of our two spots, and could have enjoyed the entire week there. It was an early eco-lodge, and has that feel to it today, even as it has added additional comforts. Our room was very nicely appointed with local art, and had a great porch overlooking the valley, and an outdoor hot tub which the kids adored. Meals were all taken at the restaurant there, and the food was excellent. Wi-Fi was available in a lounge area for those, like me, unable to completely disconnect.
Our family tested what appear to be many of the classic adventures for this area. We went tubing through caves, with miner-like lamps on our heads. There are a lot of caves in Belize, and I am told the Mayans believed they were part of a mystical underworld of sorts. Depending on which caves you try, you can do a lot of paddling with your hands, or a lot of floating, and can see crystal formations, stalactites, stalagmites, ancient Mayan pottery and the skeletons of those offered as human sacrifices centuries ago.
We took a "zip-line" tour through the rainforest tree tops. This was popular with the whole family, as it proved to be not too physically challenging for anyone, but at least somewhat adrenaline inducing for all, as we scooted along on cables 50 or so feet above the rainforest floor, and then rappelled down.
Horseback riding and canoeing at Chaa Creek were fun family activities, all included in the cost of our lodging, but the big outing was to Tikal, billed as the greatest classic Mayan site that has survived. This was a case where the journey was truly part of the adventure. It was about a 3-hour trek each way, involving customs exiting Belize and entering Guatemala (both really pretty efficient and quick for us), a stop in each direction at a souvenir shop, and roads that varied from nicely paved to potholed to washboard and dirt. Apparently this is sometimes an issue for those that get easily car sick, but it turned out to be no issue for us. However, the time investment was too much for some of our party, so they went to the much closer, but smaller Xunantunich ruins, which proved sufficient for them.
(more…)
