We hired tour guide Gilbert Garbutt from Barefoot Services to do a private transport from Belize City to Placencia with some sightseeing and hiking tours along the way. We took the George Price Highway from Belize City (the former capital) to Belmopan (the current capital) and then got on the lovely Hummingbird Highway to wend our way through the Maya Mountains into the southern part of Belize.
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| We even had color coordinated footwear suitable for hiking the trails. |
After a few hours on the road, we stopped at Miss Bertha's for homemade "fyah haat" tamales for our lunch. It is a popular spot for locals, so we were pleased to arrive before she was sold out. The tamales were excellent.
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| The Poor Man's Refridge referred to on the sign is a cool spring to the back where folks can leave their beverages to cool off for later. |
Along the way to the Jaguar Reserve in the Cockscomb Basin, we passed some of the old narrow gauge railway trestles that paralleled the bridge we were on.
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| Old trestles |
The railway was built around 1930 and was used to transport bananas and logs to the coastal village of Dangriga until 1961 when the Hummingbird Highway was built over portions of the railway bed. The highway has been improved several times over the years and is now a delight to travel along - beautiful views of the Maya Mountains with its many streams and rivers, tiny villages surrounded by small fields of produce and fruit trees, large citrus operations, and mile after mile of untamed jungle. There are several National Parks along the highway and we went back to one of those parks toward the end of Becki's visit.
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| Becki with papier-mâché jaguar mascot of the reserve. |
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| Passion flower on a vine adorning the toilets. |
Gilbert led us on a hike to Ben's Waterfall. It was pretty steep in places and a little slick in some muddy spots.
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| Our guide leading the way up and up |
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| and then down and down. |
Gilbert showed us which trees were safe to grab hold of and which trees to avoid touching. The waterfall at the destination was worth the effort.
I have some good videos of the waterfall, but our internet is having issues at the moment, so all I can upload are still shots.
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| The main fall. The water is so clear and has a lovely blue color in the deepest part. |
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| Looking down on the lower fall. |
The jungle was so very lush and green and alive. We didn't see any jaguars - that's a good thing - but Gilbert did say he could smell one. I caught a faint whiff of it, but I would not have noticed it if he had not pointed it out.
After we hiked back out, Gilbert drove us to Placencia where our friend Jason picked us up in his boat to bring us home to Englishtown. By then it was getting pretty dark and we were quite tired. We dealt with the circus of the dogs meeting a new person, had dinner with Dennis, and then it was time to fall into bed after a long day.
What a wonderful narrative. Beautiful place, and not too touristy.
ReplyDeleteI was watching some botanical programs today, and they mentioned caution about touching unknown plants. Their concern was irritating or poisonous contact. Was this the case with the trees, or just the best ones to avoid a skidding fall?
Some of the trees are covered with vicious stickers masquerading as hairs. They get into your skin with a barbed end and pull flesh out when you remove them - exceedingly painful! Others have more ordinary thorns and prickers and some are like extra intense poison ivy. And then there are the ants that defend their host trees or scorpions or spiders blending in with the bark. Grabbing a tree to steady yourself is a hard impulse to break, but after a few painful encounters you learn to look twice before touching anything. It sounds so hostile, doesn't it? But if you keep your hands to yourself and watch where you step you will be fine. I do prefer having a guide, especially when I go to a new place. The Tour Guide Association has high standards and excellent training for their licensed guides; every guide I have been with has been an experienced and knowledgable ambassador of the wilds of Belize.
DeleteSo well described and beautiful photos. Those matching shoes must have been a different color after the mud. I would love a day like that.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mitchell! My photos and descriptions don't really do justice to the primeval beauty of the jungle, but I try. The shoes were still color coordinated at the end, but not the same colors as they started with!
DeleteNary a picture of a bird, Wilma! Perhaps they are waiting to be downloaded when your internet decides to behave. The walk looks wonderful, although as a first sign of limitations still to come perhaps, that kind of hilly terrain is hard on my ageing knees, and they let me know it!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't do any actual birding on this hike and I didn't even carry binoculars with me! I know - I am a disgrace as a birder! My right knee protested until it warmed a bit and then was fine. I, too, see a future of limitations.
DeleteParadise! Some places you just have to exert some energy to see. I'm proud of y'all for doing that.
ReplyDeleteAre there a lot of Maya in Belize? I can't believe I don't know. I admire them so.
There are 3 distinct Mayan groups here - Mopan, Kekchi, and Yucatec. Each group has their own language. I just looked up the stats and about 11% of the Belize population is Maya. Mayan ruins are everywhere in Belize - you can hardly dig a hole without finding artefacts of some sort! Here in the south of Belize the predominant group is the Kekchi Maya who are a profound cultural influence in the area.
DeleteThank you! I knew that there were many Mayan sites there but was not sure of the population.
DeleteInteresting piece about the narrow gauge railway. I remember reading somewhere the railway was connected into the Monkey River area for bananas.
ReplyDeleteIt is very likely that bananas were taken up the river to the railway - I'll have to ask our local river guides about that. Our guide, Gilbert Garbut, has collected some information from various people posting interviews with older people on Facebook recounting the history of the railroad.
DeleteAnother interesting expedition, Wilma. Looking at the photo of the supports for the old narrow gauge railway - it doesn't take long for Nature to repossess abandoned structures.
ReplyDeleteNo it doesn't, especially in this climate. They could be old Roman ruins, lol.
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