Swim Home Payment Center Swim Back to Belize
DAY 1: BELIZE CITY
Our group arrives to Belize International Airport and transfers by van into Belize City, the primary port of Belize. We'll tour the historical waterfront and then return to our guest house for dinner and an orientation to our Belizean Adventure.
DAY 2: LAMANAI MAYAN RUINS to YAMWITS LODGE
Today's adventure begins as we head north by bus to the Orange Walk District where we'll begin our tour of Lamanai - "the submerged crocodile". We'll travel by motorboat up the New River to this ancient site looking for marsh residents such as herons, birds of prey and crocodiles along the way. Lamanai has a rich history beginning in 1500 B.C. or earlier to 1650 A.D., making it the longest occupation of any Mayan site studied to date. We will have a special guided tour of the ruins before heading south to Yamwits Lodge on the Hummingbird Highway.
DAY 3: JUNGLE HIKE /CAVE TUBING to HOPKINS
After breakfast, we will hike through the thick tropical foliage that surrounds an interior preserve, Blue Hole National Park. The deep aqua pool, for which the park was named, was formed when the roof over an ancient subterranean riverbed collapsed. Our destination today will be St. Herman's Cave. Using headlamps, we will begin exploring this magnificent cave that was used by the ancient Mayans as a ceremonial chamber. The fascinating history of the Mayans and their use of sacred pottery, fire pits and carved artifacts will be interpreted by our Mayan guide. Our day will include tubing through the caves chambers filled with stalactites. In late afternoon, we will continue our travels to the village of Hopkins, on the shores of the Caribbean Sea.
DAY 4: GARIFUNA DAY to MAYA CENTER
A charming village on a Caribbean beach, Hopkins is home to an ethnic group in Belize known as the Garifuna. The Garifuna culture is a fascinating blend of West African traditions and those of the Carib Indians, who migrated into the Caribbean from the Orinoco Basin of Venezuela. Our hosts in Hopkins are members of Sandy Beach Women's Cooperative who established a small seaside resort providing traditional Garifuna meals and their own style of thatch roof huts. Our plan is to visit the village and enjoy a presentation by the Hopkins Youth Group on the Garifuna Cultural Dances.
In the afternoon, we'll leave for the modern day Mopan Mayan village of Maya Center. We plan to overnight at the H'men Herb Center, Botanical Garden and Cottages in Maya Center. Our host while in the Maya Center are Aurora and Ernesto Saqui. Aurora is the niece of the famous Belizean herbal healer Don Elijio Panti and is a renown healer and artists. After dinner, Ernesto former Director of the Jaguar Sanctuary will guide us into the forest to observe animals uniquely adapted to the nocturnal world.
DAY 5 : MAYA CENTER to JAGUAR SANCTUARY
Our travels today will take us into the heart of the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. This rain forest is primary habitat for the endangered jaguar, and has the highest concentration of these cats in the Neo tropics. We'll hike the trails leading into the dense jungle and discuss the fascinating ecology of tropical rain forests. In addition to jaguars, this sanctuary is also home to tapirs, kinkajous, leaf-cutter ants and hundreds of species of tropical birds such as toucans, motmots and curassows. Conditions permitting, we may launch inner tubes down South Stann Creek which winds through the heart of the Jaguar Preserve. Tubing is an excellent way to quietly observe wildlife and the rich tropical foliage that lines the river.
DAY 6: MAYA CENTER: FAMILY STAY
Today we will focus our attention to the modern Mayan people and their relationship to the surrounding jungle. We will visit the Maya Center and the wonderful families that welcomed Rachel Crandell into their lives while she lived in the village. Tonight you'll have the option to overnight with families in the village. Sharing meals and the evening with a host family is an unforgettable experience.
DAY 7: RICARDO'S BEACH HUTS
After breakfast our host family, we'll travel to the seaside port of Dangriga where we'll meet Ricardo Castillo, our host for the remainder of our Belizean adventure. Ricardo will take us by motor boat to his home, a small fishing and lobster camp in the Bluefield Range Islands. In the afternoon, you may relax in your beach hut surrounded by crystal clear water and watch marine animals scurry below. In the evening, a delicious seafood dinner will be prepared by the staff at Ricardo's Beach Huts.
DAY 8: RICARDO'S BEACH HUTS
Our day will begin with an introduction to the art of snorkeling. We'll examine the shallow turtle grass flats and intricate system of mangrove roots where an array of species especially in their juvenile state, find refuge. We'll learn how Belizeans have traditionally secured food from the sea using hand lines and lobster hooks. In the afternoon, we'll venture out to Rendezvous Caye, an island jewel located on the majestic barrier reef of Belize. We'll snorkel over massive coral heads where huge schools of iridescent reef fish abound. Our field study today will include the unique and often strange behavior of tropical fish and other reef inhabitants.
DAY 9: RICARDO'S BEACH HUTS
Today we'll travel to English Caye, a nearby lighthouse surrounded by reefs, where you can help gather data for an on-going database that we have started on the condition of the reef. In addition, there will be plenty of time to relax on the beach. On our last night in the Caribbean, we'll offer an exciting opportunity for a night snorkel to observe the nocturnal inhabitants of a coral reef and enjoy a campfire on Rendezvous Caye. During an optional night snorkel the triggerfish, queen angels, parrotfish and other colorful daytime fish are hidden, but have given way to the nighttime plankton feeders. The coral polyps are active as the water around us sparkles with bioluminescent plankton. This will be a special final evening in Belize!
DAY 10: RICARDO'S BEACH HUTS to HOME
After breakfast, we will pack up and head towards the mainland to catch our flight back home.
