Day Three - CAVE TUBING

So this was the location of our biggest adventures - cave tubing and zipling.

We made our reservations for early in the day (9:30am) to avoid the cruise ship crowds. Our guide - Pedro in his red Polo baseball cap and Tupak tshirt - met us outside the lobby. He helped us pick out some inner tubes down the trail we went - in our water shoes, bathing suits, UV long sleeve shirts, deet, and water camera. To get to the main trail we had to wade through the river of our destination to the other side and then up stairs and finally the main trail. It wasn't too bad - Pedro had mentioned a 200ft climb but so far it seemed OK. We passed a large group on the way. Learned about a bunch of poisonous plants. And then we turned off the beaten path.... We were no longer on the curise ship trail - we were on the private resort course trail to head of the caves and the river. And there was that 200ft climb. Oh joy! I thought I had taken pics with the water camera but they didn't turn out. You just have to take my word for it that it was some hike on a narrow path with an inner tube in hand, poisonous plants and mosquitoes all around and a Belizean version of fire ants (called leaf cutters) at our feet. It was literally breathtaking and worth every bit of effort on our part when came to the break in the jungle and the mouth of cave.

Not liking to get into unfamiliar bodies of water first or by myself - I let my mom get in her tube first. I followed and it was cold. Thankfully she suggested we link our tubes and float down the river together. That first cave was amazing - just the three of us with head lamps in this body of water in a large dark cave. In the distance you could hear water running - and the mind wanders again... "Dead men tell no tales..." Disney has nothing on this. It was amazing!

At the first cave opening was the cruise crowd entrance and quickly vanished the mystique of being the only 3 people out on the river. Thankfully it wasn't a large crowd and didn't deter too much from the excursion. Pedro told us that on some days there are so many people that the caves don't even seem dark and they get so loud. I am glad we did not get that experience. We also learned that when the river runs high it runs faster and you run closer to the ceiling. And at points it runs so high the caves flood and the eco-tours cease until the rainy season passes. It was a great experience. And I would definitely do it again.

That afternoon we did a tiny jungle hike before the mosquitoes got the best of all of us - even Pedro. We checked out the grounds some more - the butterfly house, the bird house, the pool and hot tub - how I wish it was warm enough to swim it had great atmosphere - the various paths and hidden fountains. And then we ended up at the bar.