One of the many amazing things about Belize is how awake and ready we are to hit the ground running when that 5:30am alarm goes off!
We began our day with a walk through the Belize Botanical Gardens, where we saw Jackfruit, Ginger, Tamale leaves, Angel’s Trumpets and the Lodge’s Solar Panels! After breakfast we were lucky enough to see Collared Aracari Toucans by the deck!
Xunantunich – El Castillo.
We then traveled to Xunantunich where we hiked on and up Mayan ruins. It was breathtaking! We explored the residential areas for nobility — El Castillo (“the castle,” in Spanish) is 130 feet above the plaza floor. It is the second-tallest building in Belize. The Mayans were at their peak around 500 or 600 A.D. Approximately 7–10,000 people lived at Xunantunich, with around one million inhabiting the country.
After an awesome morning, the day just got better!
After lunch we grabbed life jackets and paddles and met at the beach on the Macal River. We jumped in canoes and spent several hours floating and paddling (about seven miles). The wildlife was plentiful and we were surrounded by bird noises, iguanas, rapids, bats and teachers talking.
When we got off the river we were treated to visit to a local ice cream joint! So delicious! We had all kinds of flavors new to us — sour sop, sweet corn, and crab. Also flavors we knew such as coconut, pineapple, chocolate, etc.
We headed back to DuPlooys to learn about figs and get ready for dinner!
