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Mayan arch at Cahal Pech
Mayan arch at Cahal Pech
We chose the 8 day Hamanasi Adventure for our first eco trip into Central America. Adventure Life has been wonderful from the first stages of planning to the limo trip back home from the airport!
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Day One-Let the adventure begin!

Feb 05, 2009
Beautiful ruins
Beautiful ruins (Carol Libey)
We flew into Miami a day early in order to make connections with the noon flight to Belize City on the Fifth. Miami Int. was in it's usual state of organized chaos but as soon as we boarded the A.A. flight for Central America the transformation was palpable. The passengers were all relaxed and happy, the crew was friendly and helpful, the seats had more leg room, we even had an inflight snack--it was magical!! The flight was short but we missed our connecting flight on Tropic Air. Not a problem, Mayan Air had room for us on the next flight 30 minutes later. The plane was a little 5 passenger job that skimmed over the ocean to a small metro airstrip made out of a macadam-type material and covered with gravel and a few white egrets. The pilot picked up a load of fresh fruit then jump-started the plane with an old battery his buddy dragged out on a wagon and we were off again. We got to sit up with the pilot and it was pretty exciting in the cockpit! We were met in Dangriga by two Hamanasi guides who gave a tour of the countryside on our drive to Hamanasi. We were greeted by Pauline, the Garifuna ''Jill of all Trades.'' She sat us down and ordered a late lunch for us while acquainting us with the resort. We had a beautiful ocean front room with a porch all furnished in wonderful mahagony furniture from the Belize rain forest. We chose the 6:30 dinnr seating and enjoyed a fantastic epicurean meal. The menu had 5 or 6 entrees from which to choose and the selections changed every night-this place is awesome!

Day 2-Magical Mayan Mystery Tour

Feb 06, 2009
Cahal Pech ruin-Classic period
Cahal Pech ruin-Classic period (Carol Libey)
We are off on our first adventure to the Mayan ruins Xunantunich and Cahal Pech close to the Guatamala border. It was a beautiful trip through the Mayan Mts. on the Hummingbird Highway, We drove through the winding streets of St. Ignatio, a busy town that seemed like one big farmer's market or Chicago's Maxwell Street. We stopped for lunch at a great little local arts and crafts shop with gorgeous wood and woven items. Nothing touristy, just beautiful local goods. We then crossed a river via a hand cranked ferry boat and saw our first iguana sunning on a nearby tree. Drove to Cahal Pech to tour a small pre-classic (1000 B.C. to 800 A.D.)ruin. This site has the second oldest Mayan structure in the world. It is now inhabited by bats and one VERY large spider. Next we drove on to Xunantunich, a much larger ruin with restored stucco friezes. This was a ceremonial center for the Mayans and we all climbed up to the top of El Castillo for the grand view. Our Guide, Pedro, made sure we were steeped in Mayan folklore. Great Day!

Day 3-Snorkeling the barrier reef.

Feb 07, 2009
Hand cranked ferry boat
Hand cranked ferry boat (Carol Libey)
After a hugh continental breakfast, we loaded onto one of the dive boats and headed off into the ocean. A series of squalls had been scuddung through the coastal region so the water was a bit choppy. The first snorkle spot was a smattering of reef patches . Nice, but the visibility wasn't too good after the rain. We stopped on a private cay for cookies and fruit. Hooray!! the sun came out and the second spot was calm with great coral and lots of fish. We saw a scorpiion fish--an almost invisible ugly old guy until it swam away and then it had bright yellow spots on it's wings/fins. Good day on the water. That night Hamanasi hosted a ''drummer'' troupe from Dangriga. This is a big Garifuna cultural event with two drummers playing handmade African type drums, one large bass drum and one smaller tenor drum, and one ''shaka'', gourd rattles, player. The rest of the company consisted of 8 dancers chanting and doing interpretative dances of Garifuna life. Very African with a Caribbean flair..We loved it! This group performs all over the globe. How fortunate we were to be able to enjoy this insight into Garifuna culture!

Day 4-Touring Hopkins

Feb 08, 2009
Taking the ferry across the river from Xunantunich
Taking the ferry across the river from Xunantunich (Carol Libey)
Today was to be another snorkeling day, but we were rained out--stormy sea! We camped out in the dive shop and watched a National Geographic movie on Sharks. Good presentation--they really are our friends and we really are not in their food chain no matter how big and toothy they are. The sun reappeared and we rode bikes into the town of Hopkins. The people of Hopkins are largely Garifuna, a culture whose ancestry is a mixture of Carib and escaped African slaves. They have their own language and are quite superstitious with a traditional ceremony called ''Dugu.'' This is a big family reunion in which deceased relatives also attend and are believed to take possession of other celebrant's bodies. Pretty creepy, but interesting. One of our waiters told us he is afraid of the Dugus and stays far away when he sees one. Most of the staff at Hamanasi are Garifuna from Hopkins and they were wonderful! They were super friendly, personable, happy and contributed greatly to the overall charm of Hamanasi. The children we met in Hopkins were friendly, well spoken and very self-confident. We went into the drumming center; an open air, dirt floor, palm thatch roofed building where the local drummers meet and the kids take drumming lessons and dance. A 10 year old boy spied us and came over to play the drum for us. He was really good! The kids all go to private schools patterned after the British education system. Local elementary schools, mostly supported by religious denominations, then on to High school and Jr. College in Dangriga. If they do well, they can continue on at the U. Of Belize in Belize city. Mode of transportation in Hopkins is via bicycle. The houses are a mixture of two room thatched roof huts with a dirt floor and newer concrete block houses in brilliant colors. They have plumbing, but it seems to be outside. Every house has a clothesline full of wash and cable T.V.

Day 5-Monkey River adventure

Feb 09, 2009
The ferry manpower
The ferry manpower (Carol Libey)
Today we were off to Monkey River so back onto the ''semi-paved'' road and south to Independence where we met Ralph. We expected a ''River Boat'' as in ''Show Boat'', but Ralph drives a small fiberglass boat that holds eight tourists, has a small bimini and a 200 horsepower Yamaha motor. As it turned out, it was the perfect vehicle for our needs. We sped along the ocean coastline through a bird sanctuary and observed some great ospreys before getting into the mangrove swamps and the jungle. The river is teeming with wildlife--and Ralph pointed out toucans, green parrots, great egrets, white eagles, herons and even a baltimore oriole! We spotted a flock of small fruit bats sleeping on a log in the river and four crocodiles-one hiding in the reeds that was close to 14 feet long. We landed on a narrow muddy bank right next to a baby croc while Ralph got out of the boat to try to find the howler monkeys in the jungle. In 25 minutes he returned for us and led us through the jungle with the mosquitos and the army ants and sure enough, above us in the upper canopy- there they were--nine monkeys and 2 babies. Very neat! They totally ignored us and we just stayed and watched them eat on leaves, interact with each other and just be monkeys. It was awesome! We stopped to have lunch in Monkey Rivertown on the trip back up the river. Back through the mangrove trees and we found a large group of manatees feeding in a grassy area. About then it started to rain and it just poured on the way back up the coast---nobody cared!! Another great day!

Day 6-Back to the Reef

Feb 10, 2009
C & J on the ferry
What a beautiful day! Sun is shining and turquoise water is sparkling! We got to the first site just as a squall hit and it started to POUR! It seems to do that, short ocean squalls each day. Not to worry, we'll be wet anyway! This site was pretty rough, but Sam, our guide for the day, was terrific and found all kinds of sea creatures we would have missed. We saw a squid, some rays and starfish among other reef varieties. We headed to a small cay for snacks and drinks. Back onto the dive boat and off into the deep blue ocean. Suddenly patches of turquoise appeared then we stopped in the center of a pristine white sand double ringed reef. I have never seen anything so awesome! With 100ft. visibility there were hundreds of coral formations in brilliant purple, green, crystal, yellow and red colors and reef fish to match. It was unbelievably beautiful! The best snorkeling we had ever done! We hated to leave that spot, but Hamanasi and our afternoon river Kayak trip was waiting. It was just a short van trip to the Little Sittee River. We opted to canoe rather than kayak so we could take more pictures and video without having to worry about getting our cameras wet. We seem to do lots of splashing in kayaks. Unfortunately the waterfront guys forgot to bring the canoe paddles. Our guide, Pedro, sent them back for the paddles and they returned with two six foot hand-carved mahogany paddles that had Hamanasi burned into the wood. They must have weighed 20 pounds each! I suspected that they had been adorning the walls of the dive shop. We struggled with them for 2 1/2 hours but managed to see 2 crocs and lots of iguanas and birds. It's a nice little river cruise, but I think next time I'll leave the cameras and take a kayak.

Day 7 - Cave Tubing!

Feb 11, 2009
Large brown iguana
Large brown iguana (Carol Libey)
Today is cave tubing! This is an all day adventure starting at 7 a.m. Hamanasi arranged for a local driver to pick us up and then we picked up two other couples in a nearby resort. This trip took us up to Dangringa, onto the Hummingbird Highway, through the Mayan Mts., past The Blue Hole National Park to Caves Branch. Another beautiful day and we are going to spend it in a cave! We joined a group of 6 and toted our innertubes down to the river to enter this hugh cave system. With only our headlamps for light we paddled and hiked through gigantic caverns studded with crystal, stalagmites, stalagtites, curtain and bacon formations. It was amazing! We ''beached'' our innertubes on an underground sandbar for lunch. Carlos, our guide, whipped out a white linen tablecloth, spread it on the ground and produced a full scale burrito meal. The ambience of ''eating by candlelight'' pales in comparison to eating by headlamp while sitting on your innertube! After lunch we continued hiking through giant chambers with stunning formations. We passed ancient Mayan fire rings with broken pottery strewn around the area. These caves were used by shaman and priests for religious and sacrificial rites. We climbed up walls following Mayan footholds to reach a small hidden ''half-moon'' cave that was used for fertility ceremonies. Several fire rings were locted around the cave and rock formations were carved in spots where the flames from the fires cast shadow images on the cave walls. The precursor of projection T.V.! This cave held several alters and a 5 foot carved image of a fertility god. Awesome! It was mid afternoon when we finally began our downstream float out of the caves. What an exhilarating and humbling experience! Not to mention exhausting! Back to Hamanasi and another gourmet dinner with our new friends. What fun exchanging the day's adventures with everyone. Tonight we must pack and be on our way in the morning. We hate to leave this magical place. The customer service is incomparable. Jean had some special dietary requirements and the chef and his staff took these into consideration at every meal. Hamanasi is a rare jewel carved out of an unspoiled spot in the emerging Central American country of Belize. No T.V.,no advertising or commercial billboards, no souvenier stands to spoil the natural beauty of the ocean, rivers, reefs and jungles. This was a trip of a lifetime and Hamanasi was instrumental in making it all happen.

Day 8 - Homeward bound

Feb 12, 2009
El Castillo at Xunantunich
El Castillo at Xunantunich (Carol Libey)
All packed up and ready to head for home. We said our goodbyes and headed out for Dangriga and the one room Mayan Air terminal. The great white egrets were still lounging by the airstrip and one of the locals sporting an Obama tee shirt declared that Barack was his president too. I loved it! We had plenty of time to go through security in Belize City and even found a small bar in the airport where we could get a coke and a hotdog. What were we thinking! I spied a light blue beach bag with Belize embroidered on the side and purchased my only souvenir of the trip--one can never have too many beach bags! Soon we were back in Miami shuttling through the seven security areas enroute to the gate. Customs was busy, but the lines flowed right along. It was after the seventh step that I realized my new Belize beach bag was missing. We chatted with many nice and helpful lost and found people, but missing it was. Until the next day when I called and the Miami Int. lost and found had indeed found it and were Fed Exing that day. A travelers triumph and a fitting end to a perfect vacation.

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