Cave Tubing and Zip Lining

Today we went cave tubing and zip lining and it was amazing!  

We woke up at 5:30am to chilly cloudy skies and rain.  Which made for an interesting boat ride over to the main land!  We got picked up on the edge of our dock by the tour company for the one hour and fifteen minute commute into Belize City.  We were dressed in swim suits and tank tops, which made riding in a boat in the rain going 35mph a cold, uncomfortable experience.  The rain drops felt like tiny cold daggers.  Once we got closer to the mainland, the rain let up and we were able to relax as our boat cruised up the Belize river.  To everyone’s surprise, a bottle nose dolphin was hanging out in the river doing jumps and flips!  We were lucky to catch him in action:

From the river, we boarded a van to drive an additional 60 minutes into the jungle.  We learned some interesting things on our way:

1. The state animal is the Tapir.
2. We passed Belize’s only prison, housing 3,000 inmates. 
3. It is illegal to cut the mangrove trees in Belize

The zip lining was SO MUCH FUN!  Everyone agrees it was one of the coolest things we have done here.  There were a series of 6 zip lines, which took you across the jungle canopy and rivers.  It was beautiful!!  We caught it all on our GoPro strapped to our helmet.

After a quick lunch of chicken, rice and beans, veggies and potato salad we hit the river for tubing.  We were given a tube, head lamp and life vest that we had to haul through the jungle for a 20 minute hike.  Our guide took us through dry caves where we saw stalagmites and stalactites.  She explained the jungle plants and how the Mayans used them, and how most locals today still use them for medicinal purposes.  The cave tubing took us through extensive cave systems which took 20 minutes to float through.  Without the head lamps, it was pitch black.  It was spooky to turn them off and float in the dark with the bats!  

It was a looooong day, but a really fun day!  (We didn't take many pictures because of the rain)

Belize Day 2

Day 2 had a lot to live up to... but it was just as amazing as day one!  We went snorkeling today on the Belize barrier reef, which is the second largest barrier reef after Australia.  The first stop was a reef called Hol Chan, a protected marine reserve, where we saw sea turtles, spotted stingy rays, tons of fish and nurse sharks.  Rick wore the GoPro and as soon as we figure out how to upload the video to the blog, you can see our snorkeling adventure!  Our second stop was to Shark Ray Alley, which is a spot on the most south end of the island where the fishermen clean their fish and throw the chum into the water.  This attracts nurse sharks and sting rays to feed on the chum... and snorkelers who want to swim with them!  It was amazing to swim with 8-9 foot nurse sharks and sting rays with a 6-7 foot wing span.  There was an abundant sea life, with beautiful coral.  Some of the best snorkeling we have ever done!

We had lunch at a beach side bar called Aji.  They had a picturesque dock that we could not resist taking pictures on!  The breeze and clouds made for a great photo shoot!

Jenn and Rick

Lindsay and Adam

Debbie and Kyle

This afternoon we took a sunset cruise on a catamaran around the island.  The buttery light made for some great picture taking!  We had dinner at a great local place in town, and we made it an early night since we have to be up at 5:30 tomorrow morning for zip lining and cave tubing! 

Belize Day 1

We had a great first day in Belize! 

We started with bloody mary’s and breakfast burritos.  Then we went down to the beach to sit in lawn chairs on the ocean and check out the MILLIONS of conch shells.  We can’t BELIZE how many tiny little shells, conch shells with crabs and tiny fish hang out right along the shore line.  

Then we decided to walk down the beach and bar hop with a view.  Our first stop was to a weird yoga retreat right on the beach where we drank Dirty Monkey’s and Panty Rippers.  We had a quick bite to eat of local cuisine, and we moved onto the Palapa Bar.  The Palapa Bar sits at the end of a dock overlooking the water.  Beers are US$2.50 and they are cold!  Palapa Bar is exactly what you think of when you imagine a Belize Bar... Turquoise blue water, flips flops and people from all over the world.  

After the Palapa Bar we needed to head to to grocery store and decided that since we were already half way there (and we had a good buzz) that we would walk the rest of the way.  Well, this was a great idea while we walked along the beach... but once we hit the road it turned ugly.  The inland roads on the island are terrible.  Every 2 feet there are gigantic pot holes filled with rain water.  We arrived at the grocery store (that was farther away than we estimated) with muddy feet.  The plus side is that the grocery store agreed to give us a free ride back to our hotel if we shopped there... amazing!  Because a taxi would have cost us US$20.  After we picked up beer, water and snacks for the week, we packed US$180.00 is groceries and 6 people PLUS the driver into a 4 person golf cart.  Within 30 seconds our golf cart had a flat tire... we then transferred everything into a second 4 person golf cart and the grocery store owner asked Kyle, Rick’s Dad, to drive.  The grocery store owner wanted to stand on the back of the cart to balance the weight through the pot holes for the one mile ride home.  It was the scariest/ funnest golf cart ride we ever took!  We almost tipped over twice but luckily we all made it one piece! And our groceries made it too!

Tonight we had an amazing dinner on the beach at a place called Mangos.  We had grouper, pulled pork tacos, and ceviche.  We had after dinner drinks at Fiods, with a band that played everything from the 60’s through the 80’s!  Tomorrow we go snorkeling with the sharks! 

We Made It!!

We had some great luck today, and made it to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye without any hang ups!  No delays or lost luggage! Can't ask for any more than that!

In the Houston airport we met Santa Clause:

Kinda creepy that Debbie and I sat on this strange man's lap.... but moving on!

After we landed in Belize City, we took a taxi to the ferry station and caught the last ferry out to the islands.  We met some great people on the boat and shared some fabulous local rum with new friends.  

We can't wait to see this amazing place in the daylight!

I Can't BELIZE it!!!

We were up at 4:30 this morning to start our next adventure!!  This time it's tropical, to Belize!!!

Here we go!!!!!

Dublin

We have spent the last three days in Dublin and had a great time!  But we were definitely moving a little slower.  There is so much to see and the city is SO busy... and when you've already spent 12 days on the move its a little overwhelming.  But we put our rally caps on and packed in as much as we could!

Our first stop was to Trinity College.  It is a tourist attraction AND functioning University, founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1592.  The big site here is Trinity Library and Book of Kells.  We took a quick guided tour around the campus and then saw the library.

The books in the library are sorted by size.... not by author, or title or a dewy decimal system... by big to small.  It's a strange system but they say it works.

The library holds Brian Boru's harp.  He is referred to as the uncrowned King of Ireland.  He ran the vikings out of Ireland in the year 1014.

Then we went to Dublin Castle.  It's a fully restored castle that they still use today for political functions.

It doesn't look so castle-like from the outside...

A real live throne! 

Then we went to Kilmainham Gaol, it's a old jail from the 1800's.  The reason it's so famous is because it is the jail used to house and execute the leaders of the Easter Rising.... Irish history is rife with uprisings.  Basically, Easer Rising happened in the 1920's when the Irish decided to breakaway from British rule.  The leaders of this movement were arrested and executed at the jail.  It was a spooky place.

Jail cell door picture

The spot where 16 people were executed for their part in the Easter Rising.

On a lighter note.... We went to the Guinness Brewery!  Saw how Guinness is brewed and even got to pour our own pint!

And finally we went to the Curragh for the horse races!!  Neither of us had been to a horse race before, and we had a GREAT time!  Betting on horses is really exciting!  It's a complicated process, but we caught on quick.  A couple of our horses even placed!  In the end, with all our bet money lost/ won, it cost us 40 euro.  Not too shabby! 

Now we head home!  And we are ready!  See you all back in the states!!