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In true Indiana Jones style, our daring reporter spends and action-packed
week exploring the wilds of Belize, coming face to face with howler
monkeys, toucans and other exotic creatures. You can, too - on the same
group tour.
Although tiny in size,
the country of Belize is huge on attractions for the adventurous traveler. This 8,866
square-mile sliver of Central America stretches from a chain of
jungle-covered mountains along the Guatemalan border to a spectacular
barrier reef extending much of the country’s Caribbean coast. In between
the reef and the mountains are raging rivers, dramatic Mayan ruins, miles
of unexplored limestone caves, and a mind-boggling diversity of flora and
fauna.
With all that to explore, it’s no surprise Belize is fast becoming one of the favored adventure-travel playgrounds in the Caribbean; the number of annual visitors has increased more than eighty percent since the early 1990’s. But with so many outdoorsy options to choose from, how can you settle on one, or even two? Slickrock Adventures has conveniently solved that problem with its Adventure Week, a veritable greatest hits of Belize. The rigorous, action-packed excursion takes groups on a multi-sport odyssey that begins in the steamy jungles of the Maya Mountains and ends on a tiny
private island on Glover’s Reef, an atoll and national marine reserve thirty-five miles off the coast.
During a typical Adventure Week, you’ll canoe, hike, mountain bike, raft, sea kayak, snorkel, windsurf, and dive your way through the most beautiful parts of Belize, which makes for a decidedly exciting way to visit the country. This is no cushy tropical vacation, however. The shared accommodations vary from cabanas to weather-beaten shacks, and the meals are well prepared but simple. But if you’ve ever dreamed of spending a week living out your Indiana Jones fantasies, then this could be the trip for you.
In Belize City, on the veranda of the Chateau Caribbean hotel, I meet up with an Adventure Week group consisting of four women and four other men. All of us sport new trail-running shoes and look like fresh-faced kids about to go to summer camp. This will change. Our amiable guide, Bones, appears, swathed head-to-toe in Guatemalan weavings, and gives us a brief orientation before we climb into a van and head for the Maya Mountains. “We want this to be the wildest vacation you’ve ever had,” he grins, and cracks open some Belikin beers. This is clearly going to be summer camp for adults.
As the sun sets over the rolling mountains ahead, we’re all starting to feel like we’ve boarded some sort of strange Central American amusement-park ride. We’ve all read Slickrock’s checklist of gear to bring, but none of us really knows what to expect. Patty, a Seattle schoolteacher, appears to have brought along every conceivable piece of outdoor gadgetry, while Paddy, a devil-may-care Irish investor, brandishes a child’s fishing rod he picked up at the Miami airport. My travel companions range from their late twenties to early forties, and most are pale-looking computer professionals. Can we handle it?
Belize cave excursions: We’re put to the test the next morning when we wake up in a jungle camp situated above the banks of the Macal River. Long before dawn, we learned the jungle’s inhabitants like to rise and shine early, when howler monkeys and woodpeckers roused us with an explosive cacophony in the lush growth around our tents. Now everyone’s wandering around looking dazed and confused, but there’s no time for being lazy. As a pair of squawking,
red-lored parrots flutters around the palm-thatched dining area, Bones prepares us for our first activity: a mountain-bike ride through the steamy hills nearby.
Being Adventure Week, this turns out to be no leisurely spin, and soon we’re pedaling along a pitted dirt track rolling up and down for several miles through the local jungles and citrus groves. Even at 9 a.m. the tropical sun is merciless, and within the first quarter-mile we’re already sweating buckets, racing between the shady spots en route. When we stop for lunch by the frothing river, we dive into its tumbling rapids to cool off. The cold, clear water is refreshing, but doesn’t give all of us the second wind we need. When we ditch our bikes and set off on a four-mile jungle hike to a remote
Mayan cave at Chech-Hem-Ha, we suffer our first casualty when one of our fellow adventures returns to camp because of mild heatstroke.
The exhilaration continues the next day as we canoe down a ten-mile stretch of the Mopan River, navigating Class II and III rapids. Nearly all of us take at least a dunk or two in the boiling river, scrambling for hats, paddles and sunglasses. A guide paddles a kayak ahead of us to point out the best routes, which always look easy enough until we’re right on top of them. We spend the rest of the time drifting along cool, quiet stretches of water past gray iguanas slumbering along the banks. Sometimes Belize seems like a giant zoo, with exotic birds and animals appearing at every turn. When we stop for lunch, a keel-billed toucan, Belize’s national bird, flutters down from a nearby tree and allows me to stroke its bright yellow throat.
That night we roll into Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Jungle Lodge, a rustic retreat on a privately owned 58,000-acre reserve. Stars twinkle through the majestic jungle canopy towering 100 feet above us, as the camp manager warns us to “watch out for de fer-de-lance,” a poisonous pit viper we don’t want to cross paths with. We carefully watch our step along the winding pathways lined with tiki torches as she leads us to our lodgings. Another close encounter with nature awaits me in my cabana- where, as I fire up the hurricane lantern and take in a wildlife-filled mural of the jungle, I think it’s odd to see a large tarantula painted in the sky. Then it moves. While I stand there trying to decide what Indiana Jones would do in this situation, the hairy intruder scurries over the top of the wall and disappears in the palm-thatched ceiling. It was better when I knew where it was.
 At dawn, we pump up several small inflatable rafts called duckies and put in at the Cave Branch River to float through five miles of subterranean passages. The area is riddled with countless cave systems, most of which have barely been explored. We set out from a small lagoon nested among some craggy limestone karsts, which drip with impossible tangles of lush green plants.
The river feeds into the low gaping mouth of a small cave at the bottom of a cliff, and we strap on our headlamps and make our way inside. At this point, Ann, a commodities consultant from New Jersey, turns to me with a broad grin, exclaiming, “I can’t believe it. This is just like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, except it’s for real!” As we float into the dark cave, a swarm of bats starts squeaking and wildly flapping around us, adding to the amusement-park-ride effect.
Paddling onward through the undulating limestone tunnel, we duck under the fragile stalactites dangling from the ceiling, which in several places have joined stalagmites to form pillars. The over head formations reflected in the surface of the water give the dreamlike illusion of underwater landscapes. While reclining on a drifting raft, and looking up at the elaborate surface of the roof, I can almost imagine I’m floating over a planet.
Along the route, several “windows” appear above us, where sunlight blasts into the cave past dangling creepers and other foliage. At one point, a black howler monkey swings from vine to vine high above us, beating his chest and roaring out a deep, chesty “Whough!
Whough! Whough!” No one even flinches. At this point, we’ve already come to expect an ongoing parade of exotic creatures.
We next head for the coast and hitch a ride on a launch out to Glover’s Reef. Slickrock’s island camp is on Long
Caye, the second caye down in a chain of five small islands dotting the western edge of the atoll. The island was hit hard by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which unfortunately swept in an infestation of ruthless sand fleas. When we step off the boat, the bloodthirsty fleas descend upon us, and they’re nearly impossible to keep at bay. We quickly settle into some shacks built on stilts between the swaying palms, then dive into the sparkling sea for itch relief.
We’re each given our own sea kayak, and spend our last few days exploring a handful of the 700 beautiful patch reefs scattered around the turquoise lagoon forming the center of the atoll. Paddling out to the reefs in our kayaks, we snorkel among schools of multicolored fish darting around gently swaying fans of purple coral. Stealthy looking great barracudas lurk just beneath the surface, keeping and eye out for lower members on the food chain to devour for dinner- hopefully not us!
On our last day, Bones recruits us for our final activity: surf kayaking the local waves. We paddle into the pounding surf, each of us looking for a wave to sweep us back to shore. When I manage to catch a nice crest, I feel a surge of adrenaline before I eat it and tumble into the churning sea. It’s too much fun not to try again, so I paddle back out to enjoy a few more runs.
Later, as we cruise back to Belize City in a powerboat, I reflect on our roller-coaster ride of a week and can’t help but grin as I recall what seems to be the national saying of this bewitching little country: “You better Belize it,
mon.”
 WHAT TO BRING
Slickrock provides just about all of the sports equipment and toys you’ll want to play with in Belize - canoes, mountain bikes, rafts, sea kayaks, et cetera. But, if you want to be a happy camper, you should pack the right gear and clothes.
GEAR: Daypack and luggage that can be easily carried around jungle camps
Fins, mask, and snorkel that fit you well
Sunglasses (with strap) - the rivers and ocean love these, so bring cheap ones
One or two water bottles or a portable hydration system
Headlamp with extra batteries - essential for cave floats
Camera - a disposable underwater one is a good choice
Binoculars for bird-watching
Plastic bag for wet clothes - nothing dries in the jungle
The strongest bug spray you can find, and lots of it
Malaria pills - consult a doctor who’s a travel specialist
CLOTHING: Broad-brimmed hat for sun protection
Set of clean clothes for your trip home
Rain gear - jacket and pants
Several T-shirts and a couple of long-sleeved shirts
Several pairs of quick-drying athletic shorts
Long, lightweight pants for jungle and cave excursions
Swimsuit
Synthetic fleece sweater
Closed wet shoes to wear in the river
Lightweight hiking boots
Flip-flops
Sarong - the perfect beachwear
Paddling gloves, to help keep the blisters at bay
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