Spaying's a Breeze When You're in Belize: New Adventures!

Tuesday May 6, 2014

Not sure if this will post. Took 40 minutes to download the photos, said there was an error. I will plan the posts and try to get the full posts up when I get home. At least I am caught up with the writing!

Got up early to walk around the gorgeous property and take pictures. The cicadas are yelling, the birds are squawking and the hummingbird feeders are full of varied hummers! They are so much fun to watch. They spend so much time squabbling rather than just feeding. Makes them more fun to watch.

After a wonderful breakfast of “eggs in the hole” we loaded our saddle bags and mounted up to ride out for the day! My guide was Rico riding Tequilla, my horse’s name is June. We traveled up into the mountains, through the jungle, with Rico pointing out birds, critters and plants. There is amazing stuff out in the jungle.

Our cabana on the right.

We arrived at Swallow Caves for a hike into the depths. It was nice to get out of the saddle for a while and to walk around for a bit. We used a rope to help lower ourselves into the cave and off we went. The formations of stalactites and stalagmites are amazing. We had to walk very carefully, some areas are a little slick, but very uneven ground. We were the only folks in the cave. We had our headlamps on for some illumination. There were a few pieces of old pottery. When we got deep into the cave we turned out our lights to experience total darkness. And it is total! Strange feeling. Then we slowly made our way back to the entrance. What an amazing experience!

One of the beautiful hummingbirds (and note the wasp also getting some nectar)

We mounted back up and off we went to the Little Vaqueros (little cowboys) waterfall. We tied the horses at the end of the trail, grabbed our saddle bags, then we made our way down the steep trail to the base of the falls. It was soooooo nice to get into the water! The falls were beautiful. Swam around for a while then got out to have some lunch. Rico had packed all the fixings to make chicken and bean burritos! We had homemade flour tortillas, fresh made refried beans, seasoned chicken and all the toppings. Delicioso! And, a brownie for dessert! Oh, and my favorite drink: Tamarind. Yum!

After changing out of my wet suit and back into my jeans (behind the “changing rock”) I slowly made my way back up to the top of the trail. We got back on our horses and made our way back home. I have to admit, I was getting very tired and a bit sore, but the worst is just the pounding heat and humidity. Thankfully it is not “as warm as usual” this month (the hottest month of the year, yikes!). I would poop out even sooner!

Rico lowering himself into the cave. I followed right after.

Anyway, I did make it back (thank goodness!) but felt pretty yucky, don’t know if it was a bit of heat exhaustion or sun poisoning, but I was feeling lousy. Tried to cool off in the hammock, drink a lot, and rest, but it wasn’t helping much. I almost skipped dinner, but I am glad I didn’t. I felt much better after that. We had a wonderful meal of grilled chicken stuffed with bacon, jalapeno and cream cheese, salad and corn on the cob. All plates have a beautiful flower as garnish. The meal is beautiful as well as tasty!