The next day we took a tour to Caracol, the largest, most impressive Mayan ruins in Belize. This is considered one of the Big Four of Mayan ruins throughout Mexico and Central America. Not many people visit here though because until recently, it was nearly impossible to reach. A few years ago, the road was fixed up a bit and a part of it is paved due to the frequency of it being washed out. Even with the improved road, it was a three hour drive in a private vehicle to reach the site. It was a beautiful drive though that included going through the Mountain Pine Ridge National Reserve, one of the only areas in the region where you will find a pine forest. We also passed a few abandoned villages. It was strange because it looked like one day everyone just got up and left. The houses seemed in pretty good shape and were just left there. The guide explained that the villages were built when there were many loggers in the area and when this work was prohibited, everyone moved out of the reserve.
At the ruins, I was stunned at the size. Only a part of this ancient city has been excavated but they had a model showing what they believed was there. Even with only a part of the buildings visible, it was obviously much larger than any of the other sites I've visited. There were plenty of temples and other buildings to climb around on. I'm afraid to admit this is my favorite part of visiting ruins - the taller, the better and Caracol was the tallest I've seen in Belize! We took a long tour around the area to learn about the city that thrived here over a thousand years ago.
On the ride home from the ruins, we made several stops to visit natural wonders. This included a large cave that was more like a tunnel. We walked along the side to enter the huge cave and could see the large opening in the back. We also stopped at a series of natural pools and small waterfalls. Unfortunately it had been raining a lot so these were flooded and not nearly as beautiful as some of the pictures I've seen. Finally we stopped at a large sinkhole.
The following day I took Anna to Cahel Pech, a smaller Mayan ruins in San Ignacio so she could compare it to Caracol and understand just how impressive the first site was. We then travelled home to Dangriga for a couple days. Another day I took her to the Blue Hole, one of my favorite sites here. We walked into St Herman's Cave only to find it was flooded. I was very confused because all of the sudden the path was cut off by a river. Its pitch dark inside the cave and my flashlight wasn't very bright so I couldn't figure out where to go. Finally we realized it was flooded and we couldn't go any farther. We then hiked to the Blue Hole to find it flooded as well. On that day, Blue Hole was not an appropriate name. Instead of the gorgeous blue clear water thats usually there, it was several feet higher and green and murky. I've been here numerous times and never seen it like this so it was quite the shock.
For a final few days, we went out to Tobacco Caye which I had visited previously with my parents. This small island is just off the coast of Dangriga and is reached by an hour ride in a speed boat. We were the only guests there as its low season so had complete privacy. Unfortunately the snorkeling wasn't as great as I remember as there had been green algae blooms and the visibility wasn't great. We did enjoy laying in hammocks and relaxing all day.
I love having visitors here in Belize and showing my friends and family this beautiful country that I can call home. I think Anna was my last visitor before I leave unless any of you are still interested in coming. Let me know if you want to plan a trip before January! I'd love to host you!
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