Driving in Central America, Offshore Fishing, Diving, Bass Fishing, People Meeting, Beer Sampling, and Reporting Back to You

south bound travel logo  

Home - Pics & Travel Journals - Discussion Forum

Last Trip: Countries: 9 - Miles: 10125

Caracol Ruins, San Ignacio Day 2

View Entry's Photo Album

Back to Journal Index

caracol ruinshuge ceiba treescaracol plaza

The next morning in San Ignacio found us heading for the Caracol ruins. They are some of largest Mayan ruins in the world, and the tallest in Belize. In fact, at 42 meters, the main ruin is taller than all but a tiny handful of buildings in Belize.

In the future, Caracol will be a huge tourist attraction. The ruins are some of the nicest we've seen.

However, the road is terrible. It's about 60 miles from the town on a mountain road that's sporadically paved, only just within the couple of communites on the way. But most is a rutted caliche mess. Takes about two hours.

The ruins are amazing because of their beauty, and their isolation; the only other people we saw worked there.

They began excavating the site 20 years ago, and work is still going on. I suspect when they're done they'll pave the road and get some more tourists up there, but for now, you have to be committed to get there.

Rio Frio Caves, Belize

After the ruins, we headed back down the road for the Rio Frio caves.

The cave doesn't go down; instead a river has worn a path straight through a rock hill. So it's only 200 yards deep or so before you reach the opposite entrance.

The structures are amazing. One reached down from the ceiling and looked like a huge snake with open mouth. Another awesome stalactite had come from the ceiling and reconnected to the floor (Robert's standing next to it).

The layer cake things were where the water would flow over the rock, then form a hard edge which would build up and trap water in a pool. Silt filled the layers until the silt reached the top, and a new layer would start.

Rio On Falls, Belize

We headed then to the Rio On Falls, which were powerful. The pic with the girl next to the fall doesn't show it, but between that fall and the rocks is a little cave only a dozen feet deep or so. Some kind of bird was flying into the falls and then roosting in there. Perfect hiding spot!

In town we treated ourselves to a nice dinner. Local blackberry wine, pork chops, etc. Booze ended up costing more than the dinner, funny how that happens. Most we've spent so far, at $15 US each.

On the way walking to a locals bar, Kyle and Robert picked up a group of dogs. One walked the whole way with us, and came into the bar with us. He lay at our feet while we petted him and had beers. The locals thought it was great. Finally, someone told us that the dog wouldn't let any local touch him – he'd bite at them — but he loved tourists!

Home | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Who We Are & Past Trips | Packing List | Links
All material © 2008. All rights reserved. Use of this website signifies your agreement to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.