11:30a
Lunch at Ko-Ox Han-Nah
Having stayed out later than expected the night before, we decided to forego our plan to get up early and hit Caracol – a regret I had the entire trip. Ah well…another time.
11:30a
Lunch at Ko-Ox Han-Nah
Having stayed out later than expected the night before, we decided to forego our plan to get up early and hit Caracol – a regret I had the entire trip. Ah well…another time.
Instead, we took the opportunity to explore a little of San Ignacio and environs before moving camp to the Blue Hole National Park area of the Cayo district. We started with lunch at a restaurant I had been wanting to try and which was finally open after the holiday: Ko-Ox Han-Nah (roughly translates from Mayan to “Let’s go eat”).
Up until now, we had been pretty disappointed with our meals in Belize, so it was a pleasant change to not only find quality food, but quality food at a reasonable price and with fast service.
12:30p
Exploring San Ignacio
With plans to see several nature sights in the area, we needed to get hopping, but not before taking a few minutes to explore a bit of San Ignacio. Below is a rundown of our San Ignacio morning, but you can also find a gallery of other San Ignacio sights here.
12:30p
Exploring San Ignacio
With plans to see several nature sights in the area, we needed to get hopping, but not before taking a few minutes to explore a bit of San Ignacio. Below is a rundown of our San Ignacio morning, but you can also find a gallery of San Ignacio sights here.
We were fortunate to run into a fruit vendor selling delicious, ripe papaya on the side of the road, and he was nice enough to cut it up for us so we could snack on it throughout the day. (We’ve learned from previous travels that bringing disposable, lightweight tupperware and/or Ziploc bags comes in handy for exactly times like these.)
AJAW Chocolates
From the central part of town, driving/walking just a few blocks south near the corner of Benque Viejo Road and Church Street takes you to a little area with several souvenir shops worth visiting (note that it’s an uphill walk). AJAW Chocolates (pronounced “ah-how”) sells chocolates made from locally sourced ingredients and offers a tour showing how their chocolates are made.
Traveller's Maya Juice
Just down the street are Traveller’s Maya Juice and a Marie Sharp’s store. Traveller’s offers a one-hour rum tasting session where you can learn about the rum-making process and taste 6 different rums (including a vintage) for $15. More detailed information is available on their site.
Marie Sharp's
The Marie Sharp’s store next door provides a range of different souvenirs that go beyond their famous hot sauces. They also offer taste-testing of all their sauces for $5. The store also offers cooking classes of local Belizean fare for $50 per person. Detailed info here.
Souvenir tip: if you’re just looking to bring back a few bottles of the typical Marie Sharp’s hot sauce that graces every restaurant table in Belize, look no further than a local market to get a good deal; however, if you’d like to get nicely packaged sets for friends and family, this type of souvenir store may be the way to go as I found it difficult to find the packaged sets at local markets. I’ve also heard that prices are much better at the actual factory than in the souvenir shops, so if you’re in the Dangriga/Hopkins area, drive over to the factory for a USD$5 30-min tour, taste testing, and shopping. Contact them ahead of time for tour information.
1:30p
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
Our plan was to detour through the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve area before hitting our next lodgings near the Blue Hole National Park. If you’re planning on following a similar itinerary, I would recommend getting a much earlier start (like 7am) and including the drive to Caracol, which we missed. I’ve put together some tips on driving to Caracol, including information on the military escort.
Also, if you’re planning on being in the area all day, be sure to bring snacks and water. There’s nowhere to purchase food once you enter the reserve, so avoiding hangriness and dehydration is all on you.
1:30p
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
Our plan was to detour through the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve area before hitting our next lodgings near the Blue Hole National Park. If you’re planning on following a similar itinerary, I would recommend getting a much earlier start (like 7am) and including the drive to Caracol, which we missed. I’ve put together some tips on driving to Caracol, including information on the military escort.
Also, if you’re planning on being in the area all day, be sure to bring snacks and water. There’s nowhere to purchase food once you enter the reserve, so avoiding hangriness and dehydration is all on you.
Okay, back to our trip. About 1.5 miles south of San Ignacio/Santa Elena in the direction of the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve on what looks to be Cristo Rey Road (although it also shows up as “Unnamed Road” by Google Maps), we saw a sign for chocolates and decided to stop and see what yumminess awaited us. (Wow, that was one long ass sentence, wasn’t it?) We were a little unsure when we pulled into the “parking lot” for Eden Valley Mayan Kitchen and saw only a house. Where were the chocolates?
When we got out of the car and randomly called out near the house, a lady walked out and confirmed that she made the chocolates herself, at which point she produced a small Igloo cooler of home made chocolates that resembled mini Reese’s peanut butter cups. Hmm… We were a bit sketched, but purchased one just to be polite…and then bought 5 more because they were so damn good – and dirt cheap! They had just enough sweetness to satisfy the taste buds, and just enough bitterness to taste the dark chocolate, but it wasn’t the nasty bitterness of the cheap sweets that often pass as dark chocolate by the mass conglomerates. Our only regret was that these delicious organic morsels weren’t packaged up for us to bring back as souvenirs for our friends. Looking back on our 13 days in Belize and handful of chocolate purchases, these particular ones were our favorites, hands down.
It seems that Eden Valley also offers cooking classes which are very well reviewed on Trip Advisor (albeit by a small group), so you might want to give those a try.
Continuing on with the drive… The country road couldn’t make up its mind and wavered every couple miles between dirt and pavement. It was an uneventful drive passing by friendly livestock and through a couple tiny towns along the way. I particularly appreciated one enterprising local’s amusing and helpful homemade speed bump sign.
As you enter the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest area, the road becomes straight dirt and mud with a lot of potholes and ruts. This is an interesting forest as it’s a huge 165-square miles reserve of pine trees in a tropical country. If you’re in the Cayo area and love to be surrounded by nature, you should really take a day or two to visit this forest.
2:30p
Rio Frio Cave (First Attempt)
We were planning on hitting three spots in the area: Rio Frio Cave, Rio-On Pools, and Big Rock Falls. Rio Frio Cave was our first destination, being the furthest south of the three. Unfortunately, we used Google Maps for our first attempt to find the cave. Big mistake. I love you, Google Maps, but you are just not reliable in developing countries! You can read about our inadvertent detour and ensuing scratches on my legs.
2:30p
Rio Frio Cave (First Attempt)
We were planning on hitting three spots in the area: Rio Frio Cave, Rio-On Pools, and Big Rock Falls. Rio Frio Cave was our first destination, being the furthest south of the three. Unfortunately, we used Google Maps for our first attempt to find the cave. Big mistake. I love you, Google Maps, but you are just not reliable in developing countries! You can read about our inadvertent detour and ensuing scratches on my legs.
3:00p
Rio-On Pools
Having given up on the Rio Frio Cave, we trooped on to Rio-On Pools, which are clearly marked by a sign on the side of the road. This is a nice area in which to picnic and get wet. Instead of one big waterfall, it’s a series of pools and small waterfalls within a vast rocky expanse.
3:00p
Rio-On Pools
Having given up on the Rio Frio Cave, we trooped on to Rio-On Pools, which are clearly marked by a sign on the side of the road. This is a nice area in which to picnic and get wet. Instead of one big waterfall, it’s a series of pools and small waterfalls within a vast rocky expanse.
3:30p
Rio Frio Cave (Second Attempt)
Fortunately for us, while we were being entertained by the sign up at the Rio-On Pools, we ran into a couple tour guides who were waiting for their tourists to finish playing in the water. They were able to give us the proper directions to the Rio Frio Cave, and after debating on whether we had enough time, we decided to go for it. I’ve included proper directions in my Rio Frio Cave post.
3:30p
Rio Frio Cave (Second Attempt)
Fortunately for us, while we were being entertained by the sign up at the Rio-On Pools, we ran into a couple tour guides who were waiting for their tourists to finish playing in the water. They were able to give us the proper directions to the Rio Frio Cave, and after debating on whether we had enough time, we decided to go for it. I’ve included proper directions in my Rio Frio Cave post.
It’s a short walk to the cave from the dirt area that serves as a parking lot, and we were happy to find that we were the only car there at the time. It’s a relatively small cave (you can see both ends from inside), but the silence gave it a certain mystical quality that was peaceful and beautiful. Perhaps getting lost and going late in the day after other tourists had left was a blessing in disguise.
4:30p
Big Rock Falls
Next stop: Big Rock Falls. We chose this one over Belize’s tallest waterfall, 1000 Foot Falls, since we learned that you could only view 1000 Foot Falls from a distance. Big Rock Falls is a cozy waterfall nestled down within the forest. The waterfall isn’t terribly huge, but this means that it’s possible to swim at the bottom, and there are diving areas as well. Overall, a great place to relax, swim, snack, and contemplate the significance of the number 42.
4:30p
Big Rock Falls
Next stop: Big Rock Falls. We chose this one over Belize’s tallest waterfall, 1000 Foot Falls, since we learned that you could only view 1000 Foot Falls from a distance. Big Rock Falls is a cozy waterfall nestled down within the forest. The waterfall isn’t terribly huge, but this means that it’s possible to swim at the bottom, and there are diving areas as well. Overall, a great place to relax, swim, snack, and contemplate the significance of the number 42.
7:00p
Dinner at Everest Indian Restaurant in Belmopan
All three nature sites visited, it was time to make our way to our next lodgings, but before getting there, our route took us through the small capital city of Belmopan (about a 1.5 hour drive from Big Rock Falls) where we had dinner and wonderful service at Everest, an Indian/Nepalese restaurant.
7:00p
Dinner at Everest Indian Restaurant in Belmopan
All three nature sites visited, it was time to make our way to our next lodgings, but before getting there, our route took us through the small capital city of Belmopan (about a 1.5 hour drive from Big Rock Falls) where we had dinner and wonderful service at Everest, an Indian/Nepalese restaurant.
11:00p
Maya Guide Adventures and Jungle Lodge
After the unexpectedly long Everest dinner, we finally made our way to the Maya Guide Adventures and Jungle Lodge (formerly called Yaxche Jungle Lodge), which had required another 30-minute drive. Our poor hosts were worried that something had happened to us on the road, and were very gracious and friendly despite our late arrival.
We knew that the Jungle Lodge was going to be our most basic accommodations in Belize, given that there is no electricity except in the common area during limited evening hours. We did not know that there was also no hot water. Yikes! After a looooong day of sightseeing and driving, taking a cold shower with a flashlight at 11pm was not a relishing thought. But what are you gonna do? We froze in the shower.
11:00p
Maya Guide Adventures and Jungle Lodge
After the unexpectedly long Everest dinner, we finally made our way to the Maya Guide Adventures and Jungle Lodge (formerly called Yaxche Jungle Lodge), which had required another 30-minute drive. Our poor hosts were worried that something had happened to us on the road, and were very gracious and friendly despite our late arrival.
We knew that the Jungle Lodge was going to be our most basic accommodations in Belize, given that there is no electricity except in the common area during limited evening hours. We did not know that there was also no hot water. Yikes! After a looooong day of sightseeing and driving, taking a cold shower with a flashlight at 11pm was not a relishing thought. But what are you gonna do? We froze in the shower.
Day 5 would be the start of three days of tours with Maya Guide Adventures. We had signed up for a survival skills tour that included an overnighter in the jungle. Unfortunately, the tour fell through and we ended up doing a different activity instead. So bummed! The next time we return to Belize, we will definitely be signing up for the overnight jungle tour. The activities we did get to partake in included cave kayaking, caving, ziplining and cave tubing – caves everywhere! Parts of Belize are like Swiss cheese.
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