Helen Thomas

My husband and I had never been for a tropical holiday before. We love kayaking and enjoy camping in many different areas, but this was the first time we have had warm waters and winds in February. Jorge, our driver/guide, was wonderful despite some problems with the van. He quickly found us another van and gave us an introduction to Mayan culture and ruins while we waited for replacement. We started this part of the trip at Cahal Pech Village Resort. Our cabana had a thatched roof, a hammock on the porch and a comfortable bed. There were palm trees with iguanas outside our cabana. The first night we met our fellow Island Expedition participants and had dinner.

After breakfast the next day we had an amazing time with Jorge and William at the Mayan Cave, Che Chem Ha. We started out at William's property and had a wonderful hike through the jungle where he pointed out various plants, allowed us to taste termites, explained how some plants can be medicines, showed us how to make a poison dart. It was fascinating. Then we arrived at the cave and explored it and saw the pottery and ceremonial sites that remained. After that we went to his parents' farm where we ate a delicious lunch and chatted with his mother and various family members. From there we went to the Mayan site of Cahal Pech because the river was too high to visit Xunantunich. For dinner we went into San Ignacio and had a wonderful dinner at KO-OX-HANNAH’S Meat Shop Bistro & Deli as recommended by our guide. The next day after a wonderful drive on the Hummingbird Highway we went by boat to Southwest Caye. On the first day we had a wonderful lunch and practiced wet exits. By the second day, we had yoga first thing in the morning, followed by kayaking and snorkeling. All the days were amazing. I did yoga every morning, kayaked and snorkeled everyday, paddleboarded one afternoon (a first for me that I would like to repeat), sailed a double kayak and a single kayak one day, sailed a double a second day and generally had a wonderful time. Every day we had a morning and an afternoon activity and occasionally we had a choice of activities. Once we had to cut short our kayaking because of a storm, but otherwise the weather cooperated. Both Sue and Budge were very accommodating and very capable. They were clearly experts at all the activities we did and very capable instructors. Miss Cynthia and Freddie provided us with wonderful meals. Our conversations with the guides at the meals and during happy hour were very enjoyable. My husband and I would both love to return to Belize in the future.