How good does Barton Creek look?  I was out there last night for their fireworks show, and saw this, the 18th hole of the original Fazio course.

We drove nearly an hour to get to the Barton Creek archeological site. The drive was very bumpy (except through villages -- more on that later), and our guide kept telling us that the real exciting part was the descent into Barton Creek. Well, he was right. The road that descends to the creek was nothing like I had ever seen before. 65-70% grade with about five hair pin turns... driving in low gears the whole time. He joked about going back up the road being the really hard part, or at least we thought he was joking...

In front of the archeological site is a small bar/restaurant that a Canadian couple and their kids live at and operate. It is a lovely thatched roof, open space area with lots of seating and hammocks. Lane noticed that they had a parrot hanging out on a branch attached to a support beam that was very friendly and would get on just about anyone's finger or shoulder. Lane liked looking, but ran away when giving the opportunity to hold him, but Griffin instantly bonded with the bird.

After hanging out for a few minutes, our guide returned with oars, car batteries, flash lights and life jackets. Yeah, you read that right, car batteries, well at least they looked like car batteries. The spotlights had clips on the ends of their wires that attached to the batteries for a power source inside the cave.

Now, we finally got down to business and got into canoes. Three canoes, with three people in each canoe. I was with Michelle, Lane and Zeke. Phil had Dante and Linda. Suzette was with Griffin and our tour guide, Andy.

We went 900 meters deep into the cave, or for about 30 minutes, and daylight disappeared after only about 3-4 minutes. Somewhere around half way in, the guide had all three canoes side-by-side, and we killed the lights. He asked everyone to close their eyes and let them adjust, and then hold your hand in front of your face -- you couldn't see a damn thing. It was very eerie, but because of the spotlights, nobody freaked out about being so far away from daylight.

During the trip, we learned a lot about how the Mayan's used the cave, their beliefs, and saw some artifacts. There is a human skull, some bones, and pots that have been found in the cave by archaeologists.

Long story short, the Mayans believed the caves to be the gateway to the underworld, so they really feared them. Lots of ceremonies (human sacrifice, blood letting, offerings to god, etc) took place there, and that is really it. Stalactites were viewed as the roots from the trees in the physical world, so pots were placed underneath them to gather the water that dripped off.  They would use this as holy water during ceremonies. Lots of interesting stuff.

No canoes capsized, and everyone stayed mostly dry. We did see a lot of fruit bats, and Lane absolutely loved it -- we had no idea that he would like bats so much.

Next came the really fun part -- driving back up that hill. I really wished that I had video taped this, as seeing it would be the only way to understand or believe it. We got stuck going up the grade after only a short ways. The van's tires spun and spun and spun, and we created a lot of black smoke. Our guide backed the van down the hill a ways, almost going over the edge at one point, and gunned it. We made it past the first hair pin turn, and just kept going. Sharp turn after sharp turn, the van was going as fast as possible -- no brakes involved. Let's just say that I now truly appreciate the art of a "power slide." Everyone in the van was "white knuckling it" for a minute or so while we were stuck, but once we got moving -- and Lane started laughing historically at all the fast turns, everyone would say this was the best part of the day. Some even joked about turning around so that we could do it again...

Next came lunch at Rio On Pools, inside the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. This was a gorgeous spot over looking a series of waterfalls and rapids.

After lunch we down to the waterfalls and went swimming. There were some natural water slides that a number of us did, and many got scratches and bruises, myself included. It was a ton of fun though. When we were leaving, Phil got stung by a bee of some kind, and Lane got bit by a fire ant. Both were fine, although Phil complained more than Lane... something about poison and being deathly allergic to bee stings... he's such a whiner. :)

On our way back to Maya Mountain, Andy took us to a local "super store" which is a local convenience / grocery store. The purpose of the trip was to get beer (but a bottle of local 1 Barrel Rum, some bottles of Coke, and chips we also purchased) since the owners of Maya Mountain do not sell alcohol.

Belize only has one brand of beer, Belikin, which is pretty good, and the brewery recycles all the bottles. So we got a case of 24, which comes in a large plastic case that you return with the empty bottles and receive a deposit back for the trouble. The brewery then gets the bottles back and reuses them.

Next came a delicious dinner, followed by a rather half-assed game of Hearts with Phil, Griffin and Linda. And that was our second day here.

Today's menu was:

Breakfast:

• Huevos Rancheros
• Journey cake
• Banana
• Starfruit
• Fried Plantains

Box Lunch:

• PB&J with papaya jam
• Veggie sandwich with carrots, tomato, lettuce, red bell pepper, onion
• Banana
• Jalapeno chips
• Brownie
• Pineapple Coconut flavored juice

Dinner:

• Deep fried plantains with sugar
• Three bean salad
• Coconut sere with potatoes, plantains and carrots
• Mashed pumpkin, Steamed rice and Calalou
• Casaba pudding

This is a phenomenon that occurs a few times a year. This year it happened on May 29^th, when tropical storm Arthur brought a deluge on Belize. The last time it rained here at Barton Creek was on March 5^th. Everything, including the jungle, was very dry, dry enough that a lot of wildlife were lower in the mountains, nearer the creek.

On that day, the rain started in the early afternoon, and it came down hard! But it felt so good as you could feel the dust being washed off everything such as the trees, the rocks, the truck, the house… it smelled so clean. But, in the early evening, at dusk, the little pests arrived!

Here’s a very good video by Calvary Chapel Murrieta. After clicking on the link, then click on ‘flood flies’.

Since we had already experienced this invasion, we were aware and got ready for it. We made sure all screens were tightly in place and used masking tape around the windows’ handles where there are small gaps. We also closed the door early. But even with all that, those annoying bugs still found their way in. Within minutes we had a few hundreds in the house, but it was very minimal compare to what you can have if not prepared. They fly around lights and people, bump into you, crawl on your skin and are extremely irritating. Fortunately, they do not bite or sting! After just a few hours, they drop their wings, and start crawling all over the place…

CRAWLING ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER AFTER IT'S LOST ITS WINGS

… on the floors, furniture, ceiling fans, just about everywhere. The next day, all are dead, and it is then cleaning time! That is also quite exasperating as those wings are very small and light and therefore a nightmare to sweep.

HUNDREDS (THOUSANDS?) OF LITTLE WINGS EVERYWHERE!

But the best is that our water tanks are now full with the best water source when living off-grid. And the worst on this occasion is that some parts of Belize got hurt really bad and are still in the process of cleaning and rebuilding.

TropiCat

Other Posts:

~ Living comfortably in the Jungle of Central America!
~ Producing and storing your own electricity, you have to the power to!
~ Building off-grid in the Jungle of Belize
~ Easy Broadband Satellite Internet Access
~ Water Supply Considerations, off-grid in the Jungle
~ The Domestic Cats’ Life in the Jungle
~ The Belize Mennonite’s Lifestyle
~ How to live as an expat in a foreign country
~ Living in Paradise!
~ Solar Panel Placement & Sun Chart Creator
~ Health Issues when Living Abroad
~ Telecommunication Challenges in a 3rd World Country