Lamanai
Mayan Ruins along the "New River."
28.02.2007
27 °C
After waking up to the sound of our travel alarm, the three of us rolled out of bed and packed our day pack. Still in daze, the "Three Amigos" (as we've recently been dubed by a travelling couple of Americans) got into the first taxi that hailed to us and took the short taxi ride to the bus station. After arriving at the bus station, we were informed that we had just missed the bus to Orange Walk, the city from which we were to take our tour to Lamanai. Quickly, one of the men at the bus station told us that a taxi would be able to catch the bus before it left Belize City. With the stupor of sleep wearing off and the adrenalin kicking in, we lept into the seriously dilapodated taxi cab and sped of at breakneck speed, taking all the inside corners and barely slowing down for any signs or speed bumps. Mind you, the breakneck speed was probably only about 60 kilometers an hour, but the rickety car and the tiny streets gave the illusion of a much faster ride. Once aboard the bus, the ride was uneventful, save for meeting a Canadian couple from Quebec and a SCUBA diver from Croatia. The Canadaian couple got off at a toll bridge relatively close to Orange walk because they had heard of better prices for the boat tour. This was our plan alson, however I misinterpreted the guide book and we found ourselves in Orange Walk, the place of the more expensive tour. After paying $40 USD, we were told that the tour didn´t leave for another hour, so we hit the local food court/market to sit and relax. Our tour began with a walk through Orange Walk and seeing a local church. We were then led to the river and began one of the most amazing boat rides we've ever been on. The boat tour was close to two and a half hours long and we stopped everytime there was a hint of wild life. The river meandered over many kilometres and the small launch, which was about twenty feet long had one-hundred and fifteen horsepower, which was definatly overkill. We also ran into many local fisherman who were ahppy to show us there catch and tell us which ones were ¨Good eats.¨ We came across so much wildlife as to be rediculous. There was crocodiles, iguanas, numerous birds including a Japanese Stork which has a wing span of over seven feet and stands five feet tall. We also passed an old sugar mill which Leigh and I could smell from easily a kilometre away. (Smells like honey). The next surprise on this twisted river was a German Menonite villiage. As one can imagine, Menonites are quite an interesting sight, what with their lack of power and any modern tools. Our interest was enhanced by their location, deep in the jungle. My first question was how did they get all their horses and buggies down the river, or into the middle of the jungle in the first place. Deaper into the jungle the river widened into a lake and we all caught a glimpse of a Mayan temple poking from the tree tops. Once at Lamanai, we all cuaght our breath over a Fanta and took in our jungle surroundings. Next, our tour guide took us on an hour and a half hike through the reserve and up the two highest temples. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and told us about many trees and plants. One such tree was the "Give and Take tree." Its called this because the needles on the bark of the tree will give you a fever for a few hours, but rubbing the sap from the inside of the tree stops this effect imediately. After our guided tour of the ruins, we sat under a cabana and had a home cooked lunch, courtesy of our tour guide. Our amazing meal consisted of rice and beans with chicken. Also, side salads both veggie and potatoe, not to mention fried plantain. Since we left Lamanai later than was planned, our boat ride back was mostly zipping through the narrow river as fast as possible to get two ladies back to their buss on time. Our tour ended with much enthusiasm for our guide as it was a one man show, and probably one of the more memorable experiences for all involved. Our bus ride back to Belize City was a laughable experience to say the least. The first bus we let pass because it was packed well over double capacity. It then came to our attention that all sunday night busses were packed and that it wasn't going to get much better. We took the next out going buss bound for Belize City and stood and sang in the aisle, all the while pressing out hands against the roof in a vain attempt to steady ourselves. When we arrived in Belize City, Maya, the croatian we met on our tour and the Kiwi, Jeremy walked together and had amazing ice cream, a beautiful end to the day. Once we got into our guest house, all three of us collapsed with exhaustion and made sure the alarm was off, so that we could sleep as late as possible.
All around a wonderful day, making memmories that will latst a lifetime.
Ryan
Posted by Nomad18 9:56 AM Archived in Tourist Sites | Belize Comments (1)
