After our time on the secluded island, we hopped on the boat and then took the puddle jumper back to Belize City. There we rented our car and drove to San Ignacio. We got there in the afternoon and checked into our hotel called Mahogany Inn. It is right on the Mopan River and had a gorgeous view.
We immediately wanted to take advantage of the sunny afternoon (the raining season was upon us) and we headed down the road to Cahal Pech, Mayan ruins. This was Ronnie's first visit to Mayan ruins and we were both excited to be there.
We decided to be adventurous and see if we could make it to these "Mayan ruins" called El Pilar. According to the locals and our Moon Handbook it is un-excavated but very pretty with good bird watching but the road there is killer. It was an intense path and it started raining and the water was almost like a stream on the "road". We almost turned around but made it to the site and they were closed....bummer. But it was an adventure anyways!
That night we went into town and ate at a local restaurant called Erva's and then ate some soy ice cream at Cayo Twist. I was skeptical about the soy ice cream but it was actually pretty good and the place was packed!
Ronnie drinking his dragon fruit juice at dinner :)
The next day was our last day before traveling back to the states and we had gone back and forth about what we wanted to do (there is just SO much you can do). We were going to go see more Mayan ruins but at the last minute we decided to do the ATM cave excursion. I don't have any pictures because we weren't allowed to bring cameras.
We had an interesting guide but it was a once in a lifetime type thing. It was also pretty high adventure. First we hiked 45 minutes through the jungle, crossing three rivers. When we got to the cave the guide told us to jump in the water and swim inside. After that there was a lot of climbing over rocks, squeezing through small passages, wading through water and trying not to trip or stub your toes. It was so cool. Eventually we got to the part where there were Mayan pottery and skeletons that were their sacrifices. The main attraction being the crystal maiden, where after climbing up steep rocks and a ladder strapped to the side of a rock (how they got that ladder in there, I have no idea) we saw the skeleton of a teenage girl shimmering. It was an all day excursion and we are so glad we had the opportunity to do it! It was also good that we did the cave excursion that day because it rained all day. We actually hiked back in a downpour...we were soaked already so it really didn't matter.
Our trip to Belize was a success and we had lots of adventures for 6 days. Maybe someday we can go back again. Who knows.
