Sunday, March 29, 2009

Belize Spring Break Vacation

This year we again traveled Belize for Will's and Eva's school break. This time we returned to Chaa Creek which we loved last year, and added four days at the beach in Placencia where we did some sailing, snorkeling and beach combing.

We were more adventurous this year, doing an all day cave tour at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) and a day trip to explore the Maya ruins at Tikal in Guatemala.

Chaa Creek was as great as we remembered, and once again everyone wants to return again. If you look at the third map here (The Mountain Pine Ridge) you can see Chaa Creek toward the upper middle on the left side. The ATM cave is on the right side of the map, Barton Creek Cave where we went last year is shown, as is San Ignacio, the nearest town to Chaa Creek.

We have posted below photos of Chaa Creek, ATM, Tikal and our experiences in Placencia. Enjoy!

Cath - We stayed at Chaa Creek last year (see all posts tagged Belize) and we loved it so much that we came back. There are two sections to the resort: the palm thatched cottages and the river camp.

The cottages are beautiful and have all sorts of creature comforts. The river camp is more rustic (1 room, no a/c, no electricity, shared bath and showers) but very comfortable. The landscape is natural and wild, not so manicured as the cottage area. This is the part of the resort we love! At least I do....I do love a simple and plain vacation.At night, you go to sleep with all the jungle sounds around you and there is all kinds of wildlife to see most of the time. The camp manager, Dosio, built the camp and he and his extended family run the camp. They cook local food and bend over backward to make sure everyone has a good time and whatever they need.

It is like going to stay with family. There is enough to do at Chaa Creek just on the grounds that we didn't feel "trapped" on the resort. We alternated an adventure day with a pool and horseride backing day (to quote Lyra) to have the perfect mix of activity and relaxation. I want to go back!

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