Guatemala and Belize for Xmas 2007

[cruiser guy]

We did our annual Christmas trip, this time taking in Belize as well. We spent Christmas at an American owned finca near Poptun called Finca Ixobel where they serve a good old turkey dinner.
On the way to the finca we passed by Castillo San Filipe on the Rio Dulce, an old Spanish era defensive fort for goods going to Spain.
We visited a rural church to watch and take part in their posada, a parade of sorts through their neighborhoods with a manger scene float.
For Christmas day we went in search of Naj Tunich which is also called "Stone House" in english. Despite following the signs we did not find the caves we were looking for though we did find other caves near the Belize border.
After enjoying Christmas we headed off to show my sister the Mayan ruins of Tikal. This being the time between Christmas and New Years there were LOTS of people around, probably the busiest I've ever seen it. Because of that we did not see many monkeys this time but we did see plenty of birds.
We staying in Jaguar Inn but next time we'll be kinder to our budget and camp in the campground across the parking lot.

 

[cruiser guy]

Tikal has gone up ALOT in their site entrance fees. The current charge for non-Guatemalan residents is Q150 per person per day (that's nearly $20 US!!) so it adds up fast with multiple people.
On the 28th we moved on towards Belize, stopping to take in Yaxha about an hour before the Belize border. The final 25 miles or so of "highway" to Belize would make some forest service roads at home seem smooth! It's obvious that Guatemala is not happy that Belize is not part of Guatemala.
The border crossing was different to those we had experienced elsewhere in Central America. While we could speak english since Belize was a British colony they had us take all our baggage out of the truck and through the customs hall separately. After we cleared customs I was able to go back and drive the empty truck across. Belize gives a month of permission for travel with a private non-Belizean vehicle.
We continued on to San Ignacio where we have reservations for the next three days. The first day we wandered the market buying the requisite "Marie Sharp's" hot sauce. Later we went for a drive trying to find some of the local natural attractions. Despite being signposted, or perhaps because we didn't follow the roads far enough, we did not find what we were looking for.
The following day we hired a local guide and we visitied the Mountain Pine Forest Reserve including Rio Frio Caves, Caracol, Dio On Pools and finally the Big Rock falls for some cliff jumping.
Our guide took us on a "short cut" to get back to the forest reserve entrance but I think his real goal was to see just how far we'd get on his "short cut" while still in two wheel drive. Well we nearly made it! The last sharp turn before a steepish mud hill forced us into 4wd.

 

[cruiser guy]

After our three days in Belize we headed back to Guatemala for New Years at the "redneck" town on the Rio Pasion called Sayaxche. We wiled away the evening watching the motorized canoes and outboard powered ferries cross the river.
The following days we visited the highland towns of Chichicastenango for their market day on Thursday and also Solala and Panajachel the following day.
While in Chichicastenango we walked up to the local Mayan shrine on one of the hilltops and also went for a walk through the graveyard, always a colorful place in Central America. While there were Mayan sacrifices and worship going on we felt it would be improper to photograph their rituals.

 

[cruiser guy]

Another random photo showing the fate of used american Toyota pickups. They all find their way south to Mexico and Central America eventually to take up service as people movers and general freight trucks.

 

[RobinP]

... The first day we wandered the market buying the requisite "Marie Sharp's" hot sauce ...

Nice update! It was 4 years ago since we were in Belize. We left there with quite a bottles of Marie Sharp's sauce - we ran out a few months ago. It's good stuff!

 

[alky350]

nice pics, thanks for sharing:26_7_2:

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Thank you for posting these great pictures, Viva Latinoamerica!