We got up early and packed the car so we could head out right after breakfast. We chatted with the Russian couple from Malden - they were leaving Belize today - and said good-bye to Elmer and the great staff at Maya Mountain Lodge. Although the room was nothing special, the experience was really nice.









We backtracked a bit to get to Xunantunich - a Mayan ruin right next to the Guatemalan border. Getting there is part of the adventure! You drive down a steep embankment onto a tiny ferry which is pulled across the river by a guy working a hand crank.  

I can't say I've ever done that before. The day was already getting hot at 9:00 and the road from the parking lot to the ruins was a steep one. It was definitely worth it. We were some of the only people there so we got to really enjoy the site without a lot of noise - what a treat!
The ruins are not nearly as big as Tikal but you can climb right to the top of the tallest one and the view is great. The steps are at least a foot and a half tall so climbing is a good workout for the legs. An ancient Mayan couldn't have been that tall... it had to be hard work especially with the big headdress and other gear.

We spent a couple of hours there and then hit the road to Placencia. The roads were really good so the travel was pretty easy. What kept cracking me up was the fact that we were on the "Western Highway" and then the "Hummingbird Highway" and every time we'd get close to a village, there were speed bumps in the road to get you to slow down. There were also lots of bridges that only fit one car at a time - not what we would call a highway. The Hummingbird Highway was gorgeous - lots of greenery and mountain views.

We were looking for a place to stop for lunch when we came to the Blue Hole Park (obviously not the one out in the ocean) and decided on a whim to stop and check it out. Turns out, they offer cave tubing and so we decided we might as well try it! Neko was our guide and he took us (with our tubes) down into the caves. Just the climb down was breathtaking!  He gave us our headlamps and after about a 10 minute walk, we went into the river. The Mayans believed that the caves were the entrance to the underworld, so they performed a lot of ceremonies (and sacrifices) in the caves in this area. Neko said that they had found evidence of Mayan activity in these caves. He told us that a couple of weeks ago, he hosted the gang from "Ghost Hunters" in the cave! We'll be watching for that episode.

The river moved pretty slow most of the time but it did speed up in the narrow areas - no white water rafting though. We floated along the side, keeping our feet first so we didn't bump into the stalactites or stalagmites as we went. We saw quite a few bats flying and hanging in the cave. At one point, Neko told us to turn our headlamps off so we could experience the complete darkness. It didn't matter if your eyes were open or closed- it was just as black either way. We were completely disoriented and he didn't make a sound for quite a while. Finally he turned his lamp on and we were on the far side of the cave. The trip was about an hour or so and the scenery changed throughout. There were places where the ceiling of the cave was 30-40 feet high and others where it was maybe 10. It was really beautiful. We absolutely loved it! After the cave, we went for a quick swim at the Blue Hole - a pool under a big rocky cliff where the floor of the river drops over 25 feet. It was a nice spot but there were a lot of people there so we didn't stay long.

Finally back on the road, we were starving and there just wasn't anywhere to stop that didn't look completely sketchy. We eventually came upon this funky little place called "Casa de Amore" that looked decent. Inside, it was really interesting looking and we found out that the owner built it himself. Super talented! Anyway, we had the BEST cheese sandwiches ever and fruit smoothies that hit the spot. We hit the road again and eventually started seeing signs for Placencia. We thought it would be a fairly short ride but there were loads of speed bumps on the peninsula. Maya Beach was at the beginning of the road and we were shocked! The houses switched from little side-of-the-road shacks to McMansions almost immediately. Clearly the land is being bought up by foreigners and they're building huge houses here. It was kind of disconcerting. A little further along it was more like we expected - some touristy spots but a lot of local homes too.We arrived in Placencia around 6 and easily found Ranguana Lodge, where we're staying. The place is adorable! We're in a little cabin right on the beach and the sound of the waves is SO loud.

We went all the way to the end of the peninsula trying to decide where to have dinner and then ended up at a little place just down the beach from us. The town is really interesting, there's a main road that goes all the way to the end, but there's also a "sidewalk" about 40-50 yards away that runs in between the road and the beach with guest houses (like ours) and shops all along it.The area is a little like Key West would have probably been 25 years ago - starting to get touristy but there are still a lot of local homes and businesses as well. I'm not sure how long it will last - they're building a huge pier at the end of the town. I'm guessing there will be small cruise ships here before too long. After dinner, we headed back to our cabin only to discover that the nightlife in Placencia is pretty loud until around 1 am. I was ok with the music from the bar down the street but not so much the loud, drunk discussion on the porch of the beach house next door. Around midnight I went outside and said hi and asked them if they could quiet down a bit. They were pretty embarrassed that they were being so loud - I should probably mention that they are in their 60s so this isn't some sort of Spring Break thing. Oh well. At least we didn't have any cockroaches tonight!