Back in Belize for a second visit, we hired a cab to travel up into the jungle and go cave tubing (floating down a jungle stream and through a number of large caves on inner tubes). The trek through the jungle to get to the start point for the tubing inspired us to make an 80’s butt rock music video of our experiences, but it will necessarily be rated R (hey–it’s Guns ‘n Roses–what other rating can it have?) so we won’t be posting it on the blog. The video is still in “post-production,” but it will be available upon request for those of you with less refined sensibilities.
The tubing experience itself was awesome and definitely felt like a Goonies adventure — “That’s what I said, booty trap!” The water was aqua, and the caves grew very dark in the middle so we all wore headlamps. The inside of the caves was a beautiful orange color, and bats and spiders were hanging out on the ceilings. Singing “Thriller” and other great songs through the caves with Courtney, Aaron, Graham, and our guide Miguel made the whole experience even more fun. When we arrived back at the Jaguar Paw Resort, we were charmed with the place. We had a traditional Belizian lunch and hot chocolate (we were all a little cold after floating through dark caves for 2 hours). We all decided that the resort, which is really more like a retreat and quite affordable, would be worth another trip back to Belize.
In addition to the tubing, a highlight of the day was a three-legged rescued howler monkey named Gumbo. He was raised with a pack of puppies and spends his days alternating between riding around the jungle on the back of his favorite canine companion and sneaking into cab vans when visiting touristas aren’t looking. After we had lunch at the hotel where he hangs out, we caught him snuggled up and taking a siesta with his doggy brother. He’s such a cute little guy. He even let Shannon pet him and scratch his back a little bit.
