We awoke to howling winds and crashing surf. The sky was dark and angry and did not bode well for a quiet beach day. Good thing we had other plans. After a brief but intense shower during breakfast caused us to eat our first meal indoors, we got geared up for the day’s adventure – a hike up a waterfall!
Not for the faint of heart or flip-flop shod, a dozen of us set out for the Mayflower Bocawina National park. Armed with water and coated in Deet, we started the 2.9 km hike that would take us up to the top of Antelope Falls, nearly 1000 feet above the rainforest floor. We passed Mayan ruins and dozens of types of trees and plants with a great narrative from Simon the driver/tour guide. He was spectacularly well informed because he volunteers as the head of a local conservation group that works in the rainforest. So for two hours we slowly progressed up inclines both slight and steep, sometimes stopping to hear about leaf-cutter ants and other times pausing because the trail was too steep and narrow to support more than one person at a time.
In the end we were treated with a spectacular view all the way to the sea. A few more minutes would lead us to a smaller waterfall and swimming hole where we could enjoy the emerging sunshine and swim in beautifully refreshing water (which is the Belizean euphemism for “cold” btw). Then the hike back down which went far faster than the hike up even with the stop to taste the local termites. Yes, I said taste. Apparently they are reminiscent of woody carrots according to Frank. I passed on the experience.
The rest of the afternoon was like previous days: sunny but with wilder surf thanks to the morning storm, boozy but with more new arrivals joining us at the tiki bar, and just plain relaxing.
The Cannon Family's travel blog 