Breakfast in Chicago, dinner in Belize
Our young heroes Visit the Wedding Photos page	Tom & Kristy were up early the day after the wedding and reception. Traveling by train, plane, van, and finally boat, (!) they arrived in Belize late on Sunday. The trip from Belize City Airport to the resort took about 2 hours. A former British colony, Belize is poor, sparsely populated, 6% English-speaking - and beautiful!	Paperwork in order. Proceed.

Driving across Belize	The Mopan River Resort	Where is Belize?  Where were they?   More about Belize
The Mopan River Resort is located in the jungle rain forest near the Guatemala border. A private cabaña was the couple's home away from home for The Jungle part of their honeymooon. Besides being beautiful, comfortable, and restful, it was a good jumping off point for excursions to several Mayan ruins. It was humid but still the dry season, and temperatures were not uncomfortable despite being only 17° (1,150 mi.) from the equator.

Chechem Ha
Destination: this distant cliff face	Chechem Ha is a Mayan cave site about an hour's drive from the Resort. The drive is followed by a strenuous, mostly uphill, 45-minute hike through the jungle. The cave system was regarded as an entrance to Xibalba, the Maya underwold, and was used for ceremonial purposes over 1,500 years ago.	Ready to start caving

Holding steady in the dim light

Ancient vessels 2 - 3 feet tall

On the river, heading back

The cave itself was cool but very humid. There were no human remains to be seen, but the Maya did leave behind many large pottery vessels, some still full of maize and other grains. There were altars and ceremonial rooms, and even some stalagmites, stalactites and flowstone. All in all well worth the effort and highly recommended by the couple.

T·I·K·A·L (In Guatemala)
Tikal, "Place Of Echoes" Tom & Kristy and their party drove across the disputed border between Belize and Guatemala without incident, then another hour and a half through dense Guatemala jungles before coming to Tikal. They spent all day exploring the ruins of this important Mayan city, once home to over 100,000 people.		On the bus to Tikal

Temple still half covered with soil

Lining up a shot

Approaching the top

Under the mahogany tree

Ground-level view of the ruins

Temple I

General view of one plaza

No climbing this one

Keeping cool in the shade

Xunantunich

Xunantunich, "Stone Maiden" Xunantunich was a Maya city active from 200-900 AD, near the end of the Mayan civilization. The great city of Tikal (see above) had already been abandoned by this time. This archaeological site was less than a ten minute drive from the Mopan River Resort. After crossing the river on a hand-cranked ferry (!) followed by a one mile uphill hike, the ancient city and great pyramid loomed out of the jungle. Xunantunich is a national treasure featured on the Belize $2 bill.

A big iguana along the road	Arriving at Xunantunich

"El Castillo" - a national treasure

Near the top of El Castillo

Enjoying the tree-top view

At the summit	Main plaza from atop El Castillo
Two days in a row of hiking to and from and up and down Mayan ruins really wore the couple out. They unanimously decided to skip the next excursion and spend the day instead relaxing around the cabana and resort.

The Belize Zoo

Up-close look at a toucan	Spider monkey in action	Message on the Visitor's Wall
Next it was time for The Beachfront part of the honeymoon, so Tom & Kristy bade a fond farewell to their jungle home. On the way to Belize City (where they would pick up a single-engine flight to Placencia on the coast), they stopped at the famous Belize Zoo. The Zoo was formed as part of an animal rescue effort. It used a delightfully quirky and elaborate system of signs to entertain and educate visitors. The Zoo afforded Tom and Kristy the opportunity to see up close some of the animals they had seen from a distance, and many species they had not seen.

Placencia Village

Placencia is a long north-south sand bar that is home to three villages and miles of natural beach. Placencia Village sits at the southern end [map], just below a tiny east-west runway. That's right - water at both ends of a short runway.

Nervous landing at Placencia

Scenic cabana in the neighborhood

Tom relaxes with a tropical beverage

Nearby beach at sunset

Kristy really relaxing

Beach dog (on the left)

Tom & Kristy's beach place

After breakfast I believe

"The Snorkel Trip From Hell"

All systems are Go!	"It's the pirate's life for me..."
Nervous but excited, Kristy & Tom head out into open water for their first-ever attempt at snorkeling.

Small desert islands abound	Rest area, Belize style	Getting towed back to Placencia
Despite their best and persistent efforts, it was not to be. The rented snorkel gear did not fit properly, the trip was for more advanced snorkelers, and as a final topper, the boat's motor would not start up again after the rest stop. It was what you might call a character-building experience.

Placencia Sunrise

The couple's cabana faced east, and they were up early each day to watch the sun rise over the Carribean. A very relaxed and relaxing place.

Tom as seen by Kristy

Kristy as seen by Tom

One of Tom's sunrise shots

Coming Home

Chicago, a welcome sight

© Copyright Ben Mancine, 2007