Actun Tunichil Muknal - aka ATM Cave -

ATM is considered the greatest cave found yet. It takes a short full swim and then a half submerged trek for about half a mile to the point where one climbs up out of the water into the chambers where these photos were taken. We were required to take our shoes off once up into the chambers.

In one of his rare non active moments, Gonzo, our fantastic guide takes a well deserved break. He is mentioned also at "CheChemHa" and "Gonzo's Mom's" postings.

All skeletal remains are considered sacrificial.

Only one other pot has been found with a small monkey like insignia. That was many miles away in the CheChemHa cave.

This cave has been affected a great deal by water both down in the rout in as well as up in the huge cathedral like spaces. The calcification flows are amazing.

CheChemHa (Poison River)

CheChemHa has one of the finest collections of intact pots from the Mayans ever found. It is a high cave requiring a good hike up to access.

This figure of a "monkey" has a disconnected head causing some archaeologists to speculate that the contents of this pot would have been a substance associated with death.

All of the pots were offerings to the gods. The shaman would bless all the pots and their contents. Once the pots were in the caves, the conduit to the underworld, the pots would be broken in some way to to release to the gods, the blessings held within.

Small holes called Kill-Holes were often the form of breakage.

Gonzo our guide, points out a formation that looks like a shark and a huge stelagtite. His family is the caretakers of this cave after his brother Edward found it back in the late 1980's. The government allows you to retain and care for the national treasures that are found on your property as long as you treat them with respect and make them available to the public. The government will step in if misconduct is suspected.

A small chamber required a belly crawl to get into.

Evan and the others reapear from an opening above.

Marge contemplates the best way back down from above.

Gonzo's Ma

Our guide, Gonzo, asked if we would mind if we stopped at his mother's on the way to CheChemHa caves in order to drop off his Christmas present to her. We all went away feeling blessed by this little side trip.
Evan, Gonzo and a lamb with way too big ears.

Gonzo's dad also made an appearance through the garden.

The thatched roof would quickly ignite should the kitchen fire get too big. Only enough fire is made to cook the food. Getting rid of heat is usually the goal in the jungle. The cooking is done on a on a raised hearth with a steel plate over the fire. This cooking style is common throughout the country.

The kitchen structure is self contained. Most of the photos in this post showing a building are of the kitchen. This home is terraced into the hill side and is surrounded by small terraced gardens that provides much of the family's food.




Gonzo's mother shows us some jewelry that she has recently made. This room is in the structure where they sleep. It also looked to serve as a living room. No structure (in the whole country as far as I could tell) has been built with the intent to control the climate within. Most have only wide wood louvers for closing off openings rather than glass. Most of the glass I saw was louvered. Keeping things open to any breeze and shielding things from the sun is more the goal.

The kitchen structure was sensational in its beauty, integrity and simplicity.

The view from the home was lush and endless.

Rio on Pools

"A unique granite pool formation, spring fed from deep within the Mayan Underworld, cascades through a riverine habitat supporting a wide variety of exotic flora and fauna".

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Ya... and it's a whole lot of fun to play in too!!!

A wonderful series of cascading pools that could not be more fun for splashers of all ages!

Mia says: "Hi, it's Mia. I was at the pools, and I went horseback riding. I also went in a cave. And I went to the beach, where Tom cut open a coconut. And I went to the top of a hill. And I also ate pancakes. And I also went to Barton Creek. And I got to hold a baby puppy."

Evan compares Belize to U.S.

Old Cars

Old Tired Houses



Lots of Hitch Hiking

and Darker Skinned People

Shorter People

Hoter Temperature

Different Trees

Skinney (pot licker) Dogs

Dirt Roads

To the beach at Hopkins

Barton Creek Caving

A cave and a canoe and things get beautiful.

Today we went swimming at Barton Creek. We also saw real bats in a real bat cave!

Selwyn, our guide, took us a kilometer deep into the cave once used by the Mayan for rituals often associated with sacrifices.

And Mia got to hold a baby puppy!!!!!