Belize – Land of the Maya

November is not a great time to travel, with most places being in transition between seasons. I figured Belize should be coming to the end of its rainy season when I set off on a two week trip, starting on 23 November (an auspicious date for anyone paying attention). Didn’t quite get it right but at least we had warm rain and plenty of sunshine in 28 to 30 degree heat.

Most people I’ve talked to since have asked ‘where is Belize?’ It used to be called British Honduras and nestles underneath Mexico, nudging up against Guatemala. It’s the only former British colony in Central America which may explain its relatively calm history. The population is a mix of the original Maya, plus descendants of African slaves and white colonists. Add to the mix the creoles who arose from liaisons between colonists and slaves and created a middle class. Then in the nineteenth century, the Garifuna arrived, a mix of Caribs and former slaves escaping from other Caribbean islands plus a sizeable German-speaking Mennonite community who migrated from Mexico. The various groups make the country tick, speaking English, Spanish and local dialects, creating what came over as a cheerful community.

Belize is mostly jungle, swamp, mountain forests plus palm-fringed beaches. I went on a tour with Explore in a very lively 13-person group plus our guide ‘Tarek’. Typically we were on the move most days, but thankfully it’s a small country and unlike some Explore trips we were not driving for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. I could get excited about birds, lizards or butterflies but I was here for the archaeology.

First stop was Altun Ha, the nearest Mayan site to Belize City, so a popular day trip, and a gentle introduction. I’ve already been to sites in Mexico and Guatemala so was able to tick six more off on this trip.

Lamalai was real Lara Croft territory, deep in the rainforest of central Belize. We travelled by boat through swampy river channels and got pretty wet in a couple of dramatic tropical downpours. The stunning thing about these sites is how the jungle just wants to take back control, growing out of the ancient structures and all over the ones that have not been fully restored and maintained.

San Ignacio lies close to the border with Guatemala, and is the hub for exploring further Mayan sites. Taking a hand-cranked river ferry took us to the site of Xunatunich (try saying that after a couple of pina coladas!). Each site offered something different and here we climbed the tallest pyramid-temple of the tour so far. Carvings run around the apex, partly reconstructed, conveying the deep and rather dark Mayan philosophy.

On such a tour the ‘free afternoon’ elicits a sigh of relief, but no, it was a chance to visit the site of Cahel Pech just a short walk from our hotel. It was the smallest site we saw, but had hidden gems around the back – rooms and staircases framed by Mayan arches to explore. We’d been lulled by the size of the place and hardly had enough time to do more Lara Croft exploring of rooms and chambers.

Then the free day, bliss! But a local tour company could take us to Caracol, the biggest Mayan site in Belize, with a 7.30 pick up by private car. Caracol is just inside the Guatemalan border and only open until one pm for security reasons. It’s not popular with tourists as the road hasn’t been finished so it’s a two hour drive through rainforest, over a pine-clad ridge and down into more jungle.

The site is breath taking, with the seventh century Caana, ‘sky palace’, the tallest monument in Belize as its star attraction. Its steps are so steep we needed to climb on all fours. The absence of tourists gives no ‘scale’ to these photos but Caana is 43m high (you can just see our driver in far centre of the image above taken from the top of Caana). These cities once extended over many square miles and only the ceremonial centres have been excavated – even then, not completely. All around are mounds of stone colonised by trees hiding who knows what?

Our last site was Tikal over the border in Guatemala. I’d been before but it cannot fail to impress. Star Wars fans will recognise it as Yavin IV as seen in A New Hope, Rogue One and Andor. Howler monkeys howl at us, spider monkeys play over the pool. Toucans and parrots flit about the treetops, butterflies are everywhere and tarantulas try not to be seen beneath our feet.

I could also trill about Caribbean beaches, stingrays nibbling my toes, a shark following our boat, manatees bobbing up and down.

The trip was Belize Discovery, organised by Explore holidays. Explore trips are typically no-frills with mid-range hotels chosen for their location rather than swankiness. Our group had ten women and three men of half a dozen nationalities and was a hoot.