On the first full day of our trip, we started out by tubing on a river through a cave at Cave Branch. There had been a lot of rain lately, so the river was very swollen: we all had a lot of trouble crossing it, with several of us having our feet washed out from under us. Luckily there was a rope to hold on to, and others to help!
We were warned not to bring cameras along for the tubing, because we'd need both hands to control our inner tubes. This was good advice (Amanda got out in the current, and needed to be rescued by Juan Carlos before she was washed away alone), but it means we don't have any pictures of the outing.
After tubing we drove to Banana Bank Lodge, in the interior not too far from Belmopan (the world's smallest capital city). We settled into our cabanas, had lunch, then went on a trail ride. The trails were muddy, so the ride was a bit more exciting than we expected: but the horses were very well trained, and none of us fell off.
At Banana Bank Tamas and Ilona left the group: he had a bad toothache, and didn't want to be out on the cay miles from a dentist. They were the only Americans on the trip. When they left, only Canadians were left. Pat and Linda were originally from Sault Ste Marie, Monique was from Sudbury: but they hadn't met each other before we met in Belize City. Pretty strange!
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Our cabana at Banana Bank Lodge. There were two bedrooms, each with two beds. The large beds in each had mosquito nets, but we were lucky, and didn't really need them. |
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Amanda on the patio outside the dining room. |
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The group waiting outside the dining room. From left: Mike, Lindsay, Linda, Pat, and Emilio. |
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Pat on Buckshot. |
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Amanda on Michelle |
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Pat on Buckshot, Duncan on Freckles, and Amanda on Michelle. |