On our last full day in Belize we decide to go cave tubing. When I was looking at booking a trip to Belize cave tubing is what I heard about the most. Everyone who went said I needed to book to go cave tubing. Caves Branch offer 2 cave tubing excursions. However, only one was offered at the time of year we went (on a second trip back I was able to do the other one). The one that was available in May/June actually included seeing some Mayan ruins which I enjoyed.
After breakfast we headed to the meeting place. Of all three tours we did this was the largest group. I think there were about 8-9 of us on the tour. We all loaded onto a bus and drove for about 15-20 minutes through private land. The short drive was beautiful. It was very similar to the one to the Black Hold Drop. We drove through the orange groves and crossed a small river before unloaded and getting our gear. Anything you don’t want to get wet you can had to the guide because the company have a dry bag they take. Once you grab a helmet, headlamp and tube you start making your way down to where the river and Footprint Cave start.
This cave is called Footprint Cave because way in the back a footprint was found that dates back to the Mayans. The minerals of a stalactite dripped on the footprints for 1000s of years calcifying the footprints in the clay and preserving there. This is not part of the tour since they want to preserve the area.
You start by floating slowly into the cave. As it gets darker they ask you to turn on your headlamp. The inside of the cave is beautiful. There are so many beautiful features to look at and the water is crystal clear.
Once further in (about a mile), you stop to explore. The guide leads you to many of the interesting structures. He also provides you with some history about how the Mayans may used the cave. They think it was a fertility chamber due to a mask found carved on the wall. When archaeologists mapped the cave in 1973 they found pottery with pictures/hieroglyphics depicting what was going on and the archaeologists came to the conclusion that it was a fertility chamber.
Archaeologists have only discovered three of these masks so far according to the guide. Two were found in temples. One in Copan (Honduras) and the other one in Tikal (Guatemala). The last one in this cave. We got to see some of these pots as well as carvings of formations that, with a light (fire), shadows are cast depicting two people dancing (or you can use your imagination)!
For lunch they set up a small picnic with tortillas, meat, cheese, eggs and vegetables plus some juice. Hannah and I sat in our inner tubes on the bank with the group and ate lunch. After they packed up you head back into the water. On the way back they ask you to turn off your head lamp for a portion of the way. That was you can experience it in the dark!
Once you are out of the cave you float a short portion of the river back to where you started. One last stop before the end of the tour: a spot where you can jump off the bank and into the river!
Once back at the lodge Hannah and I changed and packed all our belonging because we were heading back to Belize city for the night before our flight the next day. I would not recommend this unless you have a very early flight. I would stay the night in Belmopan and take the bus early the next morning.*
*In Belize city neither Hannah or I felt very safe. On the way to the hotel two police men stopped us. They said they were responding to a call in the area and were we ok? We had not called them and were not sure who did. Once we got to our hotel we didn’t know where to even begin to find dinner.
On the drive back home the next day Hannah and I were already planning the next trip. We had gone all the way to Belize (which was so much fun we didn’t want to leave) to try and go to Tikal in Guatemala and hadn’t (there was too much to do in Belize). We had the next trip planned by the time we were home!
Lots of Love,
Buffy xx
