Central America – Chapter I: Arriving to San Ignacio, Belize

That night of December 17 when we left our apartment on the way to LAX airport, we had no idea about the incredible journey we were about to embark on. We had been working so hard until the Holidays that we barely had time to plan or fantasize about our trip. We closed our laptops, got our suitcases, called Kyle to take us to the airport, and there we went.

Kyle is a Texan guy who moved to Orange County a few years ago. Analyst by day, Uber driver by night. And a really funny character. Jan had met him on a previous trip and exchanged contacts. We chitchatted the whole trip about life, food, and relationships. Somehow we felt like the trip was already starting. At the end of the ride, he asked us which three animals would we be if we had to choose. Ignoring the speed meeting vibes, I chose eagle, dolphin, and housecat. He shared that those animals represent who you want to be, how others see you, and who you really are, respectively. It was a cute way to part ways. A little window into the life of this whole other human being you’ll probably never meet again. Gladly, we were about to cross paths with many other characters.

After a long night trip, or a red-eye flight as Americans call it, we finally made it to Belize! Little did I know about this country before. It was a bit coincidental that we went there on the first place, and I am so happy we did. As soon as we stepped out of the tiny airport, we were greeted by the stuffy, humid air of the tropics. Oh, I love this feeling. Everyone automatically starts layering down and going slower. It took us about an hour to get our rental car (things take their time around here) and there we went. We were basically crossing the whole country that day, in the direction to San Ignacio. It only takes about 2 hours to cross Belize, from Belize City to the Guatemalan border.

First thing I noticed as we exited the airport was Queen Elizabeth in the Belizean dollar bills. (Fun fact, the Belizean dollar is always 50 cents of the US Dollar. Pretty convenient).

Green, open landscapes. A lady cooking in an improvised “restaurant” in the a trunk of a car. A pit stop at a road side restaurant owned by a Chinese couple who moved there 30 years ago. A little princess passenger nap while Jan drove. And we finally arrived to our first destination, Unitedville. We stayed in a little paradisiac refuge in the middle of the jungle, owned by the nicest lady, Marcela. And her 5 dogs. And a bunch of frogs, singing lizards, and other gangs.

As we sat in our cabana porch having the first cold beer of the trip, we experienced something we had never experienced before: we heard a massive raincloud heavily approaching from just a few meters away. It took less than 30 seconds from when we started listening to what we thought was a creek flooding, to having this could pouring buckets of rain on top of us. We literally saw this column of water approaching all the way from the fence, crossing the garden until reaching our porch. Like the cloud was just taking a stroll in the garden. Tropical rain hits different.

This place was so well thought through. The cute wooden cabanas perfectly framed by the beautiful, lush, yet very well kept, domestic jungle. The following morning, Marcela and Eva cooked us a delicious breakfast with eggs, avocado and tortillas. At that moment, we were their only guests and were treated like family members visiting for the Holidays. We chatted and chatted, learning more about Marcela’s journey until deciding to move to Belize and opening that lodge. We could have spent the whole day just talking to her.

Belize is such a peculiar country. Amazing nature – mostly nature, tiny villages, very laid-back people of all backgrounds. Very Catholic too – Christmas decorations were taken seriously there. We even visited a small Christmas market where people were wearing flip-flops and eating rum ice-cream, to the sound of the Caribbean version of all the Christmas hits.

Different communities coexist peacefully. One of the most interesting things we learned about Belize is that there is a very significant Mennonite community living right there in San Ignacio. While most Belizeans are of Indigenous, Maya or Creole descent, if you drive by the Spanish Lookout you will see a lot of Dutch-looking families dressed in 18th century clothing, riding their horse-pulled carriages and working on their dairy farms. We took this little 10km trip back in time, and returned to the XXI century in time for dinner.

The most fun we had in the area was in the Nohoch Che’en Archaeological Reserve. It was an absolute blast! Our guide (born and raised San Ignacian) took us half an hour through the forest (inhabited by Jaguars), made us cross a waist-high river, all the way to the massive entrance of a cave where we were going tubing. For about another hour, we tubed down the river, through a cavern and then the forest, appreciating all the beauty of the jungle. While floating around the cave, we arrived to this massive chamber – a cathedral sculpted in stone by the water and thousands of years, with a 10 meter wide indoor waterfall feeding its central pool. Nature is so monumental. Simply breathtaking.

Our guide told us all about the local nature, his life, and even how he used leafcutter ants to stich his wounds (!!). If he’d get hurt in the forest with no access to medical supplies, he would pick up an ant and place it in the wound. The ant’s reflex is to bite the flesh with its tongs, stitching it together. He would then rip the body of the ant off and leave the head stitching the wound, and repeat the process with other ants until fully closed. The antibacterial saliva of the ants would also prevent the wound to infect. If you ever get lost in a tropical forest – now you know.

Amazing creatures, these ants. The more I learn about ants, particularly, the leafcutter ants, the more impressed I am. Ant societies are probably the closest related to ours in the animal kingdom. They build their own highways (we saw them), bridges, underground cities and tunnels. They commute to work every day, to get the freshest and crunchiest leaves they can, and use them to farm specific fungi which will support the production of their own food. Yes! These ants are farmers. They have a hierarchical structure, soldiers, and Queens. I even saw one hitching a ride on another ant – maybe even a taxi system?

After an amazing start into our trip and a good dose of adventure, we had to decide if we’d try to make it to Guatemala or stay in Belize. We had heard of the incredible lost Mayan capital of Tikal, just a couple of hours across the border. But we also heard that there was a lot of criminal activity at this border. Also, we only had a weekend to go there and all the way back to the Belizean coast. So, will we make it?

Stay tunned for the next chapter.

Carolina Sequeira, January 9th 2025