I was not sure if it was all the fun we had, the rain on the way home, or the gringos gone wild wearing me out Sunday but after our trip to Altun Ha I needed some quality couch potato time.
Coming back to my pc to upload a couple of pics to this post, I now know it was sorting through the 535 pictures I took of our trip to Altun Ha today that warranted a break.I can’t even begin to write out details of our trip. We learned so much today, Our guides Ricky and Leon were lots of fun and super smart. I do not know how they hold so much information in their heads, I ended up with 8 pages if notes. That’s all till tomorrow – see you for breakfast with my iced coffee.
Morning all. I am now down to 461 pictures and ready to post the Maruba part of our trip. Net is very slow this morning, Becky and Dcg just showed up so I am going to take a break.
Been emailing back and forth with Travelqueen – we lost power and I accidentally closed blog window and lost Altun Ha pics (Note to self; make sure to hit save after each batch of pictures). Cindy just stopped by followed by Bill and Maya – everyone left to go eat and I am back to work.
Bill and Maya came back we are going for a ride to see if we can find those wayward girls ha ha. There are lots more great pictures to come but it may take a short while as I am going fishing with Bill Maya and Colette at 7:00 am tomorrow. I think I need a blog double.
We started our journey at Ruby’s dock at 8:40 am. It was a perfect boating day for Altun Ha.
As we headed to the mangroves, we had blue skies and turquoise waters. Once we got closer to the mangroves the water became brackish which is a mix of salt and fresh water turning it a rusty brown color.
Our guides let us know we could slow down at any point to get a picture, however no one had to ask as they did a great job to slow down and point everything along with giving us lots of information about what we were seeing.
Here are some of the things we saw on our boat ride through the mangroves to Bomba…
Snow Egret – Vulture – Great Blue Heron – Crock – Osprey – Black Crown Heron – Yellow Crown – Snake Cactus – Bats – Pink Vermilion – Elephant Grass – Kingfisher – Mangrove Swallows
It was not long before we arrived at Bomba – a small village where you are able to purchase local crafts and have them set aside for you to get on the trip home. There is also a short bathroom break before the drive to Altun Ha.
Getting on the boat in San Pedro
Seaduced Crew
Pick up at Victoria House
Becky on boat
Fun ride
Wind swept
Birds in flight
Brackish water
Birds
Lazy drive through mangroves
Mangroves
Lot’s of wild life to see
More brackish water
Twists and turns occasionally spice up our ride
Snake cactus
Bats in tree – look closely
Baby Crocodile – look left
Kingfisher bird leading the way
Stunning beauty
Elephant grass aka Fragmitis
Bomba
Boat at Bomba
Shops
Dog
Don’t forget to have change
Outdoor sink
Lots of wood carvings
Seaduced boat
Heading to Altun Ha
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We got to Altun Ha and discovered that we had the site all to ourselves. How lucky is that? After we paid our $5 usd entrance fee, Ricky led the group to a covered, open air building to tell us a bit about Mundo Maya history and Altun Ha. Following that he walked us through the park and taught us about what we were seeing.
-Altun Ha is one of the most famous Maya sites
-Largest Jade head was found there
-Major ceremonial center
-Vital trading center
-40 miles from Belize City – 10 miles from Maruba – day trip from San Pedro
Heading to Altun Ha – Leon telling us about this part of Belize
Across from the park
$5usd entrance fee
Places to shop
Heading to information booth
Learning about Mayan culture
Heading into Altun Ha
Nice group of people to enjoy the park with
Walking through the park area
Learning about Altun Ha
Temple of Masonry Altars
Lots to learn
Ricky explaining about the architecture at Altun Ha
Lower part of Ruins
Face in rock
Palm tree
Interesting tree
Big tree
Learning some jungle medicine
Walking around Altun Ha
Our guides were very knowledgeable
Temple of Masonry Altars
Lots to see
Temple of Masonry Altars
Climbing Temple of Masonry Altars
Temple of Masonry Altars
Altun Ha – take the trip
Almost there – it is worth the climb
What a view
On top of Temple of the Masonry Altars
Plaza A as seen from the top of Temple of the Masonry Altars
Temple of the Masonry Altars
Lots of stairs
Lucky day we had park to ourselves
Temple A5
Plaza A
Great cardio work out
Temple A3
Temple of the green tomb
Temple A 5
Plaza of Masonry Altars left – Temple of the green tomb right
Temple of green tomb
Plaza A
Tree top straight ahead
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Next part of our journey brings us to Maruba.
Maruba resort is filled with lush plants and cool things to look at. Ricky and Leon brought us there for lunch. We all chose to eat upstairs – what a view. For starters many of us ordered iced coffee which turned out to be a decadent treat as the waitress brought up a tray full of delicious looking drinks with a hibiscus flower in each one. Lunch menu was reasonably priced there was lots to choose from and everyone enjoyed their meal.
After lunch most of the group headed off for facials, massages or horseback riding. Becky and I quickly found lounge chairs by the pool and relaxed listening to the water fall. We camped out there and did some minor exploring. I was headed to the washroom and had to come back and get Becky and my camera as the toilet seat was just too funny, we both took pictures. By the time we had to go back to the bus we were both feeling very relaxed.
Maruba Resort
Jungle Pathways
Heading for lunch
Lush grounds
Downstairs eating area
Enjoying lunch upstairs
Becky and I
Iced Coffee with hibiscus flower garnish
Lunch is served
Spiral staircase
Eating area
Interesting statues through out the gardens
Covered lounge area by the pool
Jungle pool with water fall
Lounge Chairs
Lush plants around the pool
Funny toilet seat
Even funnier
Lounge area
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Heading back to Bomba now rise is about 20 min or so. Everyone is trading stories about the treatments they got. So many interesting things to see along the way, houses cars people funny signs. Good thing I was not able to take pictures along the way or we never would have made it back ha ha.
Leon and Becky
Kids playing on dock
Time to go home
Leaving Bomba to head back to San Pedro
We had some lumpy water and wet weather along the way home. Becky and I were both glad we had hoodie’s with us. When we got back to San Pedro we decided to ask if they could drop Becky off at Xanadu dock instead of town and they did not mind.
Tips for the boat ride…
A bandanna or good hair tie very handy if you have long hair
If you are not taking pictures small binoculars would be fun
Never drink rum punch in the wind.
Bring a (rain) jacket for the way home it gets cold at night and in our case got a bit wet.
Sometimes the water is lumpy outside the reef – a towel for extra cushion can be useful – if you encounter a bit of a rough ride on the boat it is always a good idea to have a stretch when you get home
