Hello everybody and further greetings from Belize!

We had a bit of a dilemma on how best to leave Ambergris Caye and San Pedro; both air and sea routes lead to Belize City on the mainland which has a bit of a bad reputation for violent crime in some areas so we wanted to minimise our time there. As luck, and some money, would have it there was a tour to the mainland that would get us into Belize City docks by boat, onwards by van to another Mayan site (which we could have done without if the truth be known) and on to a jungle zip wire (a bit like Go Ape but in the sun) and cave tubing (sitting in an inflated ring while floating underground through caves). The tour would return to San Pedro but we could get out of the van wherever we liked on the mainland on the way back and avoid paying the return boat fare. We thought about it for a while and went back to negotiate the best price we could. Unfortunately we must have misunderstood the departure time as we were woken up before 6am by someone knocking at the door; he'd been sent to pick us up and take us to the jetty but we hadn't even packed and we only had 10 minutes before the boat left. We missed the boat departure, got the next one a half hour later and so we didn't delay the others for too long.

Our first stop was Altun Ha, an historic Mayan site (the Mayan empire covered southern parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) and we actually learned something because we had a guide with us this time! Then we were off to the snazzily titled Nohoch Che'en Caves Branch for zip wiring and cave tubing which were both good fun. On the way we passed a series of horse riding farms; we were told there used to be five horses but now there were only three as jaguars had been killing horses in the region.

We were dropped off at Belize Zoo, actually more of a rescue centre for injured, orphaned or rescued animals. That evening we went on a 'night safari' which entailed accompanying one of the zookeepers as he fed the animals including jaguars, a puma and a very hungry tapir. One of the jaguars was born at the zoo but rejected by his mother who had just been taken in after killing cattle; another, a black one called Lucky Boy was rescued after having his teeth removed and half starved to death as a pet that had become too big to manage. We were allowed to touch their huge paws and claws which were up against the fence while they were eating. Later that night we slept in a wood cabin, raised up from the jungle floor to keep animals and reptiles out. However, over in the shower block that was at ground level, we came across a black scorpion that was scuttling out of the showers. We chatted the next morning with Jim and Linda, a lovely American couple from Seattle, both in their 70s who, with minimum sailing experience, bought a yacht and sailed it down the west coast of the US, through the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic and spent two years exploring Europe a few years ago.

Later we caught a local bus up to the hills in the west of Belize, only a few miles from the border with Guatemala. We stayed in San Ignacio, a dusty but friendly town that was well positioned for sights and activities in the surrounding jungle. Unfortunately we lost a day here as I (Tony) had eaten what proved to be a dodgy chicken sandwich bought on the bus journey from a vendor who hopped on the bus at a stop. I (Linda) did warn him what the outcome may be! Trying to get some rest the next morning I heard a high-pitched woman's voice nearby repeating over and over again what sounded like "pick up" and "mam" This kept going for the best part of half an hour and I was getting really annoyed and thinking about shouting at her to stop. Anyway, she did stop but then started again about an hour later; I gave up, assuming that the woman must be a little mad but later, when Linda got back, she told me that the 'woman' was in fact Mary the guest house parrot who lived under our room!

Recovery and reconciliation with the parrot completed, we visited an iguana education project which helps to increase the population in two ways; firstly, by running a controlled breeding programme and only releasing the young when they are old enough to fend for themselves and, secondly, by trying to persuade the locals not to eat the iguanas that are considered a delicacy in these parts.

We also went river tubing from San Ignacio where we rented two rubber rings for an exorbitant $20 each (the owner must have thought we were from a cruise ship as he wanted $50 each at first!) and floated downstream for 4 hours, picking up speed over small rapids and having to paddle on slower moving sections. This was a very relaxing way of spending the best part of a day and a great way of seeing the birds and other wildlife as we didn't disturb them. Turkey vultures circled overhead as we went through the slow sections which was a bit worrying!

Our final outing from San Ignacio was another local bus ride to our final Mayan site called Xunantunich. We enjoyed this one as it involved crossing a river by a manually operated ferry, a steep walk uphill through jungle and also beating the cruise ship tour buses to see the excavations.

A lot of cruise ships stop in Belize and this seems to have pushed the price up as everything seems more expensive than Cuba and Mexico. As it is a relatively small country many places of interest are only a few hours drive from Belize City and group tours are the most common way of seeing these places. However, the costs are very high; for example, to travel to and then walk through a cave, albeit a 3 hour walk, costs US$90 per person and it's a similar price for river tubing. When you're travelling for longer than a couple of weeks you are very cost conscious and this is too expensive. A lot of activities in Belize require you have to hire a guide and we always prefer to do things under our own steam which seems to be more difficult here. We can take the local bus without any problem but it will then drop us somewhere where we will probably pay over the odds to hire our own guide or it would be so out in the middle of nowhere that it's difficult to finish the journey. Anyway, thanks for listening - it's been good to let off a bit of steam!

It's always been fascinating to see the gradual change in people's appearance as we move from one country to the next; Mexican influences are still noticeable in Belize but are reducing as West Indian character and features are increasing through people, dialect, and food. There are also a lot of modern-day Mayans, distinguishable because they're a lot smaller than everyone else. Quite a few Americans, who must have missed their cruise ship departures, seem to have settled in Belize and have opened businesses and, probably the smallest minority that we've seen are the Mennonites, who look a little like the American Amish people (or characters from Deliverance, depending on which films you've seen!). They started off in Holland apparently, moving to Russia and then across to Canada because of religious persecution and then travelling all the way down to Mexico when Canada introduced National Service. Many continue to refuse to use any technologies or modern machinery. All in all, it's quite a mixed country but everyone seems to get along just fine.

We're heading back to the coast next and to a new island so more from there.

Love from Tony and Linda xx