Caves, Caves, and Did I Mention Caves?

Right off the bat (no pun intended), I'd just like to point out that I'm claustrophobic so cave adventures normally hold little to no appeal for me. As much as I'm a "face your fears" kind of person, freaking out in the middle of a dark close-in cave tunnel isn't something I want to do. With that said, all the caves that I went to in Belize were HUGE, and therefore there was no claustrophobia issue. The enormous caves were more like big, shady caverns, and I enjoyed them more than I thought I would.

First off, cave tubing! If you have ever tubed on a river, you know that you basically float down on an inner tube and it is enormous fun. Cave tubing is like that, except there are big caverns to float through, so it is also shady! Basically, the fun factor triples. Our guide was also super cool, and had us hike a ways through the jungle so we would have maximum floating time. We also got to explore caverns that most tours don't take you to because they require getting out of the water and hiking a bit. By the way, this part of our trip solidified my little dry bag's status as the most useful and versatile item to have brought to Belize. Absolutely essential.

Me, preparing to tube!



My friend, Anna, from the dig (left) and my cousin and travel companion, Liz (right).



My adorable dig friend, Cassie.

And there's me again, eddying out.

It was surprisingly fun, and my cousin, Liz, and I talked about how we thought it would be super touristy and lame but it was a great way to spend the day. We went with a group of people from my dig and had a blast. I didn't even mind that they served beans and rice for lunch, the same meal that I had been eating for two weeks in the field!

Next, Liz and I traveled to Caracol, ruins which were amazing, accessed by a road which was absolutely terrible. Before we went to the ruins, we stopped by the Rio Frio Cave, an enormous cavern that reminded me of the Tonto Natural Bridge in Arizona (if you haven't been there, it's awesome).

Thanks random person, for giving my photo scale!

Beautiful, no? What these photos don't show you is our military escort. Caracol is close to the border with Guatemala, and they are afraid American tourists will be kidnapped so every tour group has to be escorted. The crazy thing is that no one has been kidnapped for 25 years, so the military patrols at Caracol have basically the most boring job ever, especially now that it is safe for Americans to travel to Guatemala (which I did).