As I was approaching the end of my travels in Belize, I decided to slow down and spend 4 nights in San Ignacio. Initially, I wanted to try and fit in a trip to the Tikal Mayan ruins in Guatemala, but the land border crossings in Belize were a bit of a pain. They require you to be out of the country for three days, then do a COVID test and have proof of accommodation at an approved hotel for three nights upon reentry. I decided to scrap the idea and see some of the local ruins nearby at Cahal Pech and Xunantunich instead.
My friend SP joined me for both trips and another new hostel buddy, Ashley (he/him), joined us for the latter site. At first, I was a little confused about Ashley’s body language at the hostel since he was seemingly antisocial. Like SP, he was a little bit older. I’d estimate him to be in his late 40s or early 50s, since I later found out he has an adult daughter. So, I tried to avoid my initial judgments about him and learn from my mistake with SP. I extended an invite for Ashley to join us at Xunantunich and, after some hand gestures and phone typing, I was surprised to find out he is def! His body language wasn’t antisocial, he just couldn’t hear us. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to travel as a def person, especially now when you don’t even have the luxury of reading lips. SP, Ashley, and I had a lovely day exploring the local archeological sites and it is always stunning to see the pyramids integrated into the forest.
On a different day, I joined a couple of new hostel friends on a tour of the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave, or ATM Cave as it’s commonly called. I didn’t know what to expect, other than some kind of cave exploration. We were picked up in the morning and drove about 20 minutes through town, then another 20 minutes into a more remote area where we parked next to all the other tour groups putting on their life jackets and helmets. We geared up in a similar fashion, then made our way to the entrance of the cave, which included a 15-minute walk and three river crossings where we needed to hold onto a rope to avoid getting swept away by the gentle current.
Entering the cave felt like something out of an Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider movie. The cave is another type of cenote formation that eventually eroded into an underground river. We turned on our headlamps and entered the cave by submerging ourselves in the water and swimming in. The depth of the water varied throughout the route, from ankle deep to being too deep to touch your toes. We followed the guide through the cave and my breath was taken away by the natural beauty of all the cave formations. There were the common stalactites, stalagmites, and columns, but also walls of mineral deposits that gave the appearance of hanging curtains. In some areas, crystals had formed and sparkled in the reflection of our headlamps.
As we continued, the guide began to tell us of the spiritual significance of the cave and that it was common for the Mayans to perform sacrifices here in hopes of appeasing the water gods and be blessed by them with rainfall. We climbed up farther into the cave and got to an area where we had to take our shoes off. We were led into the archeological area of the cave where they had uncovered the pots and bowls used for the ceremonies as well as the skeletal remains of some sacrifices. It was both incredibly creepy and interesting to see the skulls and bones and where they had been struck with a deadly impact. Unfortunately, a few years ago, one of the tourists dropped their camera on one of the skulls and you are no longer allowed to bring anything into the cave. So, the only pictures I have to share were taken previously by our guide and I would recommend Googling photos of this incredible place.
My last day in San Ignacio was spent relaxing and hanging out in the hostel. I was happy to find out I would have the whole, 4-bed dorm to myself for the last night. My roommates, the ones I had visited the ATM Cave with, were headed back to the US and Canada and checked out early to have their COVID test taken for travel. A couple of hours later I received a message saying one of them had tested positive for COVID but had been completely asymptomatic. Unable to return home, they booked accommodations and planned to stay in Belize until she could get a negative test result. Suddenly, I started to panic that I may also get COVID, having shared a small room with her for the past few nights. If I did test positive, that would mean I may miss my entire trip home and have to spend my birthday isolated in a hotel room for a week or more and then return directly to Mexico.
Davina, the hostel owner, sanitized my room and even took me and a couple of other guests to get tested. Since the free testing was already full and it was the weekend, the only option to get tested was to pay $75. Since I already scheduled my travel COVID test in two days, it didn’t make sense for me to shell out the money to be tested twice within such a short period of time.
Did I end up getting COVID? You’ll have to check back next week to find out!
