The Hokey Pokey water taxi connects Placencia village with the small town of Independence on Belize’s mainland. The service mainly ferries the local population from their homes on the mainland to jobs on the Placencia peninsula. One day last month Heather and I took the trip across the lagoon because it was time for us to renew our visitors permit so we could remain in the country beyond the 30-day allowance granted to tourists upon their arrival. From all accounts, this is a pretty easy process: after the twenty minute boat ride one steps into a waiting taxi, gets driven to the district immigration office on the outskirts of town where you present your passport and the required fee ($100 for each 30-day extension!), get a fresh visitor’s permit, then return to Placencia, where you hope to be seated at one of the beachfront bars by the start of happy hour. In our case, the plan doesn’t quite work like that. We have no problem getting a seat on the water taxi and the ride across the lagoon and up Mango Creek is pleasant. As we disembark, a knot of taxi drivers are waiting and call out to us “Going to immigration?”. ‘This is going to be easier than I thought’ I say to myself. Our driver quotes a round-trip price for the drive to the office and assures us he’ll wait while we complete the formalities and have us back to the dock in time for the water taxi’s return to Placencia. In minutes we roll up to the nondescript building housing the immigration office, which lacks any signage that identifies it as such. It does, however, have a large cement banana in front. When we step to the window, the officer asks if we have proof of our hotel reservations for the following month, which surprises us, but we answer that we do. Then she asks for a copy of a bank statement. Umm. Huh? Momentarily stunned by this request, we regroup and say that, yes, we do also have this information available, “If we can just connect to wifi, we’ll show you all that on the phone” Heather explains. “I need written copies” she says. Now we’re really reeling. I’m seeing an entire day wasted as we have to return to Placencia and find a way to print out the information she’s requested, only to spend another day returning here to submit it, and can only picture us at the beach bar happy hour having accomplished nothing. The officer then adds, “There’s a copy shop in town. We’re open until 3:30”. We dash back to the waiting taxi and our driver, shaking his head over this bureaucratic runaround, drives us back into Independence and stops at the internet cafe/print shop/party-supply store, where a young gal talks us through how to get all our required documents to her through WhatsApp, then prints out the eight pages we need. Once again we load into the taxi, make our way to the building with the big banana out front and present our documentation to the waiting officer. She looks through the pages then hands them back while directing us to have a seat on the bench outside her window. While clutching our stack of printed pages in her hand, Heather starts to say “Why couldn’t you just have looked at this on the phone . . .” but before she can finish the window has slammed shut and we’ve got no alternative but to have a seat on the bench where we stare at the cement banana until the window opens and a hand appears holding our passports. Finally, we make the drive back to town and the dock where we board the Hokey Pokey for the return trip. The rum drinks at happy hour are enjoyed with a well-deserved sense of accomplishment!

To break up our extended stay in Placencia, we decide to take a road trip in order to see a bit of Belize’s wild side. We get a rental car and head inland to the Cayo district in western Belize. We’ve been told the area is full of natural wonders – Mayan ruins, remote waterfalls and rivers, caves, jungle lodges and towns with lively markets offering all sorts of produce and amazing local food. After picking up the car, it’s not long before we’re off the Placencia peninsula and heading into the lush green mountains of the interior. The central valleys are home to Belize’s citrus industry, and we pass by miles of orange groves, driving through bucolic towns with names like Hummingbird Gap, Toucan Ridge and Teakettle. When we reach Unitedville we leave the highway and bounce down a short stretch of dirt road to find the Green Valley Inn, and it’s proprietor, Marcela. She, and her three dogs, welcome us to her homestead, which includes seven cabins nestled amongst palms and fruit trees. Once we’re settled in, Marcela helps us plan out our next three days with suggestions for can’t-miss sights. After some hammock time and a couple Belikins, we’re summoned to the open-air dining area where she serves dinner featuring fresh snapper. Mango ice cream puts the finishing touch on the evening and we’re ready to retire, excited for our adventures to come.

After Marcela’s breakfast, we’re off to the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. This reserve was established in the 40’s to protect the native pine forest, which sits atop a granite massif, with areas of limestone where numerous rivers have carved out cave systems over the years. We turn off the main highway and follow a freshly paved road for fourteen miles, climbing steadily through dry forest before we reach the pines. The pavement ends abruptly, and we continue on a pot-holed dirt road for another two miles to reach our first stop – Big Rock Waterfall. The small parking area has only one other car – certainly a benefit of our visit coming on a weekday. We start out on a pleasant trail which then descends down several steep sets of rickety stairs to reach the rocky riverbank. The falls are impressive and an inviting pool at its base has us slipping into the cool water as soon as we drop our pack. After a refreshing swim, we dry off in the sun while lounging on the rocks, then gather our gear and head back to the car just as several more groups arrive to enjoy the falls. We return to the road and continue several more miles south to reach stop #2 – the Rio On Pools. Here, the River On tumbles over huge granite boulders, forming cascades and pools that invite exploration. Though more remote than Big Rock Waterfall, this place is swarming with families and couples, lazing in the pools and relaxing on the riverbank. We follow a faint path downstream and are able to find a stretch of river to ourselves, where once again we swim and slide through chutes between boulders before walking back up on the rocks. It’s a delightful way to spend an afternoon. Once we’ve dried off again, we decide it’s time to grab an early dinner. We have our sights set on the Blancaneaux Lodge, which we had passed on our way into the Reserve. The lodge, one of several in Belize owned by the Coppola family (yes, the one of Godfather and Apocalypse Now fame), sits above Privassion Creek, surrounded by jungle, with thatch-roofed bungalows, a pool and three restaurants. With excellent food, beautiful views, a cool bar (featuring old photos of geological expeditions throughout Central America) and wines by the glass from the Coppola family vineyard, this stop was a perfect cap to our first day in Cayo.

After an early breakfast we’re on the road for the start of day 2. Our destination for the morning is the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich, tucked into the jungle just shy of the Guatemalan border. To access the archeological site, you first have to cross a river by a hand-cranked ferry. The crossing takes about a minute, then we’re on our way again to cover the last mile to the parking lot at the ruins. Getting an early start means we arrive before the tour vans and buses show up, so we can stroll the grounds and climb the various structures crowd-free. By the time we leave at 10:30, the parking lot is filling up and the temperature is also climbing towards triple digits. We welcome the refreshing AC in the rental car on the drive to San Ignacio, where we’ll visit the daily market. But along the way we detour for a visit to Black Rock Lodge, set deep into the forest overlooking the Macal River, bounded by steep canyon walls on both sides of the valley. We grab a couple seats in the open-air restaurant, order some drinks and spend an hour watching the river and the profusion of birds that visit the feeding platform that sits just below us. We decide against staying for lunch as we have our hearts set on dining at the San Ignacio market, so we return to the car and head into town. The market is a collection of stalls offering local produce and meats from nearby farms, clothing and souvenirs. But we’re here for the food so we head right into the middle of the market where two rows of stalls are offering a variety of local dishes. We find a couple stools at one of the stalls and order a plate of grilled chicken (accompanied by coconut rice and beans, mixed salad and salsa), two pupusas (cornmeal cakes stuffed with ground pork, beans and cheese then grilled, served with a side of cabbage salad) and fresh watermelon juice. The food comes quickly and we dig in, pausing only long enough to grab several pineapple-filled empanadas from a passing vendor to have for dessert afterwards. Completely stuffed by our $6 lunch, we wander the rest of the market and eventually pick up some fresh fruits to take back to our bungalow. Our final stop on the way home is the Green Hills Butterfly Ranch. We wander through an enclosure holding hundreds of butterflies as well as sit and observe dozens of hummingbirds buzzing around several feeders. Heather reluctantly agrees to pull herself (and her camera) away from her fluttering friends so we can make it back to our lodge before dark.

Our last day in Cayo begins with a long drive to the Nohoch Che’en Archeological Reserve, where we’ve reserved a tour with Fernando, who will take us tubing on the Caves Branch River through the Jaguar’s Paw Cave. We pay our entrance fee at the gate to the reserve, then meet Fernando, who’s waiting for us in the parking area. He outfits us with helmets, headlamps and a tube, before we make the half-hour trek through the forest to the cave opening. We pass piles of tubes stacked by the riverside, awaiting the busloads of cruise ship tourists who will be arriving behind us. We plop down into our tubes and are soon entering the cave. We float in complete darkness except for the beams of light from our headlamps until we emerge back into the sunlight. Another half hour is spent drifting down the river under the arching branches of the trees overhanging the water, the crystal clear water turning to opalescent blue where it has formed deep pools. Far too soon we have reached the take-out point and carry our tubes back to the parking area and say goodbye to Fernando. When we drive off we debate where to have a late lunch: back to the market in San Ignacio for cheap eats with the locals, or perhaps returning to Blancaneaux Lodge for their famous wood-fired pizzas and jungle views. We eventually decide to try somewhere new – a restaurant in San Ignacio recommended by a friend from Placencia. We’re pleased as punch (or in this case 2-for-1 sangrias) by our decision to try Guava Limb. It’s not much to look at from the outside, but inside it’s airy, open and the menu has so many tantalizing choices it’s hard to decide. It’s easy, though, to choose a couple desserts from their display case to take back to Marcela’s place to enjoy later by the pool.

Our four days in Cayo are over too soon (like our tubing tour) and we regretfully depart for the return trip to Placencia. Looking at the map of the route back we notice there’s one stop we could make to break up the trip – St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park. The park contains some walking trails, a cave system and a feature that sounds perfect for a break from the 90-degree heat of the day – a jungle pool from which the park gets its name. This spring-fed sinkhole proves to be a refreshing stop and we arrive in time to have it all to ourselves. After a swim, we head back to our car just as a tour bus pulls into the parking area. Perfect timing! We’re back on the road and reach Placencia by mid-afternoon, refreshed by our four-day adventure and ready for three more weeks of beach-time.