PicsFromTrips

A day trip to the Mayan Ruins at Caracol The Mayan ruins at Caracol made for an interesting trip. We got a pretty early start to the morning, knowing that it was a long drive in to the grounds on pretty bad roads. What we didn't know is just how long and how bad! We drove along a dirt road for just under 2 hours just to get to a check-in, where we were told that we had to wait for the 'caravan.' This was an unexpected turn of events. Apparently, there was a history of bandit raids on people driving in to the ruins, so the local lodges pooled some money in order to fund some Belizean soldiers to escort people in to the ruins. This cut down on the Bandits but extended the drive time, both in having to wait for the caravan, and then driving slower once the caravan got underway. Once we arrived at the ruins we took our time exploring the grounds, climbing up the different structures, and exploring around. We had opted to go in on our own rather than with a tour group in order to cut down on costs - the cost of the rental car was much cheaper and offered greater flexibility than having each day be guided.. This left us without the personal attention of a guide but there were some soldiers on site who proved to be quite knowledgeable and the Lonely Planet also afforded us some history and understanding. At the end of the day we decided not to fully wait for the caravan and took off about 10 to 15 minutes prior to their departure, in order to avoid the dusty ride home. Considering I was feeling rather ill, we really had an enjoyable time.