Punta Gorda trip

On July 8, Carl & Donna Hanson (A2), Cullen & Kath Walker (B1) and Gloria Ramurez (E5) along with friends Gary and Gail Ubaldi, Rudolfo and Diana joined Tour Guide Mark Cal for a three day trip to Punta Gorda. Mark did a wonderful job of showing us his part of the country. We made a short stop in Belmopan to see the Capital and cruised for miles down the Hummingbird Highway past banana and rice fields.

We stopped and visited the Mayan ruins at Nim Li Punit (Big Hat). It is known for the large number of carved stellas. These stone monuments act as calendars and a written history of the Mayas.

We stayed at Machaca Hill Lodge (formerly El Pescador South). It is a very nice resort in a lush setting on top of a hill. They grow a lot of their own vegetables and fruit. The staff was very friendly and went out of their way to make us feel at home.

The next day we visited the market and had breakfast in Punta Gorda. Then we headed for the mountains and Blue Creek to visit the cave. Unfortunately, the river was flooded from the recent rain and we couldn’t get across.

Mark took us for a short hike to see the river, banana and cacao trees.

We visited Juan Cho and his family and got a tour of his chocolate making. He showed us how they cleaned the cacao pods and roasted the beans. We all had a chance to grind the beans and flavorings into paste on a traditional Mayan grinding rock. Everyone bought chocolate bars for the trip home.

Everywhere we went, we ran into Mark’s relatives and family. A quick hello and a wave and we were off again.
We returned to Belize City on Thursday. Along the way we stopped at Maya Center and the Belize Zoo. Everyone had a wonderful time. Hopefully we will plan another adventure sometime soon.