Im Mayflower Bocawina National Park :) (Day 184 of the world tour)

06/03/2020

Today, we visited the second national park easily accessible from Hopkins. We woke up at 5:30 am and were at the bus stop at 6:50 am, without any difficulty.

This time, we weren't nervous when we saw buses passing by without picking us up because we now knew that they were the "real" school buses.

There were a few other tourists on the bus, heading to the Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve. We all got off at the intersection and we were the only non-locals left on the bus. A few minutes later, we were dropped off at the intersection that leads to Bocawina.

It was another few kilometers from the road to the entrance, but this time it was "only" 6 km :p :D

As we already knew, it's typical in Belize to have great bus connections between cities but no direct bus connections to tourist attractions. Either you pay over 100 € for a tour or you do it on your own, like us (and many others).

Since there were no hitchhiking opportunities, we had to walk the 6 km. But at least, there was often shade and the view was amazing with orange/mandarin orchards on both sides and hills/mountains in the distance. <33

Since I didn't feel very well in the morning, Jonas tried to cheer me up with Disney songs and played our favorite songs from "Moana" and "Frozen" :D :D

It made the walk almost effortless ;-)

After walking for about half of the distance, a car that wasn't a tour van stopped for us - two Dutch people!

They told us that there has been a speed limit of 100 km/h on highways in the Netherlands since the beginning of March to reduce CO² emissions. They complained about how annoying driving becomes when you can only go at a slow speed^^ They also praised Germany in this regard, where you can drive as fast as you want :D

When we reached the park entrance, the two of them tried to see if they could enter without paying again. They had already been here two days ago and were back now because they had booked a tour with rappelling at the waterfall for €45 per person!

The ticket seller insisted that they still had to pay. But he suggested that they should talk to their tour provider. Maybe they would get a refund for the difference in park admission :)

We thanked them again for giving us a ride and then looked at the map to decide which trail we wanted to hike first.

Except for two trails, all of them led to a different waterfall, which is our favorite thing ;-) However, to reach the waterfalls in the Bocawina area, you still have to walk along the road for quite a long time. So we decided to start with the Antelope Trail, which also has a viewpoint and is said to be the most popular trail :)

On the 100 meters to the start of this trail, we passed by a campground where a converted van was parked. The stickers on it indicated that two Swiss people were exploring the Pan-American Highway <3

Anyway, whenever we see trailers or large converted vehicles here, it's almost always Europeans who are also traveling around the world like us, which is pretty cool! If we knew about cars and had planned our budget accordingly, it would have been cool to travel around the world with a vehicle too, but we were a bit unprepared for that and prefer to leave it to others. So far, backpacking has been working out well for us ;-)

Oh well.

Then the trail started, and the first stop was a seemingly inconspicuous green hill, signposted as a Mayan temple. The ranger at the entrance had already told us about it and that it was the largest one on the site (there are several here). However, it hasn't been fully excavated ;-)

So we trudged up the hill, enjoying every stone that hinted at the original structure <3

It also made me think about how long it must have taken to excavate the famous ruins in other places, including Palenque. What an effort! :O

After the ruins, we entered the "real" forest. The path was slightly uphill but not so steep that it was too exhausting. We mostly saw palm trees on both sides, perhaps because the deciduous trees were taller.

Anyway, the trail was really beautiful again, and we were always fascinated by the leafcutter ants. Every time we see longer or wider paths, bigger houses, or anything "new," we stop to admire it^^

Eventually, the incline became steeper, and just before the waterfall, I suddenly saw a red-bellied bird in the tree above us that looked really exotic! I hope my non-biologist estimation wasn't wrong, but it might have even been a parrot.

Whatever it was, it looked amazing! ;-) :D

After spotting the bird, we finally saw the waterfall. It cascaded down many small black rock outcroppings and was already pretty impressive from below.

But what topped it all was a fairly steep path next to the waterfall, which consisted of wooden steps at first and then continued with roots and stones! :O

There were ropes along the path for safety, which I used quite frequently to help myself up the "over-knee-high" steps :D

About halfway up this path (did I mention that it was steep? :p :D), we passed an American family with a guide who were taking a short break. So we were the first ones to reach the viewpoint <3

Well, Cockscomb had been amazing, but I guess today's view was even more impressive! We were standing on the edge where the waterfall dropped down, so we could take breathtaking pictures. Let's see how the photos turned out, but for me, it looked like Jonas could fall down at any moment :O

On the scenic side, we saw the jungle again (this time unfortunately with a bit of civilization), and beyond that, we could see the Caribbean Sea. The view of the sea was something very special, and yeah.

It was the perfect spot to admire, enjoy, and snap photos ;-)

Afterward, we walked a bit further up, where there's a pool for swimming. The American family had also arrived by then (they had skipped the viewpoint) and the six of us went into the refreshing water <3

There are ropes installed at one spot so you can climb further up beside the waterfall, and of course, that was Jonas' first move^^

As usual, I was a bit more cautious and preferred to watch from below, but I also had a great time :p :D

The mother of the family told us that she knows Dortmund because of football (after asking where we live in Germany) because her daughter also plays soccer. And they had been to Munich some time ago, and their conclusion was: "Germany is beautiful country."

Jonas shrugged. "Some parts maybe are." :D :D

When the next (guided) groups of hikers arrived at the pool, Jonas and I continued or rather started our way back.

While descending, we both felt our knees... Getting older :D :D

Back at the park entrance, we looked at the map again to decide which trail we wanted to hike next since it was only 11:00 am.

This time, I was fully into it because there weren't as many sunny sections, so it was more bearable :p :D

We decided to do the 30-minute loop trail meant for birdwatching, where you can supposedly also see Maya ruins.

We did see a few birds, but they weren't as colorful as the "parrot" from the other trail, and they were too shy to photograph^^

Instead, there were ants, termites, and lots of big, fat, or interesting-looking trees and plants, so the trail was definitely worth it :)

We didn't see the Maya ruins, except for a few hills and a rock formation at the beginning of the trail, but that was okay. We weren't actually here for ruins anyway, but for hiking ;-)

We enjoyed our sandwiches for lunch on a bench under a small tree, and then we headed to our third choice: the Lower Bocawina Fall.

The hike there was supposed to take about 35 minutes, so an easy walk :)

First, we passed by the lodge, where you can apparently eat and stay in a fancy manner. They also organize tours like rappelling, and the outdoor area of the lodge was well maintained and really nice!

However, we just walked past it and then onto a drivable road, which we would walk along indefinitely until we reached the turnoff to the waterfall.

After about 15-20 minutes, it suddenly started to get windy, and the gray clouds in the sky didn't look promising! :O

We sought shelter under a tree, where we protected our backpack from the rain, and after some back and forth and a heavy shower, we decided to end our visit to the park here.

Within a short time, we were completely soaked, but that's what you have to expect when you're in the rainforest ;-)

I just care that our things in the backpack (e.g., ID) stay dry :D

As we left our temporary shelter (which was a tree) and walked towards the exit in the rain, the rain gradually dwindled, and eventually, the sun came out, so we applied sunscreen!

About 10 minutes later, the next downpour arrived, and we were wet again :D :D

Well, the forest truly lived up to its name^^

When we had covered almost half of the 6 km on our way back, a car with park employees passed by and stopped, even though we didn't wave at them.

We wanted to hitchhike, but since we were still wet, it was too uncomfortable for us to ask :p

But since they had already stopped, we naturally got in and chatted a bit until we reached the main road, where they let us off because they had to continue in the other direction. They were really nice! :)

We waited at the bus stop for about three quarters of an hour until the next bus arrived, but at least thanks to the sun, we were a good bit drier again! :D

When the bus reached Hopkins Junction, which is still 7 km from the town itself, a pickup truck stopped, and the locals hopped on.

We hesitated for a moment but then dared to ask if we could also hop on the flatbed, and yep, it was no problem :)

In my imagination, our hitchhiking always somehow involved pickup trucks. We had seen people on the flatbed and I always thought, "how cool!"

However, in reality, it was less fun than I had imagined :D :D

It wasn't bad or anything, but the wind blasted our faces and it was too breezy to even keep our eyes open. I have great respect for the people who always casually STAND there (for safety, I preferred to sit^^) and gaze into the world :D :D

Back at the accommodation, there was only the shower left, and then we had our last meal at our "regular restaurant" where we both had the burrito <3

Now I'm so full that I don't want to move anymore, but we still have to pack because we'll probably take the bus at 6:00 am tomorrow!

If everything goes according to plan, we will arrive in Flores tomorrow evening, but the internet at the hostel isn't supposed to be great, so we'll see if I can write a blog then :D

In any case, the national parks in Belize definitely get a big thumbs up from both of us ;-)