after a lovely week in Guatemala we were picked up by a shuttle service and driven to Belize

crossing the border meant exiting the van, collecting our gear, walking across the line and then registering with Belize

Welcome to Belize we heard in English!

I knew going in that English is the first language spoken in this small country but it was a fun thing to hear

The next few days were full of adventure

Exploring the ATM cave which had skeleton remains and bouldering and swimming through caves

Our little 5 year old was amazing and brave and kept up with the big kids

hiking through the rain forest and tubing down a river and through caves

cliff jumping into the dark

and visiting an iguana rehab center

and then we found ourselves boarding a water taxi and heading for the island of San Pedro

we were in search of snorkeling, sand and sun

and getting to drive golf carts around for 5 days sure added to the charm

  

  

my little explorer with her pirate map

sure glad to get to adventure with this guy

We spent 2 days snorkeling and it was amazing

starfish, sand dollers, fish of every size, swimming with nurse sharks

Belize has the second biggest barrier reef in the world but it is healthier then the Great Barrier

It afforded us so many wonderful sights

Eastern Guatemala

and just like that our time in western Guatemala and time with John & Audrey came to an end

we found ourselves boarding a small, super small plane that thrilled the girls and made a noisy short flight to the area of Tikal

beautiful sunrise coming up over the clouds

found a delicious spot for breakfast which we ended up returning to two additional times

meet up with our guide and were off for adventures

swimming in a lake, exploring an animal rehab facility and hiking through the heat and sun

the girls were rewarded with popsicles at the end of that hot day

  

The next morning was a 4am shuttle pickup to take us to watch the sunrise over the ruins and temples

Unfortunately for us the sun had a super hard time peeking through the dense fog and clouds

Inside of a glorious moment we all sat on the steps of the temple, half asleep, listening to the howler monkeys and birds wake up

Way to early for this little trooper

By mid-morning the mist started to lift and we walked around all the ruins

amazed at the buildings and things that had been preserved