Today was an early morning for us. At 7, we met our guide, Alfredo, and headed to the Mayflower Bocawina National park to hike up to a swimming pool at Antelope Falls. Along the way, Alfredo pointed out various birds, plants, insects, tress, etc. that were in the Belizian rainforest we were hiking through. The first part of the hike was easy going - normal foresty trails. Then things began to get steeper and stairs appeared to help us out. The stairs really got your heart rate going! Finally, the stairs gave way to steep rocks and roots. There were ropes to help us up and did they ever come in handy! Along the way, there were a few places where we could stop and see the the falls. We climbed just over 700 feet and the falls were along side us most of the way - and went up even higher than we did. After a few challenging rope/rock/roots sections, we were rewarded with a swimming hole under part of the waterfall. The water was "refreshing" but totally wonderful after the hike up. EDP and I spent a few minutes directly under the falls, enjoying the massage-like effect of them. It was stunningly beautiful and a wonderful experience. And nothing like anything I've ever done before. Then, it was back down the way we came - taking less time than it did to go up.
This afternoon has been filled with a delicious Hawaiian pizza, some reading in a hammock on the beach, a long nap and more reading. We're off to dinner soon and then I suspect it'll be another early night. Tomorrow, we're kayaking along the Jungle a River. EDP informs me that the person in back steers so I can look forward to a front row seat!