Adios San Ignacio. Hola Caye Caulker.

After traveling most of the mourning from the Maya mountains we arrived just after lunch.  A quick dip in the warm Caribbean water and we are resting up for dinner.  Tomorrow we are off for a reef adventure on a neighboring uninhabited key.

Dinner and Shopping in Flores, Guatemala.

After visiting the ruins at Tikal we decided to spend a leisurely evening and following morning visiting he Guatemalan city of Flores (http://wikitravel.org/en/Flores_%28Guatemala%29); an island town in the middle of Lago Petén Itzá.

While walking the stone streets after dinner we stumbled up on a street festival.  A local news channel was celebrating their 25th anniversary of serving the community and was live broadcasting traditional dances to all their viewers.

Tikal

Wow. This site is spectacular in both scope and scale.

The Globetrotters spent the afternoon touring the ruins despite intermittent rain and shine. The spider monkeys entertained us at just about every stop and we even managed to squeeze in a little dance party in the Central Acropolis.

Off to the ruins at Tikal and then overnighting in Flores, Guatemala.

Well be out of touch until we get back to Deplooys on Sarurday, but wanted to make sure you all knew how much we miss everyone back home. Alston had a special request to give his brother a shout out on the blog because he couldn't remember his email address. All is well and more to come!

Happy Birthday Victoria!

The staff at Deplooys surprised Victoria with a cake for her 18th. It was made with fresh bananas and topped with homemade strawberry icing.

Home stays in San Antonio.

Part of the Globetrotter experience is service and immersion. We traveled to a nearby village and painted a local school. Some of the students challenged our team to a quick game of soccer before dinner.

Afterwards we were served a delicious meal by the local women's cooperative and welcomed into the homes of local villagers.

Barton Creek Cave

Through pitch black tunnels we canoed to find ancient Mayan sacrifice sites. The echoes, shadows, and bats were spooky but the experience was exhilarating.

Howler monkey video at Xunantunich

During a thunderstorm we were in the trees behind the ruins and two males started making there territorial claim. We were caught between two troops.

Horseback riding around Deplooys.

The rains have finally let up, but not before our scheduled adventure was postponed due to flash flooding. Actun Tunichil Muknal will have to wait until Friday.

We've been outside all day enjoying the reasonably mild temperatures and calm tropical breeze. Horseback riding through the local forests, learning about edible plants and ancient remedies has been fascinating.

Everyone is eating lunch now and looking forward to tubing down the McCal River.

Globetrotters take on the Belize Zoo...

And then enjoy some R&R at their jungle lodge...

The beginnings of an incredible journey.

DGH Globetrotters heading into Xunantunich - an Ancient Mayan archaeological site in western Belize, about 80 miles west of Belize City

First Full Day In Belize

The group has gathered for breakfast and we are recounting tales of "the best sleep I've ever had" and "that spider was the size of my hand near my pillow"! We are staying at an absolutely beautiful jungle lodge nestled in the hills of Belize near the Guatemalan border. The group was FANTASTIC traveling yesterday - working together, timely, and very brave ( especially for our new travelers - who all love flying now!). We had a delicious lunch and a fun-filled visit to the Belize Zoo (which is not your average zoo - much cooler). We arrived at DuPlooys Jungle Lodge an hour before dinner and all of the students had a great swim in the river. We cleaned up, reconvened for dinner, and finished the night with a quick meeting talking about all of the aspects of the day that had worked well. Today we are off on a hike to some Mayan ruins nearby and hopefully a river tubing trip to cool off this afternoon. Sam or I will post more later and hopefully add some pics - we need to find a computer to download them! All kids are feeling good and having fun - they send their love to all of you! Elizabeth

Duplooys!

Wow! What a day. Everyone is exhausted. The trip down was very smooth. The group is all smiles. Duplooys is awesome and tomorrow is sure to be another one for the books. We're late to dinner, but more updates to follow soon. Thank you all back home for making this trip possible. Can't wait to share more...