Burrell Boom, Belize, Belize
Thursday, March 19, 2009
This was my first trip to Belize. I made the trip with my mom and brother. Burrell Boom is a small village outside of Belize City, and is a great place to start. I stayed at Black Orchid Resort, which is right on a river bank, and close to lots of activities. While I was in Burrell Boom I visited Altun Ha and Lamanai ruins. Both were amazing! To get to Lamanai, you take an hour long boat ride down the New River where you see lots of crocs and birds. Once you are there you hike through the jungle from temple to temple, there are tons of Howler Monkeys everywhere! Just ouside the visitor center, a man pointed out to us some human remains that had been washed up by heavy rains the previous October, and there they were, just laying there, not even sectioned off! It was March, and they were still waiting for an archeologist to come excivate them! The only thing I didn't like was the fact that there are so many people there! It is one of the more popular sites in the country, but that's ok cause the ruins are worth it! Altun Ha on the other hand was a totally different experience
. There was no one there other than us! It was truly unique to stand on the top of the temple, look out along the site, and see no one! On the way back to Burrell Boom, we noticed a man standing outside his house with a giant Boa wrapped around his neck. He waved, so we pulled over to get a closer look at his snake. His name was Gil. He then spent the next 30 min. giving us a lesson about all the different kinds of snakes he owned, including the Fur de Lance which is one of the most poisonous snakes known to man. Yes, he has one, and yes, he has been bit! He almost died. A week later, when we were in a totally different part of the country, we told someone about Gil the snake man, and they said "Oh yes, he was bit by a Fur de Lance, he was in the newspaper! He almost died!."
