Be part of our first great adventure in Belize in March 2009! We're putting together the best of Belize for you this year. Our *exploratory trip is just unscripted enough to make it a very cool adventure. Explore the coral reef and the Mayan underworld in this laid back Caribbean country that is part of Central America. This year we are offering our first multi-sport and adventure trip to Belize. Let us take you on the trip of a lifetime to this gorgeous little country!

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Option #2 - 2 weeks with Half Moon Caye 5 day, 4 night

Here's the itinerary in brief:

Part 1: Cave's Branch - "Adventures in the Mayan Underworld"

Cave's Branch is an incredible jungle lodge with great food, beautiful accommodations and an incredible setting. While we're here we'll explore the immense system of underground caves where Mayan relics and bones are found. Our accommodations will be in cabanas or bungalows in the jungle. We can choose from two days of adventures while we're there. This part of the trip is all inclusive including soft drinks, local beer and alcohol Day 1 - Day 4 at Cave's Branch.

Part 2: Half Moon Caye- "Island Paradise"

We will leave Cave's Branch to overnight in Belize City and head out early on day 4 to stay on Glover's Atoll. This will be an amazing trip - a 5 day, 4 night stay on Island Expeditions other "luxury" base camp on Half Moon Caye. We'll snorkel, kayak and dive just minutes from our camp right out on the most beautiful part of the reef. This part of the trip is almost all inclusive (you can bring extra booze if you want it;-).Day 5 -Day 9 on Glover's. Check out Glover's here!

Part 3: Caye Caulker - "Scuba Diving the Barrier Reef"

Caye Caulker is a laid back little island with a distinctive reggae beat. The diving and snorkeling on the nearby reef are some of the best in the world. Our stay of 3 nights includes 2 days of diving at nearby amazing dive sites. Our accommodations will be in beachfront hotels or condos with a pool. Eating and drinking will be on your own although breakfast may be included depending on which digs we get. We are trying to arrange condos' which would include kitchenettes. Dinners on Caye Caulker and Ambergris typically cost on average $10-15. Seafood like lobster costs around $15-20. There is a lot of choice on these islands on where to dine. Night 9, Day 10 on Caye Caulker

Part 4: Ambergris Caye at Banana Beach Resort - "Diving the Blue Hole , Night Dive and chillin on the beach"

Banana Beach, is a luxurious haven located on the Caribbean shores of Ambergris Caye, the biggest island in Belize. It sits on one of the finest beaches on the island, just far enough south of San Pedro Town for tranquility, but within walking distance of restaurants and shops. Our lovely accommodations are one bedroom suites. Our first dive day is 3 tank/ 3 dives during the day and a night dive. Our second day is our trip to the Blue Hole. The third day is "free" and there are a number of optional adventures for this day, our last full day in Belize, such as visiting the Mayan ruins of Lamanai or Altun Ha or just paddling a sit on top kayak out to the reef to snorkel. Night 10, Day 11 - Day 14 on Ambergris Caye

Depart Belize on the afternoon of day 14 after flight from San Pedro airport to Belize International.

A Little more about Belize and the trip...
Imagine paddling, snorkeling and diving in a tropical paradise in sheltered, crystal clear, warm water. That's part of the Belize experience.The world's second longest coral reef is 175 miles long and stretches from one end of Belize to the other. The reef is peppered with about 1500 islets and islands called Cayes (pronounced "keys"), the largest of which is Ambergris Caye in the North end of the country. On Ambergris we'll stay at the Banana Beach Resort just south of San Pedro town on one of the best beaches on the island. From there we'll dive and relax and have some free time and possibly do a trip to visit Mayan ruins at Lamanai or Altun Ha depending on what the group wants to do or what the resort has going on.

Caye Caulker is nearby to Ambergris but is it's smaller sister, even more laid back and affordable. Like on Ambergris, transportation on the island's sand streets (both of them) is by golf cart, bike or foot. The vibe is definitely Rasta. Relax in your beachfront hotel with a frosty Belekin beer and a good book between some amazing reef diving on the reef which is just a few hundred meters from shore.

Our 5 days and 1 night of diving includes: 2 days of diving from Half Moon Caye of 2 tank/2 dives, 1 day of 3 tank/ 3 dives local to Ambergris, 1 night dive from Ambergris and finally, a full day to visit the Blue Hole and 2 other amazing off shore dive sites with 3 tanks at 3 different sites. That's 11 dives! Diving in Belize is top rated in the world and absolutely stunning!

On the mainland we get a chance to stay in a fantastic lodge tucked away in the jungle called Cave's Branch and explore the caves. These caves are part of the incredible limestone cave systems where Mayans did blood letting and ritual sacrifice and communicated with the underworld. There are an unbelievable series of galleries and passageways filled with artifacts and bones and beautiful geological formations. Our cabanas are scattered along paths through the jungle that lead to the central lodge with it's dining room and bar overlooking the pool and the Sibun river. We'll choose a couple of adventures from a menu of super cool adventures like navigating through underground caves and waterfalls or the thrillin' "Black Hole Drop". We may have the option of a trip to the famous Mayan ruins at Tikal depending on the groups wishes.

This year we're partnering with Island Expeditions to take advantage of their expertise and infrastructure in the kayaking part of our trip. This Canadian outfit has been in Belize since 1987. On a recent trip there I was won over by their level of professionalism, genuine caring attitude and easy-going, friendly staff. We will take advantage of their rustic luxury full base camp out on Half Moon Caye.

What's Included:

1. All travel in Belize including flights and water transport
2. All accommodations in Belize
3. All planned activities in Belize
4. All meals and some alcohol for 5 days on Glovers
5. All meals and local beer and spirits for 3 days at Cave's Branch
6. All local guide fees and park admission fees
7. Personal guiding and facilitating by Canadian guide and owner of Okanagan Kayaking, Steve Crevier

What's not included:

1. Flights to Belize: flights from Seattle are the way to go. Return flights with Continental (best option) or American for March are now going for about $1000 cdn, all taxes in. We can help you plan that part of the trip too if you like.
2. Most food and drink while on Caye Cauker and Ambergris although breakfast may be included depending on which accommodations are available. Breakfast and lunch will be included on our day long diving trip to the Blue Hole.
3. Food and drink at the Belize airport or outside of Belize
4. rental of Snorkel, Fins and Mask - please bring your own
5. Extra charges for rental of scuba bcd and regulator on Glover's and Half Moon Caye (bring your own gear if you prefer)

All this for just $2899 cdn including GST of 5%!!! Maximum group size is 11 clients. Book soon to take advantage of this great chance to rock your world and to join in an amazing adventure!

The following is a recent Toronto Star Article:

CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize's different beat
JEREMY SCHWARTZ
COX NEWS SERVICE Dec 18, 2008

Away from its Caribbean beaches and islands lies a rollicking melting pot with a unique history and an amazing geographic and cultural diversity


BELIZE CITY, Belize–It was easy to see Belize was going to be something different as soon as we got to the remote border crossing in southern Mexico.

As we got off our bus to get our passports stamped, a family of blond Mennonites waited to board. Wearing overalls and bonnets, they added their Low German to the cacophony of languages already on the bus.

We passed into the Free Zone, a no man's land between Mexico and Belize that's home to some dingy hotels, a broom factory and a casino advertising Russian showgirls. Blasting country music, our bus passed through Belizean customs.

As soon as we entered Belize, everything felt different. Houses were made of clapboard wood, not painted concrete, the distances marked in miles instead of kilometres, the signs in jaunty English. As we rolled through the countryside, which hugged the Caribbean Sea in some places, an amazingly diverse group filled the bus: in addition to the Mennonites, there were Mayan villagers, Chinese kids and black Belizeans, all speaking English with a distinctive Caribbean lilt.

Most visitors to Belize speed directly to Belize's main draw: its postcard-perfect islands that feature some of the world's best diving and snorkeling. And while a vacation featuring turquoise waters, colourful reefs and grilled lobster sounds hard to beat, island-hoppers risk missing out on Belize's unique diversity and intriguing history.

For inveterate people-watchers, it was impossible to pull away from the bus window. Teenagers blasted dance hall music from car stereos, Mennonite farmers sold wooden furniture, Rastafarian's hung out in front of Chinese supermarkets.

In the north Belizean town of Orange Walk, a vendor got on the bus urging us to "wahm up ya engines" with his "smokin' hot tamales," before translating his pitch into expert Spanish.

Belize is part of Central America, but feels more like a Caribbean island. Its unique history has set it apart from its neighbours and its small size – just 300,000 residents – belies the racial diversity within its borders.

Belize was a British colony called British Honduras until 1973. The country didn't achieve independence until 1981 and, despite being a majority black country for most of its existence, only elected its first black leader in February. More recently, immigrants from El Salvador and Honduras have made mestizos the majority.

The country is geographically diverse, too. In the flat, fertile north, Mennonites and British descendants live from farming. Southern Belize, with its perfect beaches, is home to the Garifuna, descendants of African slaves and indigenous people who came to Belize in 1832. In the mountains and jungles of western Belize, Mayan ruins rival the best Mexico has to offer. And in the middle of the country, teeming, boisterous Belize City hugs the coast, where it has weathered devastating hurricanes and absorbed generations of migrants.

Our bus arrived at the chaotic terminal in Belize City, a place most guidebooks urge tourists to depart immediately.

But the city offers an unparalleled, albeit gritty, glimpse into Belizean culture.

After taking a taxi across the Swing Bridge, which since colonial times has separated the city's poor and wealthy sections, we made our way along clogged streets to our hotel, the Great House. The century-old colonial mansion on the waterfront evokes images of British consuls in white linen suits fanning themselves on the veranda while sipping rum punch.

After settling in, we took a tour of the city, contracting with a taxi driver from the Radisson hotel next door.

Daniel Itza took us down streets named after British royalty, past shops owned by Chinese and Indian immigrants, an old cricket club (soccer and basketball are more popular today), and the unfinished Marion Jones sports complex (the disgraced American Olympic star is the daughter of a Belizean mother and remains a national hero).

On the street, Itza told us, you can hear Spanish, English, Creole, Mayan and Garifuna.

"Belize is like a big pot of rice and beans," he said laughing. "It's all mixed up.''

Itza took us through low-income neighbourhoods where brightly-coloured homes sat on stilts and the smell of grilling chicken and fish wafted through the humid morning air (big, barrel-shaped grills are everywhere in Belize).

Next, we stopped at one of Belize City's many record shops and picked up a CD by Mr. Peters, the self-proclaimed Godfather of Bruckdown, a hard-driving music born in 17th-century logging camps.

Belize is a paradise for music lovers, and the tiny country claims a number of unique styles, including drum-infused Punta music. Throughout the country, reggae grooves, African styles and Latin rhythms mingle in a unique blend.

Belize's most famous (or infamous) musical export may be the rapper Shyne, who also happens to be the son of the prime minister. Shyne Barrow was a protege of Sean "P. Diddy" Combs before he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a 1999 New York City nightclub shooting (Jennifer Lopez was the case's most famous witness).

From Belize City, it's just a short boat ride to Caye Caulker, the smaller and more tranquil cousin of Ambergris Caye, Belize's most visited destination.

No cars are allowed on Caye Caulker so we rented a golf cart to check out the island's colourful houses, dodging kids pedaling bikes and wandering backpackers. After a meal of barbecued whole red snapper we got back on the boat for Belize City.

Then it was on to the capital city Belmopan, one of the hemisphere's more unusual cities, made up mostly of federal bureaucrats in the middle of the jungle. (When Hurricane Hattie razed Belize City in 1961, Belize's politicians decided to set up shop in a safer place about 80 kilometres inland).

From Belmopan, many tourists journey to San Ignacio to explore Mayan ruins and the jungle.

But heavy flooding had cut off the western part of the country, so we headed back to Belize City, stopping at the Belize Zoo. The zoo is a sanctuary in a natural jungle setting with jaguars, howler monkeys and the beloved national animal, the mountain cow, which looks like a cross between an elephant, a rhinoceros and a horse.

Belize, it seemed to me, was as unique as its national animal – a strange mix of cultures that, once experienced, is impossible to forget.

Cox News Service