Zip and Slip

Nothing like doing the funnest thing of all on the first day in Belize. Do we really have anything to look forward to now? We went zip lining yesterday at a place called Cave's Branch. Crystal was nervous till she saw they clip you on in so many ways that there's very little likelihood of getting hurt. She did, however almost take out the guy at the receiving platform on her last run. She was getting a little too confident and really picked up some speed!

Brittany was fearless! You can see as Edgar is strapping her in here that she can't wait to get going!

Ed was wondering who thinks of these things? Who invented zip lining, and how could something so crazy become so popular? We were lucky that we went on a weekend. It was not as busy as it might have been on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when the cruise lines drop off boatloads of people.

I was a little perplexed at the girls who joined our group. They commented on how they couldn't imagine their mother getting up on a zip line like I was doing. It had never occurred to me that I was out of place. I thought I was just one of the guys! I had to reevaluate and look at myself as an old lady hanging out with a bunch of adrenaline junkies! I told my family that it was so easy I could see Grandma and Grandpa doing it with us! They didn't quite agree!

After working up a sweat we cooled off with tubing through a set of caves. That required an easy 45 minute walk (carrying your inner tube) to the cave entrance, "The Jaguar's Paw!" We had to paddle (or just flail frantically) with our arms to avoid running into walls or trees. I was happy I'd been doing my strength training at the gym! Ed took a tumble in the cave, when we got out to explore a little. It was steep and slippery (a bad combination). We were happy he lived to tell about it, with only some minor scratches. I was relieved when I realized he was only covered in mud--not blood! We decided to cancel the exploration part of the excursion!

We came home to another great meal at DuPlooys. We're going to miss their cooking! We had about a half hour before dinner to explore the Belize Botanical Gardens adjacent to the lodge. It's showcases a lot of native plants as well as some foreign ones. It is an amazing endeavor taken on by Judy DuPlooy, the owner of the lodge. We fell into bed exhausted by 9 p.m. (two of us, did, anyway). It's tiring having so much fun!