Editor’s Note: This is Part 3 of a series by Olasee Davis on the St. Croix Hiking Association’s recent trip to Belize. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.
This fourth part in the series on Belize adventure with members of the St. Croix Hiking Association will focus on the Mayan World Destinations Park. The following day, members of the association were all “fire up” for the adventure in the southern part of Belize. Mayan World Destinations is a mecca in Central America when it comes to eco-tourism.
The southern part of Belize is dominated by the rugged Maya Mountains that form a plateau of igneous rock that was cut by erosion for thousands of years, thus creating valleys, hills, waterfalls, caves, etc. that stretch in a southwesterly to northeasterly direction of the country. Because of the unique ecosystem and ecological terrestrial land formation created by nature of the southern section of Belize, the Mayan World Destinations is in a perfect area for eco- and cultural tourism adventures.
As we arrived at the gate of the Mayan World Destinations office, you could see the excitement on the faces of the hikers. At the office, each hiker signed up for the activities they wanted to participate in during their adventure. Activities included ziplining, river tubing, waterfalls, an ATV jungle tour, ATV Mayan King waterfall tour, kayaking, the Ni Witz hiking trail, and horseback riding to waterfalls.
The Mayan World Destinations is about 10,000 acres of protected land with a wide range of eco-tourism activities. I choose hiking to the Maya Mountains. Other hikers choose waterfalls, the ATV Mayan King waterfall tour, and river tubing.
Those of us who were hiking drove to the trail head of NI Witz. As we got there, we met William Pedomo, Rudy Saki, and Yadilson Aleman. All three men worked for Mayan World Destinations. William described the trail and what we should expect, particularly the topography of the route. To be honest, it sounded challenging. However, we were up for an adventure and whatever challenges we may encounter. On this hike, there were two groups. One group chose to hike to a lookout spot where you could see the agricultural fields of crops and surrounding mountains.
The other group would hike way up in the mountains to a newly discovered waterfall. William led the hike to the lookout spot while Yadilson and Rudy, who was the photographer on the hike, led the other group to the waterfalls up into the mountains.
As we started off, every step was uphill. It seemed from the beginning of the hike there was no leveling off or flat areas to rest our feet. We looked up and there were just hills, mountains and valleys ahead of us. I would say this: This hike is for those of us with a “mind over matter” thinking. Since I am writing the stories about our adventures in Belize, I asked our guide Yadilson a lot of questions about the trees, culture, history, wildlife, etc., as he was familiar with the NI Witz Trail environment.
In fact, asking Yadilson questions I think was a good strategy that gave the hikers a little room to catch their breath, unless the tour guide answered the questions while we were moving, instead of stopping to explain. Furthermore, hikers can learn about the area history, plants, and wildlife which I think would benefit us gaining knowledge of the site. Also, hiking is not just walking and having fun, which is important as well. However, I believe it should also be educational to know something about the area.
As the hike continued, Yadilson pointed out along the first part of the trail the Tiger Fern (Dicranopteris pedata), which is a ground cover fern that does a great job in controlling soil erosion. He also pointed out Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) trees, which are native to Central America and the northern West Indies which include the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. As we continued to hike up, the trail got steeper. Some hikers stopped and drank water, some caught their breath, and others were determined to make it to the first lookout. As we got to the top, there was a nice cool breeze blowing, along with benches and tables waiting for us to rest our tired feet. This space provided a great view of the southern part of Belize. Oh, what a life!
At this point, we separated. Those of us who were going further up the mountain continued with Yadilson and Rudy while the other group returned down the mountain with tour guide Williams. The hikers with me were determined to go all the way to the newly discovered waterfall. Along the trail and further up into the mountains, there were benches if we wanted to rest. I continued asking Yadilson questions about the area’s environment and its wildlife. He mentioned wild turkeys, snakes, jaguars, deer, and other species of animals resided there.
As we continued climbing the mountain, you could see the changes in the environment with more hardwood trees, palms, and feeling the wind blowing on our bodies. It was the tranquility of nature at it best. Then, suddenly, we began to go downhill deeply into the valley. The path got narrow along the cliffs. If we slipped, may God help us. Eventually, we arrived at two waterfalls. History was made when Yadilson told us that we were the largest group ever taken to the waterfalls.
We had a great time at the waterfalls while Rudy took lots of pictures. We returned from the mountain and met the other hikers at a designated pavilion, eating and enjoying two waterfalls there. Later, I heard about one of our hikers unfortunate situation of being thrown off her ATV while driving. Mary Roebuck got back on and rode like nothing never happened. Talk about an adventure!
What happened in Belize stays in Belize! As we walked back to the vans to ride back to Pals on the Beach hotel, one of our hosts, Nick Drayton, stepped on a small snake. He didn’t get bitten, but he jumped so high and yelled so loud that the snake was glad to get away from him! Talk about fun, excitement, and adventures at Mayan World Destinations Park! We had a blast!
— Olasee Davis is a bush professor who lectures and writes about the culture, history, ecology and environment of the Virgin Islands when he is not leading hiking tours of the wild places and spaces of St. Croix and beyond.
