San Ignacio

San Ignacio was the first stop in Belize. Belize is an anomaly. It's English speaking, very chilled and has a different vibe to other countries. Entering Belize is bizarre, you travel across the border, everything looks more or less the same, except suddenly you can read the signs and understand the people. It's like entering some weird science fiction meeting.

Admittedly, there is not a lot to do in San Ignacio. Lounging by the pool. There are some Mayan ruins I didn't go to, however there are some amazing caves.

We went to Actun Tunichil Muknal, aka the ATM cave. To get there you drive for about an hour, walk for half an hour, cross a river three times, get suited up for caving, then swim over a 7m deep pool to get into the cave.

The cave is worth is for the cave itself. It's a wet cave, so you swim, walk and climb and get very wet. Over a kilometre inside, you take off your shoes, climb up the rocks and find yourself in a huge chamber used by the Mayans.

The professionals are still figuring out exactly what went on in there. There are lots of ceremonial pots, each one broken so its energies are released. There are fourteen skeletons and almost everything is concreted into the bedrock of the cave due to the yearly flooding. You have to walk really, really carefully in case you step on anything, hence the wearing of socks.

If you're in the area, you should really stop by.