Tuesday 12 March 2013

Canoeing!

Lex
Today we got up really early at 5 am to go and see canoe racing. It was the start of a four day race from San Ignacio to Belize City called The Ruta Maya. There were three men or women in a canoe. When the race started five canoes tipped and they kept on tipping. When the last team finally started to paddle everyone cheered and clapped. There were TV crews and radio hosts everywhere and a band played on drums.



After that we drove to Barton Creek Cave for our own canoeing trip. I got in a canoe with Dad and Elmer from the hotel. We had to manoeuvre the canoes through a tight opening to get into the cave.





When we entered I was surprised because the air was warmer than I expected but the water was freezing. We stopped and talked for five minutes while our eyes adjusted. The cave was used by Mayans for ceremonies that helped their dead get to the underworld quicker. As we paddled the guide used her flashlight to point out skulls and pots resting in ledges, untouched for thousands of years. Along the way we encountered stalactites, about 70.5 m from the roof towards the water.they were so close to the water that we had to duck down as far as we could go. It was pretty scary. We had to dodge in and out trying not to break our necks. It was like being in a maze. It was also scary when the torch died and it was really dark. This is us with Dora our guide.

1 comment: