Belize in December! (Seriously)

[MaartenSFS]

I know I have done two of these before but due to a lot of personal problems I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to go on a trip at all in the last several months. Now the time has come and for many reasons I am several days away from deciding on Belize (So Suriname, French Guiana, and Peru) will have to wait. I plan to go to San Ignacio for an extensive jungle trek (where I hope to spot inverts, herps, and a jaguar!) and caving. After I am satisfied with that I will perhaps spend a half day at a beach and return home after 8 days. Needless to say I have a tight budget. Any comments or suggestions?

 

[skippy]

take lots of pics

 

[MaartenSFS]

Will do.

By the way, I've been calculating things I'll need to take to see how much I would need to pay and was wondering if anyone knows where to get malaria tablets and how much they cost. Are the mosquitoes as bad as I assume and are the dangers of malaria real? I hope to camp out several days to save money. Otherwise I'd need to buy mosquito netting and others things I can't afford.

So far I'm calculating at 60-80$ per day based on what Lonely Planet says but I'd like to keep it at 60$ if possible and I intend to stay only in or near the jungle in the Cayo region. I'll need internet access several times during the trip to upload photos and videos, as my camera's storage and battery life is not that great. So if I take 70$ per day and multiply it by 8 days that comes out to 560$ but I still need equipment for the caving and mosquitoes so we'll see what I can do (My budget is around 750$).

If that goes to hell my plan B is Jamaica (Blue mountains) but there won't be jaguars or caves there. =( And as for inverts I don't know..

 

[Widowman10]

i think you could do it for very cheap. heck, les stroud did it with no money at all!!

camping out seems like the best way to go anyway. i personally wouldn't take the chance and would get some protection (hopefully) against malaria.

oh, and do they have botflies there? think so, but not 100% sure...

 

[Anansis]

When in December are you going? We'll be in Belize again for our 7th visit from Nov 26th to Dec 17th. I can give you lots of info but it might be better done thru e-mails or PM's. Tell me more specifically what your interests are etc. Maybe we can even meet up down there one day.
Quinine pills for malaria are prescription thru your doctor. You need to take them weekly staring a few weeks before, during and a couple of weeks after you return. Having said that I no longer bother with them and I spend lots of time out in the jungle day and night. Another disease you can get is Dengue Fever which I hear is more prevalent this year but I don't believe there is a vaccine for that yet. I would definitely make sure that you have Hep A and B vaccinations. I think you need two shots for these to be effective.
Even if you get all the precautions, you don't want to sleep outside without a mosquito net. Some of the flies etc are NASTY. Yes, bot flies as well.
Most larger towns have internet cafes etc that you can access. For sure in San Ignacio and in Benque.
One US dollar is worth two Belize dollars and US money is accepted everywhere but always ask if the prices are in Belize or US. Unscrupulous vendors have been know to take advantage of tourists. If you exchange your money on the black market you can get as much as $2.15 Belize for $1.00 US.

Ollie

 

[MaartenSFS]

i think you could do it for very cheap. heck, les stroud did it with no money at all!!

camping out seems like the best way to go anyway. i personally wouldn't take the chance and would get some protection (hopefully) against malaria.

oh, and do they have botflies there? think so, but not 100% sure...

He was in Costa Rica and Panama, wasn't he? I never heard that he was in Belize. Anyways, I'm sure Les Stroud has a wee bit little more $$$ than me.. =S

 

[metallica]

Don't forget Orange walk, Lamanai and mountain pine ridge!
ah well you have my report. if you have any question, just ask!

in San Ignacio, be sure to book a room at J&R Guesthouse, the chiepest in town, friendly and clean. the owner is a former tour guide. he can tell you everything about the region.
and best of all... a big vagans colony as your neighbour!

compared to the neighbour countries Belize is expensive!

Eddy

 

[MaartenSFS]

I read up on it but I think that for this trip I need to concentrate my efforts and Orange Walk is on the other side. That would be a whole other trip! (which I may just make)

I'm looking at Cockscomb because it is mountainous and has jaguars and that is my goal. The area also has a lot of limestone and a quick forray into a cave may be doable. I'll most likely just camp out there for four or five days and then have a look at a nearer ruin (which I really do want to see - a jaguar is just my #1 and unrealistic priority).

Lamanai looks awesome but I just don't have enough time or money this time. I was thinking San Ignacio and Mountain Pine Ridge until I read about Cockscomb. I can camp out there for really cheap and spend more time in the jungle, it seems. =D

I think especially Lamanai would be a good trip to bring my wife on with the boat ride and all. I want this one to be as rough as survivable for eight days. No creature comforts besides my camera and a way to charge it and something to fight the mossies. ;P I'm hoping to spend around 600$ whilst in the country and bring back nothing but photos and myself (certainly no parasites!)

 

[robd]

May want to be careful with that anti-malaria medicine. When the army started deploying people to Afghanistan and Iraq, they gave soldiers that medicine and supposedly it gives you CRAZY nightmares. Like real bad. If you've ever had nightmares from sleep aids like ambien, it's supposedly 10x worse than that. Now I can't speak from experience with these pills because I didn't deploy back in 03-04, but just a heads up.

 

[MaartenSFS]

May want to be careful with that anti-malaria medicine. When the army started deploying people to Afghanistan and Iraq, they gave soldiers that medicine and supposedly it gives you CRAZY nightmares. Like real bad. If you've ever had nightmares from sleep aids like ambien, it's supposedly 10x worse than that. Now I can't speak from experience with these pills because I didn't deploy back in 03-04, but just a heads up.

I've never had any nightmares because the things I've seen during the days have been scary enough! =P Are the effects long term or just during use?

 

[robd]

I cannot say for sure. You'd have to research it a little. I'll ask a friend of mine. But I know the Army stopped issuing them out prior to deployment, awhile ago.

 

[MaartenSFS]

I had talked to doctors about the injections/malaria and was literally one night from booking a ticket when my parents called to tell me that my Opa (grandfather) is on the verge of death and I will have to return to my country in December (Three weeks) to perhaps visit him for the last time..

It was always a dream of mine to visit the jungles of central and south America but seeing as I just returned from living in China for four years (Where I also spent a lot of time in caves and jungle) I can't really complain too much. I am, however, planning to trek accross the Veluwe, a 1000km^2 wilderness area in Holland, when I go, where there are wild swines, large deer (I'm not sure how big compared to elk), smaller deer (two species probably similar size as white-tailed), amongst other things like badgers, martens (like a weasel or ferret), and hedgehogs. I probably won't see many inverts or herps in December/Januari, though.

I would say sorry to everyone for wasting your time but I definitely plan to go within the next two years or my name is not Klaus von Richtenstein!!! Wait.. :wall:

 

[Snipes]

May want to be careful with that anti-malaria medicine. When the army started deploying people to Afghanistan and Iraq, they gave soldiers that medicine and supposedly it gives you CRAZY nightmares. Like real bad. If you've ever had nightmares from sleep aids like ambien, it's supposedly 10x worse than that. Now I can't speak from experience with these pills because I didn't deploy back in 03-04, but just a heads up.

Mefloquine or something like that? I researched that, doxy, and malarone when i had to take some going into Panama's The Darien. Malarone is very expensive and has to be taken daily, but has the least amount of side effects. Doxy is taken once a week but makes your skin more suceptable to sunburn. Doxy is also cheap, but in some places there is apparently some resistance to it. I would recommend it.
Stay away from Mefloquine, as per above warning. Also retinal detachment.

 

[Matt K]

Quinine and related anti-malaria drugs are very last-century. Malarone is the best way to go as I have used it repeatedly in palces where there are many confirmed cases of malaria.

That being said though, I have travelled extensively in equatorial countries and been to Belize, the mosquitos are worse than anywhere in my experiences, but did not take malaria meds and was fine.... I have not heard of anyone getting Malaria from anywhere in central America either.

Take a few bottles of spray on DEET that is at least 30% DEET or more. I have some 30 and some 100% DEET that I used there and was fine save for one night I was without and that was the longest night of my life.....

 

[Matt K]

Also, here is a very accurate guide to follow:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2010/chapter-2/malaria.aspx

 

[MaartenSFS]

That's what I had heard about Central America. When I finally do go I will probably still go to Belize, unless I have the money to make it to Suriname or French Guiana, and that information will be useful. I got sick in China so I will take all precautions. The Darien in Panama is also up there on my list. How was it?

 

[metallica]

je mag altijd even langkomen hier in Deventer.

Groet

Eddy

 

[MaartenSFS]

je mag altijd even langkomen hier in Deventer.

Groet

Eddy

Hoi Eddy,

Ik ben van plan om de Veluwe over te steken om wilde zwijnen, onder anderen, op te sporen. De Veluwe is 1.000 km^2 dus ik steek maar over een deel en ben nog niet zeker welk deel. Misschien is het nodig om een nachtje in het bos te overnachten - ligt aan de afstanden. Als je zin heb, mag je mee.

Trouwens, mijn hele familie zit ook in Overijssel, dus dat is niet ver weg. Ik kom 15 December aan en vetrek 5 Januari.