It was getting close to Christmas time, accommodations were booking up and we had a need for community. What better place to look than CouchSurfing? We had lined up a host in Bullet Tree Falls which is just a ten minute drive outside San Ignacio.
Bob Marley rock
San Ignacio is a popular tourist destination within central Belize close to the Guatemalan border, most famous for the cave explorations, jungle treks and waterfall gazing. We took the local bus from Belize City which stops for anyone along the way and then a collectivo from San Ignacio to Bullet Tree. Our instructions from Aiden, CouchSurfing host, was to exit at the market, get some food then make the 400 yard dash down the dirt road to his property.
Palapa
As we rolled up to the barbed-wire gate of this property we began to wonder if we were in the right place, but we followed his very thorough directions to a T. As it turns out we were in the right place. A gorgeous and secluded four acre estate lush with Jamaican lime and orange trees. It was green everywhere we looked and blending into the grounds were two cabanas and a Palapa (thatched roofed hut) at the center. The land backed right into the Macal river. There was a dock which just by standing on it you felt at ease, but we couldn’t get too comfortable because busy in the trees above iguanas rustled; and at any point if they felt threatened, could drop. If that wasn’t entertaining enough, a rope swing hung from a nearby tree.
Crazy Orange Iguanas!!
Chels on the rope swing
The property was amazing, but even cooler was the slew of other CouchSurfers staying at his place. Most with tents, some in hammocks. There was no electricity so every night we had to build a fire and eat by candle light. Even though it was just a short walk to the grocery store, we felt isolated and loved it. Knowing we could just fall back to Aiden’s place and tune out. Instead of spending the evenings browsing the internet or watching television we got to know one another, swapping stories from the road laughing and genuinely enjoying each others company.
Men!
For Christmas Day, our plan was to have a big breakfast and then dinner. After Aiden showed us the ropes of how to get his wood-fire stove going, we were all able to contribute in some way. Some people preparing food; some stoking fires; some cooking and others doing dishes, forging a well oiled machine when it came time to eat. We had found our little community and it was the next best thing to a family we could have hoped for the holiday.
Massive Fruit Salad on Christmas Morning
We ended up staying five nights and got to experience a few places around San Ignacio that were off the beaten tourist trail. Aiden’s neighbor Marcus, who was also a CouchSurfer took us around in his shaky four wheel drive through the back roads to a couple of beautiful waterfalls. He also let us borrow some of his inner tubes and we all (dogs included) had a lazy float down the river.
Double Back-flips
Lazy river tour
The only negatives were battling the pesky biting ants that left me swollen and itchy for a few days. Also I did have a brief encounter with Chechem poisonwood which, thanks to a baking soda/water mixture that Chelsea spread all over me and Benedryl, went away after one very uncomfortable night. It’s all part of the experience and we’re lucky to look back and laugh!
Thank goodness for baking soda
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