As I mentioned in our first post on this trip back to Mayflower Bocawina National Park (and points south to come -- stay tuned) in Belize, we stayed at Mama Noots Eco Resort right in the park for three nights.  In the first post, I shared photos of the authentic cabana we stayed in, so in this post, I wanted to share additional photos of the facilities, grounds, people, and wonderful food we were served over the three-day period.

Mama Noots is entirely off the grid and generates its own electricity through solar panels.  A back-up generator is also utilized when the sun isn't shining or additional electricity is needed.  

Here are some shots from around the property.  It's absolutely gorgeous, with hummingbirds buzzing about, brightly colored butterflies flitting, and beautiful foliage and flowers everywhere.

Here's the final platform for the zip-line.  We enjoyed it for bird watching and checking out the view.

This is a Great Kiskadee nest.  It was behind our cabana, and we could watch the male and female coming and going from the nest.  They had a favorite branch right outside one of our windows where they would sit and sing and call, and then fly into and out of the nest.  

On our second full day at Mama Noots, we tried to hike down the road to the Bocawina Falls trail, but unfortunately, the road was just too muddy (it is rainy season in Belize) to make it in.  We had already hiked to these falls in June, so we were not too disappointed.  The photos below are actually not the worst part of the road; unfortunately we didn't get a photo of the mud pit all the way across that finally stopped us in our tracks.

Here's the restaurant/bar where we ate all the delicious meals.  Since we were the only guests, we were usually the only ones here, but sometimes a few of the workers were eating as well.  The restaurant is open to the public for lunch, which is a great option after a hike in the park or run on the zip-line.  You won't go home hungry!

Ms. Marci cooked us some absolutely delicious food.  I don't think there's anything this sweet lady can't make!

Here are some of the great meals we had at Mama Noots.  Ms. Marci made sure we never went away hungry!

Last, but certainly not least, the hostess with the mostest, Mama Noots manager Liz made sure we were comfortable and happy.  She's been managing the resort since January and seems to be making a lot of positive changes.  We both give Mama Noots a big thumbs up!

Stay tuned for our continuing adventures to Punta Gorda in the Toledo District of southern Belize!

Wednesday, July 25th was our first full day in Mayflower Bocawina National Park, and we spent most of it hiking.  In the morning, we hiked the Bird Trail, which was an easy, mostly flat trail, but longer than we expected.  Most of the birds were actually out in the open area where some un-excavated Maya ruin mounds were located, not along the jungly, dense trail, but it was a fun walk anyway.  As usual, we had the trail entirely to ourselves.  (Stay tuned for a separate post with bird photos coming later; we'll just show the hiking photos here to keep this post from getting too long.)

Some parts of the trail were semi-blocked where trees had fallen, so we had to do a bit of trail blazing.

After lunch we attacked the Antelope Falls Trail, which we'd not been able to make it to the top of on our last attempt due to not enough time and severe fatigue.  This time around, we had no time limit and were feeling fresher, and it didn't seem nearly so difficult.  However, it is still some of the toughest hiking we've ever done; more like rock climbing in parts.  There were many, many stairs, and many places where using a rope was required to climb up steep and sometimes slippery rocks.  You can see the Antelope Trail on the map at the top of this post.  Note that it says "steep in places".  Uh, yes.  Here are some of those places:

I wasted no time in changing into my swimsuit and taking the plunge.  The water was cool and refreshing -- just perfect!

Barry didn't think he was going to go in, but I talked him into it; some things are just too good to miss.

Of course, getting back down the steep trail was a challenge as well.  It's easier to turn around and back down while holding the rope.

Half-way down (or up) the trail is the best view of the falls.  Unfortunately, the sun was in a bad place for a photo.

So yes, this time we did manage to summit Antelope Falls, although we later heard from Miss Marci, the cook at Mama Noot's, that we could actually have climbed a bit higher, above the pool area, and gotten a panoramic view of the entire area, even out to the Caribbean Sea.  Oh well, perhaps we'll just have to visit again one day -- third time's a charm?!

Stay tuned...tomorrow we'll have more photos from around the grounds at Mama Noot's Eco Resort as well as more photos of the great food Miss Marci served us during our stay! 

Since failing to reach the top of Antelope Falls in June due to a tight time schedule, we were determined to get back to Mayflower Bocawina National Park, near the villages of Silk Grass and Hopkins in the Stann Creek District, as soon as possible to finish the hike.  We also wanted to visit the town of Punta Gorda in the Toledo District of southern Belize for the first time.  So we decided to combine both goals into a week-long adventure.

On our first trip to the park, which we got to via taxi from Hopkins, we'd discovered an eco-resort right within the confines of the park, Mama Noot's.  We hadn't read about it in any of our resources prior to visiting the park, but once we found it, we knew it would be a much more convenient place to stay to hike the falls as well as indulge in our passion for birding.  So, we booked three nights to allow plenty of time for hiking, birding, exploring, and relaxing.  There is also a new zip-line onsite, but we didn't take advantage of it.  It looked like fun, but would have been an additional expense, and we really preferred the hiking and birdwatching.

We took off from Ambergris Caye on Tuesday, July 24.  We caught an early-morning water taxi into San Pedro, dropped Paisley off at Pampered Paws to board for the week, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Lily's Treasure Chest, since we had some time before the ferry to Belize City departed.  

We've learned while traveling this summer that while the summer months are slow season in Belize for tourists from the US, Canada, and Europe; this is the time when Belizeans as well as other Central Americans travel, since the children are out of school and bargains are plentiful.  As a result, the transportation options most-used by locals, ferries and buses, are packed.  Today was no exception.  Both the ferry and buses were very crowded, and our final leg, a bus from the town of Dangriga to the park turnoff was standing room only.  We were not able to sit together, and Barry was forced to stand way in the back.  Practically the entire aisle was filled with standing passengers.  

As you can see on the sign for Mama Noot's, it is 4.2 miles in on the unpaved road, and the bus doesn't go in.  We could have hired a taxi in Dangriga, but we figured the hike in wouldn't kill us after so much time seated in ferries and buses, and we're trying to keep our travel as frugal as possible.  Times like these are why we travel with backpacks rather than rolling suitcases in Belize!  It was a beautiful hike with no houses at all along the road, just green as far as the eyes could see.

As we walked down the road, we met the manager of Mama Noot's, Liz, as she was heading the other way into town in an SUV.  She offered us a ride, but we were within a mile at that point, so decided to forge onwards.  Before reaching Mama Noot's, we entered park land.

As we neared Mama Noot's, one of the workers met us on the road and walked us the rest of the way in to the resort, and Ms. Marci, who does all the cooking in the restaurant there, showed us our cabana.  We had requested a regular "Longhouse" room since the summer rate was only $39US, but since those rooms were currently under renovation, we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a larger cabana.  Since it is low season for tourism, we were the only guests at the resort for the three nights we were here, although there were zip-line workers staying in the larger cabana close to ours.

The cabana was very Belizean with tiled floors, a thatch roof, and screened windows all around.  It was definitely more rustic than most places we've stayed, but charming.  Inside there were two sleeping areas, each with a queen bed, a large entry area, and a bathroom with tiled shower.  The sleeping area had a screened porch feel; there were curtains for the windows but not all had slats to close.  The heavy overhanging thatch roof kept rain from coming in, however.

Meals were served in a large dining hall (photos later).  Before our first dinner, we chatted with Liz, who brought us a beer, salad, and some of Ms. Marci's delicious home-baked bread.  We were starved by this time, since we'd had only snacks for lunch, so it sure went down easy.  

We had Belizean pork chops, rice, and veggies for dinner, followed by a slice of key lime pie.  Yum!  We definitely did not leave hungry, and the food made the long hike (and day of sometimes uncomfortable travel) all worthwhile.

Stay tuned to future days' blog posts for hike reports and photos (see whether we made it to the top of Antelope Falls this time!) and more on Mama Noot's.  Also coming up:  Visiting Punta Gorda and the Toledo District, Hickatee Cottages, and a brief return to Placencia....