When we are in Belize it is hard to keep track of what day it is and when we did certain things. So we will just say that this was on one of those days that ended in a “Y”.

We headed past our property and up into the Pine Mountain Reserve towards Big Rock Falls. It had been about 5 years since we were last up there, but it is well worth visiting over and over again. It’s a nice 10 mile drive on a good dirt road from our place up through the jungle and then into Pine Mountain. Yes the Pine Mountain Reserve is full of pine trees and wild flowers, sort of reminds me of northern Arizona. Anyway we found the cutoff for the falls even though there was no sign, good thing our memory is still somewhat intact. We parked in the small lot and started our hike towards the drop where it is a vertical hike straight down to the falls, there are a few makeshift stairs that did help a lot. As we got close you could hear the roar of the falls and then all of a sudden there it was, all 150′ of Big Rock Falls.

We were the only ones there to enjoy this magnificent waterfall, but that didn’t surprise us. A lot of the times when we stop to visit a place such as 1000′ falls, St. Herman’s Blue Hole, Guanacaste National Park, etc. we are the only ones there and that’s what is nice about Belize.

We were there at the end of the dry season so I imagine in the next couple of months when the rains come it will be even more spectacular. After checking it out for awhile and taking more pictures it was time for the big hike back up to the top, and quite a hike it was. This time the hike up was a little more strenuous than last time we hiked it, but I’m just going to blame it on the fact that we have been living at sea level for too long. Yeah, that’s what it is.

We were just down the way from Gaia lodge, formerly Five Sisters, where we had stayed a few years earlier with some friends. So we stopped in and saw our friend Nigel who manages the place and he gave us a tour of the new lodge. It was a nice place when we stayed there, but now it is a first class resort on the river in the middle of nowhere. It is just past the Blancaneaux lodge that Francis Ford Coppola owns. There is a runway in front of Coppola’s Lodge and we did see a Tropic Air flight there so I guess that is another option for getting there.

After a couple cold ice teas at Gaia Lodge it was off to Pinol Sands, another local swimming  hole on a small creek. Once again we were the only ones there. We stopped here last year with Randy, Stacy and Luke and had a great day relaxing and playing in the cool water.

On our way back from Pine Ridge we stopped by D’ Malfunction Junction for a cold beer and a couple jokes from Brian. Brian is the young kid running the place this time and he has a joke book that someone gave him. Some of the jokes are funny and some not so much. His delivery of the jokes could use a little work, but it is always entertaining and great practice for his reading skills.