Liz and I stopped off at Big Rock Falls after our visit of Caracol. With little gas and a lot of nerve, we deviated from the main road for just a couple of miles on our way back to San Antonio and then to Table Rock Jungle Lodge.

The deviation took us past Five Sisters Lodge and down a road we just didn’t know would lead to a destination. Once we got there, we had to guess at the trail as a few sort of led in almost the same direction. We headed out, video loaded and recorded every step of the way. This video shows a few highlights of the visit.

All of this was shot with the V.I.O. POV (except the stills) that I picked up from Backcountry.com I took copious amounts of video with this thing and if it weren’t for human error, I would have had some awesome footage of the trip to ATM. Grab your own…

Goodluck trying to get information on Big Rock. The web, even Wikipedia has only this on it “150-foot waterfall on Privassion River, in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve of the Cayo District of southern central Belize.” Wow. Okay. That explains a lot! While you may not be able to find much information on it, there could be a reason why. Big Rock sits a few miles off the main highway past the five sisters lodge. Courtney and I veared right and ended up turning around. Our advice is to keep left the entire time and ultimately you will come to a sign that proclaims the site as the Big Rcok Falls parking area. You will park your car and then prepare yourself for a 15 minute hike down to the falls.

The hike is gorgeous! Don’t get me wrong. But there are some steep drops you are to climb down to the falls. When you begin your decline, you can hear the falls. I remember being so excited about hearing the falls and thinking we were close. Only to find out it took a few extra minutes to actually stumble upon the river and look to our left and see the falls. A magnificent site it was! The falls consisted of two pools, a lower pool and an upper pool.

At first, Courtney and I were afraid (or maybe just me!) to go in the waters for fear of what might be lurking in it. But our fears didn’t overcome us and we braved it out only to find out how crystal clean the water was and how we didn’t experience any type of creepy insects, bugs, snakes or anything of the sort. Courtney, being the gentleman, jumped in the waters and tested them before I jumped into the lower pool. He was testing to make sure it was deep enough to jump off the rock on the side but also that there was nothing to fear. What a gentleman! After I experienced Courtney surviving swimming in from the side and not witnessing and crazy creatures coming to attack him (imagination running wild) I whole heartidly jumped in. I squeeled! I had always seen it in movies and finally experience it! I Loved it! Soon after, Courtney climbed up the rock on the left side and jumped in too.

We then climbed/swam our way up to the upper pool. Jen and Chris from Table Rock Jungle Lodge (who also recommended this site to us) told us of some cliff jumping expeditions they had there in the upper pool. I did not have the skill to climb those walls and jump in but if I did I would have! Courtney swam up the the falls as close as he could get without the force of water pushing him back while I waited on the side. The water felt good, it was clear and clean, and we just enjoyed the falls and spectacular views whole heartedly! I would for sure visit Big Rock Falls again if I ever returned and attempt to climb the walls of the upper pool.

After exploring the area a bit we began our trek back. Please be warned. I am a thin, active girl. I had to stop MULTIPLE times on hike on the way back up the car to catch my breathe. This is an extremely challenging climb. Luckily, there is a railing built to assist. Do go here if you are in the area. This is not a part of Belize to overlook! I promise you!

Look for video in two days! You will love it!!!

Liz and I recently posted a detailed story about our encounter howler monkeys at Caracol. It contained lots of details of a particularly unique visit ith with Jack, a juvenile howler monkey cared for by one of the restoration workers at Caracol. Almost immediately, this post was responded to by concerned local activists within Belize. They alerted us to the impending tragedy that is this little Monkey.

When we came across Jack and his “owner,” we were told the little monkey fell out of the tree and that once this happens, these infants/juveniles, are abandoned by their mothers. Thus, Jack was actually being rescued and cared for until he was old enough to return to the jungle canopy. We were informed by Colette Case of Be Kind Belize, a humane education program, and by Jerry Larder of Belize Bird Rescue that this is a terrible lie. In fact, we were informed that the little monkey was likely stripped from its mother’s dead arms after she, and very likely other members of the pack, were murdered. It appears that the “falling out of the tree” story is just a myth told to naive tourists such as Liz and I.

Tourists, such as ourselves, are often very excited to see such foreign and exotic animals and the chance to take photos up close is very exciting. Liz and I snapped numerous photos, totally ignorant that we were, in our own little way, supporting a terrible and inhumane practice. We were never encouraged to tip the caretaker or anything like that, but we’ve surmised from this that the behavior is encouraged unofficially because of the positive response from tourists. I just wish that one of the other tour guides, or the Belize Defense Force soldier or Police Officer were more aware of the law.

Apparently, few are aware of the law and Belize lacks the law enforcement power to prevent it from happening. Belize has only one forestry officer for the entire country – simply too much land for one person to patrol. It’s a tragedy in and of itself, but becomes more horrible when one realizes little Jack’s ultimate fate.

Apparently, Howler Monkeys can become very aggressive, especially males, as they reach sexual maturity; about 4-5 years of age. At this time, they are no longer cute, cuddly and photogenic so they are often euthanized. If you’re keeping track, the death toll is now at one entire group (possibly as many as 12-18) killed for a few lousy photographs.

Liz and I have taken the photos off this website. We do not wish to be associated with such immoral behavior and feel that this post should be a preliminary step in voicing our opinions about the horrible practice. We’ve been encouraged to contact the Belize Press and share with them our experience and renewed understanding so that maybe others can be made aware. Unfortunately, in Belize, ignorance of the law is grounds for dismissal of charges. If more are educated, then that may discourage this behavior and prevent others from capitalizing on this technicality.

A special thank you goes to Jerry and Colette for bringing this to our attention. You can read their comments here.

Here is a video from our zip lining trip at Jaguar Paw. While we weren’t totally bowled over with the resort itself, Kent and Harrison were great guys and they gave us a really nice private zip line tour. They were patient with us; especially with my technical issues. I think they might have even been a little bit amused by our enthusiasm and silliness. Enjoy the video: