We reported back in August about the Belize Hot Card, a discount card one can purchase for US$50 and use for discounts and perks at numerous locations throughout Ambergris Caye and a few places in Belize City.

Liz and I took our Hot Card into San Pedro each day and took advantage of a number of opportunities to save money. From restaurants to diving and snorkeling, we were able to get a lot for a little bit less than advertised thanks to this discount card.

About the only challenge we had was remembering to use the card. The card comes with a nice little printout of all the places where the card is honored. We checked that frequently when looking for a place to eat, such as at the Jambal Jerk Pit and Palapa Bar and Gill and let it often help us decide where to go. It never steered us wrong, but if we forgot to give the card to the server, or mention the card to the clerk, it was our own fault!

There were many discounts we weren’t able to capitalize on, such as hotel and golf cart/bike rentals simply because we either had prior reservations or simply weren’t on the island long enough. The cart rental would have been great had Cocotal not offered free use of their bikes and we were staying on the island longer.

We did, however score BIG with the card at Ecologic Divers! The 15% discount offered when one pays cash helped us to do much more than we’d originally budgeted for. We did a grand total of four dives and three snorkeling trips between the two of us. We saved much more than the cost of the card; and had we stuck around in Ambergris Caye longer, would have dove and snorkeled enough to save much, much more!

Table Rock Jungle Lodge was a great place to stay and it was as close to the jungle experience as you can get. There are many key features to the lodge that both Courtney and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Table Rock Jungle Lodge has a fruit farm and has a few animals on the property. Jen, one of the keepers, was kind enough to take us on a tour of the property. The farm produced everything: limes, starfruit, oranges, mangoes, bananas and more. Everything was fresh as fresh could be. We were encouraged to pick the fruit but only under one condition: that we ate the fruit entirely and did not let it go to waste. While we did not visit in the fruitful season, we were able to experience fresh limes and fresh starfruit right off the trees. The limes we added to some cocktail drinks and they were so fresh and yummy. The star fruit turned out to be a delightful taste as well.

The minute we arrived at Table Rock, we dropped off our bags in our rooms and headed toward the Mayan River for a canoe trip. Chris, Jen’s husband and lodge keeper assisted us with getting the canoe in the water. The lodge dogs also joined us and took a quick dip. We had an enjoyable canoe trip, but we both agreed we prefer kayaks over a canoe. Our canoe adventure was cut short when I proclaimed my exhaustion from the long day and little amount of sleep I received the night before. The long day of traveling from San Pedro to Jaguar Paw and then to San Ignacio took it’s toll on me. At this point we returned to our room.

Table Rock Jungle Lodge also has a bar on site that Jen will happily serve you drinks at and keep you company. Courtney and I took full advantage of this while we used the wireless signal and updated our posts. The bar is in the dining cabana and has a really great set-up. Just a few steps away you can sit on the deck in the middle of the jungle and enjoy the jungle sounds and watch the stars.

Our room had the bare bone essentials, but everything in unique wood. It also had little lighting and we were reminded to always turn off lights when we weren’t needed as to conserve energy. This was not a problem for us and we were happy to do it. The bathroom was agree at walk in stone shower. The only complaint I would have about the rooms is the lighting. In the sense that they use maybe 2 watt bulbs in the room and have no lights in the shower. The bathroom itself is dimly lit, thankfully. In Belize, it gets dark early- at about 6 o’clock. The daylight gets cut short and Courtney and I used every drop of sunlight we could. That means indoor activities were designated for after dark. When we showered, it was pitch black except for the faint bathroom light. I have bad night vision, so the lighting was particularly a problem for me. Regardless, you can come properly prepared with flashlights and headlights. All of which we used there at Table Rock Jungle Lodge.

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…

Piggy Backing on Courtney’s Post: Zip Lining in Belize: Part 1 of 2: We headed to the zip-line area after the black out and we  were guided by a nice worker there to the area. Along the way, there was a large pavilion which at first I believed to be the zip-lining site, but this seems to be more of the “break” area for the zip-line workers there. We met Harrison and Kent. They were both really nice gentleman and extremely patient with us as Courtney attempted a couple of different ways to mount the camera on the helmet from the front. While Courtney worked on mounting the camera, Kent helped me gear up. Soon after, Harrison worked on Courtney and later allowed Courtney to use his personal helmet to try and mount the camera. After a few attempts and realizing he did not bring the zip ties, he mounted the camera with a few piece of duct tape and we continued on with our journey.

Harrison and Kent led us up a trail with a buncha stairs to our first launch site. They told us a few tricks to zip-line and then we were off! We soared from ramp to ramp above the Belize jungle. We soared, we laughed, we giggled, we squealed. It was an absolute blast and an incredible experience. I had been waiting years to do this. Since I was a little girl. It was everything I ever dreamed of. Although, I wish it lasted longer! It took us about 20-30 minutes to complete the course. But it was worth it!

Here are the photos. Look for video in the near future!

About the only downside to the trip to ATM was the tour group. Mayawalk is not a tour company I’d recommend to any potential tourists. I hate to say this, because their prices are cheaper than the competition, but the experience could have been far better with a better company. “Why,” might you ask? There were a number of shortcomings:
Liz was ill so she couldn’t go. They charged me a 50% cancelation fee, explaining that they’d already purchased a lunch for her, etc. The lunch, while tasty, cost $4US. I know this because I bought lunch from the same place they did the day before. No other sacrifices were made on their part. They definitely didn’t turn any potential guests away. I realize a cancelation fee is almost always applied, but this was unbelievable; especially because of their next ding.

To the guides credit, he did tell a great story, and I did thoroughly enjoy the experience, despite the constant grumblings of one of the other guests. He still shared some interesting stories and described how the Maya may have interpreted different features of the cave, such as the sacrifice victims and the rock formations. I really wish I’d been able to make the POV function for that trip. Sans video, it was still an excellent narration and I can’t for the life of me, remember all of the details.