Cave Tubing with Nacho 11/23/05

[smrtypnts]

We tendered in and 9 of our party had a cave-tubing excursion for $75pp scheduled with Nacho and Cynthia. There was another party of 16 on our tender who also had an excursion with Nacho. Half of them did just the cave-tubing and half did the zipline and cave-tubing. Nacho was waiting with a sign with my name on it upon arrival. We all got on a bus and Nacho immediately apologized for not having a speaker to tell us of all there was to learn about the trip and Belize. I was very disappointed as I was sitting in the back of the bus and heard almost nothing of what he had to say, even though I leaned into the isle and listened very carefully. The trip took 1.5 hours and we drove by a lot of poverty stricken areas. The last 15 minutes were an extremely bumpy dirt road. We parked at the Jaguar Paw resort and changed in their individual bathrooms. If you didn’t want something to get wet you left it behind in their “lock up”. We brought bug spray per our instructions and we started to put on sunscreen. Nacho told us sunscreen was unnecessary, so we stopped. We all wore water shoes, but I recommend thick-soled water shoes. I had thin ones and while they were ok, thick would have been better. We walked a very short distance with our large inner tube in hand. (maybe 10 minutes) and then got into our tubes and for about an hour or more went quickly downstream through the caves. It seemed like 2 caves, but I was told it was actually 4 caves. The water was probably about 78 degrees. Nacho stayed behind and met us back there later. Cynthia met us part way through our walk, apparently she had just finished another group tour. Neither our guides, nor Nacho or Cynthia told us anything about the fauna or any of the plant life and I was a little disappointed. Upon our return, our guides immediately left us to help new groups and we didn’t get to tip them, so we gave our tip to Nacho. We only hope that he gave it to them. The tubing itself was a lot of fun. We saw a little bit in the caves, but it was so dark and somewhat quick moving, so there wasn’t a lot of time to see anything. Occasionally, we’d have to paddle, but rarely. We never ran into shallow enough water to have the need to lift our butts. At the VERY end, where we were getting out of our tubes, the water was running so fast that one of our group lost their tube due to the swift moving water. When I tried to get it for him, I got caught in raging white water and needed to be rescued. We had a 6yo with us and the guides did try to help him a lot, but since his parents wanted to be more in control of him, the guides stopped trying to help him. I think in the dark caves, if anyone had had an accident, I’m not sure how well it would have been handled. Once we walked back up, we changed out of our wet bathing suits and went to lunch inside the Jaguar Paw resort. It was included in the price and was chicken, rice, cole slaw and a bottle of soda. We took a minimal tour of the resort, while we waited for those who ziplined. The bus driver kept the bus running so it was air conditioned when we got on. This wasn’t a good idea as it kept stalling out before we left the place. Once we left it stalled a couple of times and I got very nervous since we were on an independent tour and didn’t want to miss the ship’s departure. In the end, we opened all the windows and drove back to port that way. In the end, I’m not sure I would use Nacho again, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t either. I’m sure every guide has their plusses and minuses. Anyway, once back DS and I went shopping in the street. He bought a silver necklace for $20 and we just generally walked around. Then we went back to the dock and tendered back. Overall it was nice day and cave-tubing was something interesting that we’re not likely to get the chance to do again.

[Roliver]

Hello Cool Cruiser,

My group was with you on the bus 11/23 for the cave tubing with Nacho. I have cruised many times in the past and always book thru a independent guide. You get a much better tour and at a better price. Everyone in our group agreed that the cave tubing/ zip line was the highlight of the cruise. I was concerned about some of the group waiting after they did the cave tubing while the rest of the group finished up. But they told me that Nacho had taken them on a tour of the resort and it wasn't a issue. I am sorry that you were not able to hear Nacho on the bus. That happened to us earlier in Grand Cayman, that the back of the bus just doesn't hear as well. I thought That the fact that we were not a huge group like the ship has, and that we ate INSIDE was a HUGE plus, Not to memtion that it was a lot cheaper than the ship's tour.

The aerial trek was the experience of a lifetime. We were double attached to what I would call a zip line, and went from platform to platform (six in all). It was a very gradual decline, even the ones in our group that were a little afraid would agree, there was nothing to it. You just went from tree top to tree top in the rain forest. The cave tubing was wonderful. I thought that it was very safe. No one in our group felt unsure. They did advise us of the age requirement and that it was a somewhat athlete event. The mother of the six year old had no problems. You are in the dark, you are in a cave with a little flashlight on your head. How well did you expect to see?

If we ever get to Belize again, you can bet that I will look up Nacho and do the Cave Tubing / Aerial Trek tour again.