Another water taxi took the five of us from San Pedro to Belize City. Really only the size of a large town by European standards, 'Belize' as it is known by locals seemed cramped, dirty, and unsafe. It is the kind of place where corner shops sell through a metal grill rather than trust their customers to enter the shop. Not the sort of place to be after dark. That said, a friendly taxi driver assured us that most of the crime is 'wanna'be gangstaz' fighting each other and that crime towards tourists is rare.

The two hour bus from Belize City to San Ignacio took us along the Western Highway past vast agricultural areas, over crystal clear creeks and through Belize's capital city Belmopan.

San Ignacio is a pleasant Belizean town surrounded by jungle near the Guatemalan border. Much less touristy than the Cayes it felt like we had arrived at the real Belize. We had managed to find a nice cheap family run hostel called Bella's (named after the owner's youngest daughter). After a sweaty day of traveling we were delighted when Natasha (the owner) offered to take us all down to a place that they called 'Monkey Falls'. My first glimpse of true Belizean jungle was great but sadly you didn't have to look far before the scenery was spoilt by litter left by other visitors. Luckily the water was clean and clear and very refreshing!

The town is often used by travelers as a base to visit some of Belize's best know sites and as a gateway to Guatemala's Tikal ruins so is full of guides offering tours. Wanting a little more independence and to save some money we decided that it would be best if we hire a car for the day and drive through the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Mandy, an American girl we met at the hostel joined in too.

Being the only one with a valid driver's license I took to the wheel for my first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road!

A gravel road winds its way past the Maya villages of Cristo Ray and San Antonia towards the entrance gate of the reserve. From here the road worsens to a potholed dirt track, it becomes clear why we were advised to lie to the car rental guy about where we were going. Despite the road conditions the reserve is home to a number or exclusive and expensive retreats, sympathetically seated into the jungle. We decided to visit 'Blancano Lodge' owned by a famous film director, with its own airstrip, swimming pool and private cabanas dotted amongst the trees it was nice to see 'how the other half live'!

Carrying along the same road we arrived at Big Rock Falls. A short walk down a steep hill side we cooled off in the beautiful green water and tried (but failed) to swim against the current to the waterfall. After the short walk back up, the cool water seemed like a distant memory.

The old military base at Augustine pretty much marked the end of the road for us. From here you can take a military escort another twenty something mile to the actively excavated Maya site or Caracol but after 4 hours of driving at 10mph we decided to visit the nearby caves instead. After signing in at the base we headed another 10 minutes into the thick jungle to the Rio Frio Caves. Actually a huge tunnel with daylight at both ends and the Rio Frio River trickling through it the cave made a perfect spot to eat lunch.

The drive back seemed a little smoother but by the time we got back to the hostel we were all very tired and grubby. After a quick shower we all headed out to a nearby restaurant for some traditional Belizean food, cheeseburger and chips!