The river or creek we forded was only knee to waist deep and the smooth stones made for easy walking if you were careful about not stepping on a large stones that could tip over, doing the same to you. The water was perfectly clear which made foot placement choices easy. Falling in the water on a hot sticky day in the jungle isn’t a bad thing unless your camera gets wet.Once across the water we walked along a coarse sand beach that gradually ascended to a large level rock that was part of the opening to a huge cavern. The cavern was about 150′ across and 30′ high at its center. There was no way to know how far the cavern went back inside but the people floating through the cavern on their inner tubes would have an idea. I could hear them laughing and talking long before they appeared out of the darkness. They came floating around the bend in the river and into the light that filtered through the trees of the jungle and bounced off the water in front of the cave.

Cave tubing is what the activity is called and in Belize there are at least four places to “cave tube”. This series of river caverns is relatively close to Belize city and the happy floaters I saw before me looked like cruise ship people.

Paula laughs at my type casting analysis of tourists based on their appearance,age,accents and attire. The funniest part is that I am usually correct in my guess. When you meet and fly a lot of people you develop an eye for peoples nationality and whether they are locals,travelers or tourists. I was happy to see these folks had chosen an activity that was giving them so much enjoyment. It got me thinking about some of the other cruise ship vacationers and tourists who had chosen to either stay aboard the ship or just simply walk around the port area of Belize. I realize that not everyone is physically able to hike around jungle trails and float down a river through caverns. There is just so much to see that is beautiful in Belize. To not make an effort to get out and see something seems like a wasted opportunity.

It reminds me of a friend of mine who travels extensively all over the globe.We have worked together in several countries.I fly the helicopter and he fixes what I break.Almost every airport gift shop he visits he buys a T-Shirt . He never seems to like anywhere he has to work and takes little or no interest in what ever country he is visiting. Back in the U.S.A. he lives in a small town and knows almost everyone. He has simple interests and is a very likable guy. Around his little town he can be often seen wearing T-shirts that say Sydney, Venice and other interesting places. He never talks much about his travels ,just where he has been and what the work had been like.

I am sure people in his town must say , ” that Bob ,sure has an interesting job.”

“He travels all over the world. It must be great to do that”

Do what, I wonder ?