Kirukkalkal

  A ~5.5 mile hike to the summit sounded enticing as doable on a good sunny day with comfortable temperatures and humidity. We did read about it as being a rocky terrain with boulders in many places. We were at the trail head by around 9:30 AM after a couple of hours driving from home. We could find a parking spot not far from the trail head comfortably and saw many trying to find the trail head as the name had worn out fully on the marker. We buckled up, stretched, registered our name in the notebook there and started walking. It started pretty rocky within few hundred yards and after crossing a small brook, the path started trending steep and rocky. The rocky boulders continued for the rest of the way uphill. What we thought as an early start wasn’t really early enough when we say people along the way hiking down already! They must have gone up in darkness to capture the sunrise. Great weather made the hike up all the way a relatively easy task. When we approached the summit, t...

We decided to go to Belize as it happened to be an escape from the chilly Northeast for a few days. It turned to be a wonderful trip not only for the climate, but had so much to offer for such a small country. It has the Caribbean vibe with sunny beaches, historic relevance with its Mayan ruins and greenery that feeds a diverse flora and fauna. After landing in Belize City, we took a ride to San Ignacio that took about 2.5 hours including a lunch stop at a ‘ Cheers’ (with a tropical twist 😊 ) on the way. The meal was refreshing with a view of their lushy farm in the backdrop. By the time we reached the Crystal Paradise Resort Hotel , it was almost dark. Checked in and had dinner right there as this place was away from the town. During dinner, we indicated to the concierge that we want to combine bird watching on our way to the Caracol Mayan Ruins. Caracol The trip was only for the two of us and the guide AbimaelMoralez was an excellent guy who has keen eyes and ears. Just the...