[Paddlewise] Southern Belize

Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 15:48:27 EST
From: Rcgibbert_at_aol.com
Subject: [Paddlewise] Southern Belize

Greetings,

My buddy and I would like to kayak from Punta Gorda in the south of Belize 
and cruise a few jungle rivers before heading out to the cayes offshore from 
Placencia. Have any Paddlewiser's paddled this area? If so, do you recall any 
rivers and coastal areas adequate for camping? Based on map research the 
tough area seems to be Port Honduras, north of Punta Gorda. I have read an 
old Sea Kayaker article written by Eric Holle that emphasized the area but no 
specifics were given. 

Thanks a bunch-Rob Gibbert

I paddled southern belize jungle river many years ago; didn't camp and can't 
remember specific locations.  What I do remember is to be careful in terms of 
the end of the rainy season (end of winter).  Rivers can run many feet higher 
than normal covering trees in the river or at the edge.  It also makes for 
finding campsites even less likely.  When I was there, the jungle was so 
thick that I don't remember seeing easy places to camp.  Also even though the 
rains had recently stopped, the ground was still quite wet and soggy.  Most 
important though is a very swift current due to all the additional water that 
pulls down trees and brings down logged trees that had gotten stuck somewhere 
upstream.  Our biggest hazard, more so than the covered obstructions, was 
avoiding these missiles coming downstream at us.  We hadn't realized the 
extent of the abnormal height of the river, and later learned that natives 
and the rental agency weren't even going out then.  Three people had just 
died on the river we went down.

Have a great time.  It's a beautiful country.  I'd definitely encourage 
exploring all the different regions.  If you have any questions that i might 
be able to answer, feel free to email me.  I might even tell you about my 
running into Miss Belize in the middle of the jungle (and I have the picture 
of us to prove it!).  

Wish I were going with you,
Hank 

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