Terranova Expedition: Barton Creek Outpost

Turning south from Monkey Bay, we faced the daunting task of riding a huge distance… 68 km.

Ok, maybe not that daunting, but the last 14km is killer.

Cory had found out about this place in one of his many searches into places to stay in Belize.

It is well off the beaten path, but so worth it.

Originally settled by a botanist, it was purchased in 2004 and turned into a hostel destination for backpackers, hikers, and anyone else who looks to go off the beaten path in Belize.

Run by a couple from Florida and their three children, the Barton Creek Outpost is a spectacular raised platform common area, with Kitchen, bathrooms, lights (when the generator is running) and 165 Acres of the most achingly beautiful Belize rainforest.

The common area overlooks Barton Creek, which is a pristine little flow of water that dumps into a swimming hole just in front of the property. On the other side, limestone rocks stretch as far as you can see to the sky, and vines and creepers line the walls.

One of the dogs on the property had just had a litter of puppies

9 of them.

Cooking supper.

9 puppies would exhaust anyone.

We arrived being shaken apart over the last 5km of the "road" last night, to find a wonderful group of people from all over the world living off the grid. Some were hitchhiking, one, like us was on a motorcycle, but they all were on the road for 3,4,5 months or more.

Our host for the night (Jim and his wife and kids were in town for a short vacation), was a traveller like us, who had found this place four months ago and just decided to stay. In exchange for his labour and help, he was allowed to stay on the property.

Pitching our tents is free, and they charge a nominal feel for the 3 meals a day that are served.

After a wonderful night sharing stories amongst the group, we woke this morning and decided to explore the local area, including the Barton Creek Cave, which is about 100 meters away on an adjoining property.

In ancient times, the Mayans knew of this cave. Bloodletting, agricultural, fertility, sacrifice, and lineage internment rituals are believed to have been performed here. When we toured the cave, our guide pointed out remains and skulls of victims of ancient sacrifices. We also say multiple pottery artifacts and even saw where the ancient Maya had carved out stairs on an overhead rock walkway.

To cave is actually an underground river, so you explore it via canoe. The water is very still, crystal clear, and between 4 and 14 feet deep in most places. At one point the floor drops away to create a pool 135 feet deep. In the water live catfish and freshwater lobster. The roof of the caves stretches as high as 150 feet overhead, or down to less than a foot above the water. During the dry season, more of the cave is accessible, and less during the wet season, as the roof of the cave meets the rising waters.

Cory and I piled into the canoe, and it became readily apparent that two 210+ (well plus) monsters was not what this canoe was designed for. We sat so low in the water, I was sure we were just going to sink. But, as our guide paddled us towards the cave entrance, the boat seemed to be holding water. It sure wasn't very stable, and Cory and I dared not move that much, for fear of tipping.

Our light was a big spotlight hooked up to a car battery that was sitting in the boat.

We paddled over 1 km into the earth and at points, turned our lights out to sit in the absolute blackness. It was an eerie feeling. We turned around at a point where the cave roof comes down at a section that makes it impossible to explore further, but the cave continues past this point another 4-5 km, and opens up into a couple giant rooms further in. The entire cave system was first explored by archaeologists in 1970 and a complete map of the cave was only produced in 2000.