Caves Branch Jungle Lodge - cave tubing

Caves Branch Lodge, owned by Canadians, is unique in that they own all the land in their vicinity, including some interesting cave complexes and Mayan sites.  Several of the caves follow underground rivers for several miles.  They offered guided tubing/hiking through the caves and other tours to secluded and private Mayan sites and conotes.  My friend fell and sprained his ankle on our first tour to see some Mayan pottery (several pots are still intact!), so I joined some of the longer caves tours without him.  It was very cool to see the cave spiders, bats, and albino fish deep under the mountains.  At one point, our guide had us switch off our helmet lights to really experience pure blackness.  We could only handle it for a few mintues.

  We ate tortillas, beans, and veggies at the half-way point.  At the far end of the cave, we got to swim in a pool where the river originates deep underground.  The water was absolutely chilly and I was already cold and wishing I had been wearing a wet suit, but we had fun splashing around in the ultra clean water. 

Our first few nights, because we simply showed up without reservations, they housed us in their student wildlife observation lodge, a few kms from the main camp.  It was fantastic because we had the entire two story complex, in the middle of a protected rain forest, entirely to ourselves.  In the morning, I'd wake up and watch the toucans flying between trees from the balcony.  I could have stayed there forever.