Belize - Day 7 - Rappelling down a sinkhole

Today we went on a hike to the “Black Hole Drop”. It was a steep and rocky climb for over an hour through the steamy jungle. We were all soaking wet with sweat when we arrived – we mean, soaking wet! Black Hole is a large sinkhole in the middle of the rainforest filled with large trees, vines and caves along the edges. The following is a view across the sinkhole looking directly at our rappelling site:



We were fitted with helmets and harnesses and one by one, we had to rappel down over the edge without being able to see the bottom below. The first 10 or 15 feet of rappelling were the scariest because you had to walk backwards off a cliff.



After that, you sat in your harness, enjoyed the view and descended to the forest floor about 300 feet below. What a thrill! The following a photo Beth took while hanging on the rope looking at the people below:



And this is a photo, taken from the bottom looking up, of another person on our tour:



After we all made it down, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and then it was time to head back home (via a ladder at the shallowest part of the sinkhole). Instead of dealing with the heat again, the skies opened up with pouring rain to provide some cooling relief.