“Are you Mr Lewis Mcleod?” This came out as, “Lee wiss m c lee odd” but the charming smile that was beamed at me by the beautiful young Belizean woman greeting me outside the Philip Goldson International Airport made up for the mispronunciation.

I was travelling light, with just a carry on, visiting one of the world’s top adventure spots, Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Lodge in the Central American country of Belize, on a reporting mission for www.lewismcleod.com.au

My hostess led me to a comfortable air conditioned mini van, parked within feet of the airport exit, and we drove south through the rather scruffy outskirts of Belize City. The landscape for the following hour or so consisted of flat scrub, but I was assured that everything would look different when we arrived at Caves Branch.

When we arrived, having driven down a mysterious narrow road bordered with lush tropical trees, I was again greeted by name at the outdoor reception area. “Lewis Mcleod?” (This time pronounced correctly.) “Welcome to Caves Branch”. A few simple formalities, and a young man appeared from nowhere, hoisted my bag on his shoulder, and we made our way up a long flight of outdoor steps to my jungle tree house room.

The room was spectacular, with an outdoor shower, an indoor shower, and a double sized outdoor bath on the topmost deck. Elegantly decorated with local crafts and built from local exotic woods, you feel as if you truly are in a tree house. In every direction, all I could see was jungle. After admiring the room, I went straight down to the restaurant/bar/gathering area to meet my guide for the day. I noticed that my dinner seat on one of the long community tables was already marked with “Lewis Mcleod”

My guide, a local guy who has worked at the resort for close to twenty years, was full of information. We walked around the property (which covers thousands of acres - I just had time for a tiny part of what Caves Branch has to offer) admiring the fantastic botanical gardens, and enjoying wading through the river, checking the tropical birds which flitted everywhere. The resort offers cave tubing, zip lining, overnight jungle expeditions, botanical trails, bird watching, visits to Mayan sites and much more – they even have a cheese making room, and offer regular cheese and chocolate tasting.

See more at the Lewis McLeod website www.lewismcleod.com.au or blog www.lewismcleod.com.au/blog or this post directly at http://lewismcleod.com.au/lewis-mcleod-travel-blog-2/