It’s only been a couple of years since Minneapolis “Star Tribune” journalist Adam Belz wrote about the division of parental labor. The news wasn’t good. He discovered that dads get all the fun. Moms get all of the stress and fatigue. Today’s mom is typically employed, active in the community, stays fit and is more adventurous than her mom was. She’s also exhausted.
She needs a vacation that allows her to let go of her daunting schedule, tasks and demands so she can experience true freedom and find out how it feels to step out of her comfort zones.
Ian Anderson, the proprietor of Cave’s Branch Jungle Lodge, has been in the business of entertaining families for over two decades, so he knows firsthand what it’s like when a stressed-out mom arrives at his Belize jungle lodge and discovers an experience that’s totally out of the ordinary. He’s also watched the metamorphosis that takes place from the moment weary moms arrive.
The Mother’s Day break she craves
Is it possible to combine luxury with adventure in a unique setting that’s stimulating and exciting? The answer is yes. Bring the intrepid mother in your life to Cave’s Branch and watch her transform from exhausted to exhilarated so fast, you’ll wonder why you never thought of Belize and this particular jungle enclave before.
Getting to Belize is a breeze thanks to frequent flights that take just a few hours from the U.S., so you can whisk her away to this lush jungle lodge quickly and watch her decompress as soon as she spots the posh treehouse you reserved for her respite.
Mom can stick to whatever diet she likes courtesy of the meals served at the Lodge’s gourmet eatery (the ingredients for many dishes come from local organic farms) and you can start her holiday with a stroll around the compound’s botanical gardens where she will experience a breathtaking array of orchids.
Once your mother gets the lay of the land, it’s time to treat her to the adventures she has wanted to try but hadn’t been given the opportunities to do so. Book cave tubing (a fun river float pioneered by Anderson), hiking, bird-watching and sightseeing tours to Maya ruins. If she’s a free spirit, you wouldn’t be the first child to add zip lining over the jungle canopy to Mom’s itinerary. Make sure you snap photos.
We have it on good authority that moms who are given the gift of a Mother’s Day holiday at Cave’s Branch Jungle Lodge have been known to get fairly demonstrative in return for this amazing experience, so be prepared for a lot of hugs and kisses. It happens. But you’re the genius who came up with this brilliant idea, so take all of the credit you like for Mom’s metamorphosis during her Belize adventure.
Whether your gift-giving style is announcing up front that you are taking your Mom to Cave’s Branch Jungle Lodge as her Mother’s Day gift or you make this a surprise because you know how much she loves them, your generosity and creativity won’t be forgotten.
And since Mother’s Day marks the beginning of the transition from high to low season, you can take advantage of lower rates on everything from your lodging to those tours. Expect Mom to take all the credit for raising you to know a good value when you see one!