International Group Completes Expedition to Belize’s Highest Peak, Doyle’s Delight

Close to two dozen visitors have completed an expedition at Belize’s highest peak.  Doyle’s Delight stands at one thousand one hundred and twenty-four meters and is located amid the Maya Mountains in southwestern Belize.  Senior Toledo Correspondent Paul Mahung tells us the story of how a group of British, American and Canadian nationals did the climb in five days.  Here is his report.   

Paul Mahung, Toledo Correspondent: An expedition team overcame all challenges to reach Belize’s highest peak of the Doyle’s Delight located in Maya Divide, the main ridge line of Maya mountains in southwestern Belize. Coordinator of the expedition was licensed tour operator and owner of Toledo Cave and Adventure Tour, Honorable Bruno Kuppinger.

Bruno Kuppinger, Owner/Tour Operator, Toledo Cave and Adventure Tour: “Yeah, it was an honor. Initially a part of the planning process we had seven foreign nationals, five Americans, one British and one Canadian. They had the intention to climb our highest peak in Belize with 1124 meters, the Doyle’s Delight and knowing that I had done that in 2008 the last time, what was a very challenging expedition this time and we know our natural resources, we have difficulties with people coming in from across the border. So we reached out to the leaders of the BDF, we reached out to leaders of YaxChe because it was a part of the Bladen Nature Reserve where we were passing through. All that took us four months to organize that. That expedition took off on May Sunday the 5th at four o’clock in the morning with 22 people. We had, as I mentioned, seven foreign nationals. We had five locals, four from the village of San Jose and one person from Santa Cruz and then we had eight from the BDF, including a staff sergeant here from the Fairweather Camp. And all of them did an excellent job. They worked together as a team. All of them, they had different goals, but the main thing was to reach the Doyle’s Delight and they accomplished that one. One thing I would like to share, it was a trek of 63 miles for those five challenging days. Usually it takes seven days. And what was the mission for all those three different entities, YaxChe, etc. that we have for example ground operation, illegal activities and create, and that’s a very important part, create awareness about our tallest peak in Belize. I still meet many, many tour guides, many, many teachers everybody when I ask them what’s the tallest peak they will tell me it’s the Victoria Peak. I said, no, it can’t. It’s 1120 meters to Victoria Peak. 1124 meters is the Dois de Lied. So we have to create a little more awareness about that one and I feel like with that expedition and the awareness also including the Belize Tourism Board making a little more advertising about things like that. We can definitely create more jobs here on the ground for Toledo tour guides, for tour operators, for NGOs working together as a team, as a joint team. And I’m very, very happy to assist in any more future expeditions like that with the knowledge what we have. “

Paul Mahung, Toledo Correspondent: Kuppinger also commented that the expedition team had to check several sections of the climb by night in search of needed water supply as some of the known water sources were dry due to hot weather conditions. The valiant cross-section of team members of the expedition crew also included a Canadian internationally recognized mountain climber who previously climbed the world’s highest peak Mount Everest. Paul Mahung, Love News, Toledo.

The name, Doyle’s Delight was given to the peak in 1989 by Sharon Matola.  Love News understands that the name originates from a quote in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book, ‘The Lost World’ referring to Belize as a ‘wild and wonderful country.