Who remembers the 1960’s Disney film Swiss Family Robinson? I adored that movie as a kid. The story tells the tale of a family, who on their way to New Guinea, gets shipwrecked off an uninhabited island after being chased by pirates. Together they salvage as much as they can from the wreck and their natural surroundings to build an elaborate house in the trees.

We got a little taste of arboreal living at Parrot’s Nest Lodge, a family-owned property just outside of San Ignacio in the Cayo jungle. We slept amongst the birds, mosquitos, moths and geckos in a thatched tree house high up in a lush canopy. It was an unforgettable experience.