A Visit to Belize

Wednesday, April 5, 2017
We were up and about quite early this morning as we were due to pull in by 7:00 am and it is always fun to watch that process plus we needed breakfast before heading out on our 6 + hour tour.  The heat and humidity was already overwhelming when we got up and only got worse as the day wore on  but our tour guide and bus driver did an excellent job of handing out water often and making suggestions of how we might use the little bags it came in  putting it first on the backs of our necks and against our face to cool us down before drinking it.

Our bus trip first took us to the Community Baboon Sanctuary to see the howler monkeys living in the rain forest.  It took some calling by our guides to get them to come over to the area where we gathered so we could see them but what fun it was to watch them including a baby who seemed to really enjoy swinging about and showing off.

This guy came right down the tree next to me and got down on the ground next to my foot.  The guide was amazed as they seldom make themselves vulnerable by getting down on the ground.

It was fun hearing them howl to each other and swing from tree to tree trying to hide a bit yet peek out at us.  It just was a challenge getting good pictures of the experience though I'll always remember walking about in rain forest and seeing them in their natural home.  As we were driving away we saw more in a tree crotch near the road.

While walking through the rain forest,

I was able to point out a cashew nut tree with its "apple and nut hanging off the bottom" since I'd seen them the day before.

And also a termite nest on the trunk of a tree high off the ground.  Apparently they don't eat live wood, only dead wood.  This one was quite small compared to the one I'd seen in Roatan.

While we were at the Santuary station, they showed us how they use a wooden bowl and pestle to pound rice on its branches to knock it off and then lift what is pounded to let the wind blow the unusable stuff away.  It was interesting to watch the process since our next stop was along the Belize River where we ate at an open air restaurant.  The meal was a typical Belizean one: rice and black beans mixed in coconut milk, stewed chicken and cole slaw.  

After eating, Beth and I had fun looking at some of the handicrafts and other stuff in the little shop.  She was anxious to pick up some super hot sauce such as was served with our lunch to take home to Dean and I found a very pretty bright blue beaded necklace.

Then we were off for the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center.  It is located on 29 acres of tropical savanna so  while there are cages they are huge so the animals and birds can have far more freedom to move about than in an ordinary zoo.  Of course that also means it is sometimes hard to see the animals but it was fun seeing some of the native animals like this jaguar that was resting right next to our walkway. (inside a fence though)

How I wish my camera wouldn't focus on the fence but it does so this doesn't do justice to what we actually saw.  Another really interesting sighting was a harpy eagle - something I've never heard of before.  But it was HUGE. And while not far away my camera simply would not capture the image of it as we saw it. I've copied this from a website but it doesn't do it justice as we were looking at full face all 3 feet tall plus with a wingspan of over 6 feet and a very unusual face

This tapir came right over to see us and stick his nose right through the fence.

This Margay (a form of leopard) was sleeping in a tree.

And this spider monkey was as busy checking us out as we were checking him out.

Again my camera focused on fence rather than what is behind it so it is hard to see this King Vulture but it truly was huge.

And you can see this Keel-billed Toucan a bit better

The White Lipped Peccary were sleeping

The Puma was so hidden I couldn't get a picture of it and several other animals we simply couldn't locate.  They also had white tailed deer but they were much smaller than the ones we have here in the US.  But all in all it was a great visit though very hot and sticky.

Our ride on the bus afforded us an opportunity to see some of the countryside as well as some of the homes.  These two shots give an idea of what most of the population probably lives in.

As we drew closer to town, we saw a few homes like this so there definitely is a wealthier area

We returned to the ship hot and sticky so wanted to take showers to cool off and then just relax in the air conditioning with yet another drink.

It wasn't that long after that, that we headed to dinner.  For the second night in a row we had only one other person at our table, the Englishman, John.  So we shared some of our experiences with him and discovered he'd had lunch at the same place we did but he did the boat trip down the river stopping to see some Mayan Ruins first.

Beth and I skipped dessert so we could hurry up to the top deck to watch the movie under the stars: Hidden Figures.  She went up ahead of me and found a good seat on a lounge chair.  I went up and hunted all over for her finally giving up and sitting in the only empty chair I could find.  When the movie ended I discovered I was right behind her!!!!!  She had not seen the movie before while I had but enjoyed it just as much the second time around.  Amazing seeing black women being used like computers to solve all the mathematical information for the first manned space shot.