INTO THE JUNGLE

A couple weeks ago, Andrew headed back to New York City for work for a few days, and I headed into the jungle.  The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a couple hours south of Belmopan and is in the thick of it.  It’s a 150 square mile area that is protected and managed in part by the Belize Audubon Society.  It’s home to tropical forests, rivers, and loads of wildlife, including jaguars.  I went down for an overnight trip with a friend and colleague from the British High Commission here in Belmopan.  She has been in Belize for three years and has visited Cockscomb before, so I figured I’d take advantage of her bird knowledge. 

A pretty waterfall at the end of one of our hikes.

The Audubon Society has some basic accommodations in the preserve, so we reserved one of them.  “Basic” = no air conditioning, no hot water, no fans, no electricity after 8pm.  All well and good… except when it is 110 degrees and the humidity makes the air feel like a sauna.  The two days I was in Cockscomb were THE HOTTEST I have possibly ever been.  I drank liters of water… and immediately sweated out every drop. 

The Ritz...it is not.  Photo courtesy the Belize Audubon Society.

But I digress… The main point of this post is that we an AMAZING array of birds.  

The Woody Woodpecker woodpecker (AKA pale-billed woodpecker)

Boat-billed heron... and baby boat-billed herons!

Woodpeckers, tanagers, parrots, all manner of little songbirds, and… the most amazing of all… scarlet macaws.  We heard them before we saw them, could tell they were getting closer, and then they started flying overhead in groups of 3 or 4 until a flock of upwards of 30 had assembled in a large tree at the edge of South Stann Creek.  I understand many of you are probably thinking, 30 birds, big whoop.  But when you consider that the total population of this bird species in Belize has been estimated at as few as 150 birds, this really was incredible to behold. 

So amazing to see these macaws flying through the forest!

A few of the 30+ birds that took over this tree.

The first book I read when I got to Belize was called The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw by Bruce Barcott.  For anyone interested, it provides an excellent overview of the history and politics in Belize in the context of the conflict between development and environmental protection.  This is a small, still developing country, and macaws are under pressure from habitat loss and poaching.  The status of the population of these birds in Belize is tenuous at best.  But we saw 30 of them, flying free, flashing rainbows of color amid the trees, and it was a sight I will never forget. 

EVERYTHING'S UP TO DATE IN BELMOPAN

I just realized it’s been over a month since my last blog post.  I initially thought, geez, we haven’t done much this month that merits a post.  But then I realized that wasn’t exactly true.  It’s just that the things that have happened are at a different scale – a scale more in line with Belize in general, which is smaller, less flashy, and more laid back.

Perhaps the biggest news to report is that Belmopan now has its very own traffic light!  It’s the first traffic light in our town, and only the fifth traffic light in the entire country.  (And even then, a couple of them aren’t working.)  This was big news around town.  Everyone was on the edge of their seats to see if it would work.  Would all the lights be green at the same time?  Would the timing be off?  And, most importantly, in a country with only 2-4 functioning traffic lights, would people know how to use them?  The traffic light is really only needed during the “rush 10-minutes” immediately before 8am, at lunch time, and after 5pm when everyone in town is on the road.  Until the light arrived, during the rush 10-minutes, traffic at this intersection was regulated by 2 guys directing traffic.  The rest of the main intersections in town are traffic circles, which function quite well.  While the traffic light is working correctly, the jury is still deliberating whether it is really more efficient than 2 guys directing traffic for less than 30 minutes/day.

Behold!  The technology!  And PS- that gray-ish sky you see is what I call the Haze of Humidity.  I'm posting this blog at 10:30am and it is already 100 degrees outside.  Welcome to the jungle!

Andrew and I also spent a long weekend in the coastal town of Placencia, about 2 hours from Belmopan.  The town is a long spit on the central coast, with the ocean on one side and a lagoon on the other.  It is seriously only about 100 feet wide in some spots with a road running down the center.  We stayed at a lovely hotel, had some great meals, found the best ice cream shop in Belize (and stopped in every day we were there), and had a fantastic day trip to a little island called Laughing Bird Caye for some incredible snorkeling… but somehow I did not end up with pictures of any of that.  All I have to show for that weekend is this shot of the sunset and moon.  Fear not!  I’m sure we’ll have a return visit to this town while we’re here. 

Sunset in Placencia.

We also visited the little town of Crooked Tree during the annual cashew festival held there.  Many observations here.  First off, Belize has some awesome town names.  Crooked Tree.  Gallon Jug. Fire Burn. Guinea Grass.  Teakettle.  Cowpen.  And my favorite… Dump.  Next, Belize has lots of festivals.  There was an orange festival here in Belmopan a couple months ago.  In addition to cashews and oranges, there are festivals dedicated to coconuts, chocolate, mangoes, lobsters, and others.  Having now been to two of these festivals, it seems they all follow more or less the same theme:  tents set up with people selling the particular festival item in various forms (roasted cashews, cashew jam, cashew wine, cashew cake,..), along with folks selling barbecue, drinks and beer, and other refreshments, a few tents selling other kinds of goods, and lots of rides and games for the kids.  The festivals don’t get going until later afternoon (we arrived at the cashew festival around 2pm and they were still setting up).  So clearly, the intent is that people come and stay for the day.  I admire those who can hang out all day, in the heat, eating cashews (or insert-the-festival-item-here), but I don’t have that in me.  We made a couple rounds of the tents and headed out.  But Crooked Tree is also home to a wildlife sanctuary and huge lagoon/wetland complex, so I may have a return trip there just to geek out on birds.

The Cashew Festival in all its glory.

The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary.

And now it’s on to summer.  The “summer transfer season” at the Embassy will see lots of my colleagues moving on to their next posts, and lots of newcomers arriving to fill those empty slots.  We’ll be sad to say goodbye to some friends we’ve already made here, but are looking forward to meeting the new folks who we’ll be spending time with for the rest of our stay in Belize.  We’re also looking forward to returning the favor that many extended to us by showing those newcomers around and pointing out what our town has to offer… especially that new traffic light.

OUR FIRST VISITOR

Belize celebrates Easter in a big way.  Good Friday and Easter Monday are both national holidays, so we got to enjoy a four day weekend.  We also got to enjoy our spending time with our first visitor to Belmopan!  Our friend (and my colleague from my orientation program in Washington DC) Holly came to stay with us for three days, and we took advantage of having a guest in order to do lots of day trips and sightseeing. 

We picked her up at the Belize City airport on Friday and made a beeline to Lamanai, a Mayan run in the northern part of Belize that is accessible by a one-hour boat ride.  We met up with a tour guide who took us along the New River, and we saw lots of critters along the way – mostly birds, but also a turtle and even a crocodile!

Heading up a narrow part of the New River toward Lamanai.

Yikes.

Welcome to Lamanai... and more crocodiles.  We stayed out of the water, thank you.

Our tour guide did an expert job of showing us around the ruins at Lamanai.  We even got to climb a couple of the temples and got an incredible view of the jungle and river from the top.

One of many howler monkeys we spotted at Lamanai.

A very scientific - albeit accurate - name for this tree.

Andrew and Holly at the ruins.

View from the top of one of the temples.

On Saturday, we headed west to the town of San Ignacio.  Every Saturday is market day in San Ignacio – a gathering of vendors selling everything from fresh produce and spices to clothing and souvenirs.  This Saturday was also the annual Cross Country Cycling Classic, which is an annual road bike race from Belize City to San Ignacio and back again.  It was started in 1928 and is the oldest sporting event in the county.  (If you’re interested on the history, there’s more info here.)  We left Belmopan around 8am and made it most of the way to San Ignacio before a police car came through and waved us to the side, a pack of maybe 60-70 riders went by, and we continued on our way. 

A wave of riders passes by outside San Ignacio.

Andrew checking out the produce at the market.

After making the rounds at the market, we headed to Ajaw Chocolate for a chocolate-making demonstration.  We learned all about the history and Mayan tradition of harvesting cacao beans, fermenting and roasting them, and grinding them into a paste that forms the base of chocolate.  And, of course, we got to do some sampling!

I am even more of a chocolate expert now.

We headed to the Chaa Creek resort for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon there.  It is one of the oldest ecolodges in Belize, and has a series of interpretive trails, a natural history museum, and even a butterfly “pavilion” where a guide gave us a lesson on the life cycle of butterflies.

Inside the butterfly pavilion at Chaa Creek.  Andrew was a natural.

The blue morpho butterfly.

We celebrated Easter with a brunch with some work colleagues, and then a visit to the Belize Zoo.  The zoo is located about 20 minutes outside Belmopan and includes only species native to Belize that have been rescued and are unable to return to the wild.  The exhibits are exceptionally well done and we had a fantastic time seeing so many tropical creatures up close.

The tapir - kind of a dog meets horse meets rhinoceros.

The harpy eagle - he was HUGE... and a bit grumpy.

The toucan.  I've seen several of these in the wild now, but it is definitely impressive to see one up close.

We took Holly back to Belize City on Monday.  She didn’t have to head out until the afternoon, so we spent the morning at a water park just outside Belize City. 

Floating in tubes while enjoying a beer - a classy end to a fantastic long weekend!

As we dropped her off, the skies opened and it started pouring rain.  There were some lightning flashes and thunder claps too.  The storms have continued into today.  But fortunately, we were able to spend four fun-filled dry days exploring more must-see sights around our new home.  We also have some credibility as tour guides and some proven activities to enjoy with future visitors!  Perhaps you’ll be next!!!

A YEAR AGO TODAY

A year ago today was my first full day in Washington DC.  I spent the day getting my bearings, settling in to my new “temporary” apartment, and preparing for the first day of my new job.  I know for a fact that I was not thinking of where I would be in a year – I had enough on my mind!  But here I am, one year later… in Belize! 

We’ve been here almost exactly two months now, and our new “temporary” house in Belmopan is starting to feel more like home.  The house is furnished, but we are able to bring whatever we like with us to make it our own.  Our things from the U.S. arrived a couple weeks ago – rugs, books, kitchen stuff, clothes, linens, games, you name it.  Andrew had to travel back to the states for a few weeks and was gone the day the moving truck came – well timed, sir!  But getting unpacked kept me busy until he returned, and we’ve been busy getting everything set up since he’s been back.  Except for hanging some art on the walls, I think we’re almost done. 

Who knew we had that much stuff!!??!!??

Our stuff had been in storage at a facility in Hagerstown, MD before getting loaded into these crates, put in this container, and shipped out on a boat to Belize in January.

Empty boxes and a feeling of accomplishment.

And the result!  We're ready for visitors!

Andrew is all settled in to his office/safe room/forensic accountant cage.

On the work front, all is well.  I’m starting to finally get the hang of things (although there’s still lots to learn).  There’s never a dull day, that’s for sure.  I also ended up part of the “first responders team” at the Embassy and had two days of training to learn how to deal with emergency situations.  The training included learning how to wear some very fashionable new attire.

Such a flattering outfit - and very sensible for 100+ degree weather!

Outside of work, there’s no shortage of happy hours and other get-togethers.  The folks I work with are a really fun, welcoming, energetic bunch, and we’ve had a fantastic time getting to know them.

The "Driveway Drinking Club" that meets periodically on a Friday in the driveway of one of the houses on the compound for a potluck and, as the name implies, drinking.

We (unfortunately) don't live on the housing compound.  (I say we're the out-of-towners.)  We would have preferred being there to be closer to the after-hours activities and to take advantage of the pool and other amenities.  But our house is only a couple minutes away, so we still do.

Resort living on the housing compound.

One of the extra-curricular activities is Wednesday nights at the Pig and Parrot, which is a little pub at the British High Commission that opens up on Wednesdays.  We’ve found ourselves there most Wednesdays to enjoy darts, pool, an outdoor patio… and a beer selection that includes more than Belikin.  The deputy high commissioner is a lovely gal who is into birding, and I’ve joined her for a couple outings to start learning about the birds here in Belize.  (Bird nerd alert: several photos of some of my favorites follow.)

Emerald toucanet

Collared trogon

Painted bunting

Black-headed trogon

White-fronted parrot

So, all in all, it’s been a very soft landing here in Belize so far.  If you’d asked me a year ago where I would be and what I would be doing today, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have said “putting on a respirator suit" or "bird watching in Belize.”  Given that, I dare not guess what I’ll be doing a year from today.

A STEP BACK IN TIME

Monday was National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize, so we took advantage of another 3-day weekend to head west to Tikal National Park in Guatemala.  Tikal is one of the most well preserved and restored Mayan ruins and is the biggest tourist attraction in Guatemala.  We left Belmopan on Saturday morning and after a stop for lunch in San Ignacio near the Belize-Guatemala border, we were checked into our hotel inside the park by mid-day.  Some fun facts we discovered during our drive to Tikal:

1. The roads in Belize are bad.  The roads in Guatemala range from marginally better – wider, center-lined, newly paved – to exponentially worse – not paved at all, or paved but with randomly located pot holes that are wide and deep enough to completely take out your suspension.  Fortunately, Andrew expertly navigated these hidden dangers, and the Pathfinder lived to see another day.

2. Diplomatic license plates completely change the border crossing experience.  Andrew bought a Moon travel guide to Belize at Powell’s Books in Portland before heading to DC so that we could research places to go and things to do.  Tikal was included in the guide, along with a section on what to expect if you’re crossing into Guatemala by car.  The guide talked about making sure to carry your car ownership documents, paying a couple of dollars to have your tires fumigated at the border (for what, I do not know), paying a toll as well as an exit fee, and ensuring you receive a “proper exit stamp” for both yourself and your car.  The bad news... we did not read that section until AFTER we were already in Guatemala.  The good news... we did not have to do any of that.  (Except the fumigating part.  We did drive through a car wash-looking contraption that sprayed our car with a mystery liquid.  But we didn’t pay anything for that “service.”)  Being blissfully ignorant of what the border crossing process was supposed to be, we just rolled up to the stop sign at the border, they looked at our plates, and we got waved on through.  No paperwork.  No fees.  No passport stamps.  Were we really ever in Guatemala?  There is no record of us there…

3. ATMs are hit or miss – but mostly miss.  Our trusty Moon guide told us that the entrance fee to Tikal needed to be paid in the local currency – quetzales – so once we crossed the border, we were on a mission to change some money.  This mission also resulted in me having to (try to) speak more Spanish than I’ve had to speak since I’ve been here.  After asking a couple folks where we could change money and getting some fairly dodgy responses (like, go to that little store over there and there’s usually a few guys who can make change.  Ummm… no thanks), we found an ATM… that was out of order.  We continued on to the little town just outside Tikal where we found another ATM… that was also out of order.  Fortunately, the little store right next door to that broken down ATM DID change money, so we were in business. 

Our hotel for the weekend was rustic, but fantastic.  Fantastic in that it was in the park, walking distance to the entrance, and it was in the jungle (so many birds and critters to keep me entertained for hours!) and even had a pool (to keep Andrew entertained for hours!)  And rustic in that it only had generator-produced electricity for a few hours in the morning and then again in the evening.  You had to time your electrical needs right, or you were out of luck for the next 12 hours.

Our rustic jungle bungalow.  The lights are on, so this must have been taken during the brief evening window of electricity.

But pretty fantastic, right?

A trail through the jungle leading to the ruins.

Some of the critters that we encountered - an agouti (kind of a rat meets rabbit)...

...and an ocellated turkey - so colorful!

Our first morning, we got up super early for a guided hike that left at 4AM to take in the sunrise in Tikal.  We hiked in with flashlights, and it was an unforgettable experience to see the enormous Mayan temples appear out of the darkness (although too misty to actually see the sunrise).  Going into the park that early also allowed us to avoid some of the tourists that come in on buses for day trips… but we never felt like the park was that crowded anyway.  

Some of the ruins we saw through the mist of our morning hike.

Some of the ruins have not been restored (other than clearing the vegetation)...

...while others have been restored and reconstructed.

We got back to the hotel around 8:30, had breakfast, napped by the pool, and then strolled through the visitor’s center and a couple little museums until it was time to go back into the park on another guided sunset tour.  We took a different route and saw some different ruins on our return hike, but even the ruins that we had seen that morning took on a different appearance in the afternoon light.  

So impressive to see these ruins in the midst of all this jungle.

The tops of the temples also peak out of the tree tops.

Andrew sitting on the throne (of an ancient Mayan king).

The Plaza of the Seven Temples.

We got back to the hotel around 7, took a long-awaited and much-deserved hot shower (since the power was back on!), ate dinner… and then slept like logs after a long day of hiking.

We woke up to a rainy morning on Monday… and felt fortunate that we avoided the rains during our hikes the previous day.  We checked out and hit the road after breakfast.  We headed to Flores – a cute town built on a little island in Lake Petén Itzá about an hour outside of Tikal.  We walked around, did a bit of window shopping and picked up a couple souvenirs, and stopped for a licuado (kind of a Latin American smoothie and one of my favorite treats) at a little restaurant on the lake.  We also found a huge supermarket and stocked up on cheap groceries before heading back to Belmopan.  Bonus!

It was a fantastic weekend, and everything about it seemed like a step back in time – from the ancient Mayan ruins, to the unpaved roads, to the non-functional ATMs, to the sporadic electricity, to the slower pace of life in the rural towns we passed through.  Everything about the weekend made us slow down – not that we were trying to go fast.  It’s a whole different way of life down here… at least, on the weekends.