Belize
We arrived in Belize City last evening and were welcomed by swarms of mosquitoes, thus the "Mosquito Coast." This morning, slathered with Deet, we began with a river boat ride guided by a naturalist. I suspect that at one time he operated a chicken bus because he drove the boat like a chicken boat! He did have an amazing ability to spot wildlife along the way and would bring the boat to a halt to explain what it was that we were trying to spot in the tangle of growth along the bank.
Some of the birds we saw included the Mangrove Swallow, the Tropical Kingbird, the Northern Jacana, and the Belted Kingfisher.
Can you find the Yellow Headed Night Heron in the vegetation below?
We also passed a Mennonite Farm. Mennonites make up the third largest ethnic group in Belize.
Here is the Belize National Flower, the Black Orchid.
This is a Snake Cactus.
This is the exotic Provision Plant, used for medicinal purposes.
Our destination was the Lamanai Mayan site. Here we saw a pyramid that had carvings influenced by the Olmecs, an earlier culture. The masks reveal features common to Olmec sculpture - here the carvings have been restored.
Charlotte bagged another pyramid!
I did her the favor of remaining below so that I could photograph her when she reached the top.
We encountered more Black Holler monkeys.
And so the tour comes to an end and we head home tomorrow. It has been a fabulous trip, made even better under the leadership of our terrific trip leader, Walter.
And we could not have had better travel companions to share our discoveries with.
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