JanPlan in Belize

The rain poured down on us last night and into this morning here at Blue Creek. Although we all awoke early to bird, we did not leave the comfort of the roofed deck. As Russ says, “it is the rainforest

At around 10 am the rain finally subsided for a brief period of time. We then followed our two guides, Geraldo and Eusebio to some nearby farmland. Eusebio leases the land from the government and plants both corn and beans there. He demonstrated how he clears the land using his machete, then made a small hole using a stick. Each time a new hole was made, Eusebio tossed five seeds in, never missing. The rain returned, but our guides came to the rescue. They quickly chopped down a nearby cohune palm tree and used the long leaves to create a shelter. After the rain calmed down, we ventured home. Continue reading →

On our 10^th day in Belize and the second day at Blue Creek, it rained… a lot. We woke up to the sound of a light drizzle on our metal roofs in the morning, but we didn’t let that stop us from our daily bird-watching trip. We decided we would head into town where there was more open space for optimal bird viewing. The decision paid off as we saw a blue black grassquit, a slaty tailed trogan, a tropical pewee, and our first swifts of the trip (Vaux’s swifts).

Ophelia, Eusebio’s wife, and her daughters are doing local crafts for us.

After breakfast, we split in two groups and went to the houses of our guides, Eusebio and Geraldo. The houses consisted of one big open room, and they were built with materials from the rainforest. The guides’ families taught us how to make cocoa from the beans they grow and corn tortillas from the corn they grow, both of which were very tasty! We were all very impressed with the effort that goes into every meal, and we gained a greater appreciation for supermarkets! Eusebio and
Geraldo’s wives then showed us many of the crafts they make in their free time. These included baskets made of various local plants, embroideries of national symbols, and various handmade jewelry.

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Saturday January 18 was our first full day at Blue Creek, our third site on this trip. This was our most incredible day so far! Blue Creek has surpassed all of our expectations; we came anticipating dampness, bugs and rustic living conditions. It is damp and the conditions are slightly more rustic than the Programme for Belize locations, but there are almost no bugs! Like at the other locations we are in cabins and there is a central area, which we use for meals and meeting. The pavilion we eat in overlooks Blue Creek. The creek is a beautiful tropical river, deep enough to jump into and big enough to do laps in. Continue reading →

Even though we came from negative temperatures in Maine, waking up today in 50 degree weather was a challenge.  After we braved the freezing cold showers and consumed a hearty breakfast of Johnny Cakes, we loaded up the bus and left the last of our Programme For Belize sites.

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After our daily 6am birding, we had breakfast and headed out to a local Mestizo village. Our first stop was at Susano Blanco’s home, whose knowledge as a medical botanist was passed on within his family over several generations. After a tour of his yard, full of chickens, dogs, and countless unique plants, he described to us in a mixture of broken English and Spanish the medicinal uses of each of his plants. Within an hour we knew how to cure anything from cancer to infertility using just the plants in his yard. Even Bruce tried out one of his 5-minute earache remedies. He concluded his lesson by giving us each a taste of “nani”, a juice said to help cure any ailments.

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On the way to Lamanai

On the second full day in Belize we boated out to investigate the Mayan Ruins at Lamanai. After waking up for a 6am bird-watch, breakfast, and boat ride through the lagoon, we were greeted by howler monkeys in a tree at Lamanai. We watched the 5 or 6 monkeys feed for a while then Peter, our guide, gave some background information about the Maya and the city center. Continue reading →

We awoke early this morning to a fog as thick as split pea soup. Some of us adventurers decided to join Vladimir and Marcos for some sunrise birding, so we made our way out to the fields just outside our sleeping cabanas. Armed with personal binoculars and three spotting scopes, we searched for any sort of bird life, learning their species and calls along the way. Continue reading →