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Day 8: ATM Caving

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The ATM cave was literally one of the coolest things I’ve ever done! It will be difficult to even describe what we just did since it was so unique and we couldn’t take any pictures, but seriously, if any future TFBs are reading this post, this travel day absolutely will not disappoint.

The entrance to the cave looks like a mermaid’s lagoon-just this beautiful stone arch shrouded in the natural flora of Belize with crystal waters gushing out of the inner cave. When we entered, I could hardly believe my eyes it was so magical. The cave ceiling was so high and the conditions inside the cave were so pleasant it barely felt real. As we traversed deeper into the cave, my fascination only continued to grow. We made our way though narrow passages and natural springs of water while learning about the ancient Maya people and their beliefs surrounding the cave. I 100% understand why they would have thought this cave had some deep connection to spirituality and specifically the underworld, especially knowing that all of their rituals in the cave involved some form of drugs and alcohol.

When we got to the largest room in the cave, our guide explained what researchers believed about the Maya remains we could observe. All of the pottery they left behind had serious meaning and I saw the reflections on the cave walls that they believed to be their gods. If all of this were not already crazy enough, seeing the full human skeleton in the cave certainly pushed the experience over the edge. At the time when the Maya were using the ATM cave, they were living through a mini ice-age when there was no rain for their crops. So, they started making human sacrificed to appease their gods out of desperation. They first started with adult sacrifices, then teenagers, then children, and finally infants when nothing worked. It was very grounding to learn about what lengths people will go to in times of absolute despair.

When we made our way out of the cave, we had to pass through some extremely narrow, tight spots, which honestly made me a bit nervous at times. Even though I knew that I was safe the entire time, sliding down some of the rocks and squeezing through those spaces was unsettling. It made a lot of sense to me why only a few Maya would enter the cave at a time. Besides it being a sacred ritual that only a few were aloud to partake in, it would be extremely stressful to go through that cave with no modern safety measures and a village including young children and elderly.

Tonight we made it to the Belize Zoo and got a personal tour after sunset. It was really awesome to see jaguars, puma, margay, and a Belizean porcupine up close. I’ve seen a few cockroaches around the premises including one green cockroach (panchlora nivea) flying around a source of light and two oriental cockroaches in the shower. I also may have seen a smoky-brown cockroach scurrying around near the bathroom sink.

-Emily

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Day 15: Home Bound…

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As I’m on my plane flying back to North Carolina, I’m truly just registering how surreal of an experience these past two weeks have been.

We hopped on our boat back to Belize City this morning at 6:15 AM, marking the end of our stay at Glover’s Reef Research Station and subsequently Belize as well.

I caught one final picture of the view right before I left, in hopes of letting it become ingrained in my memory.

Last night, I returned to the dock to enjoy the sunset one last time. This dock has been one of my favorite places this entire trip, even though it’s not as extravagant nor as exotic as the coral reefs.

The boat ride back was not as fun, and the choppier waters were a lot worse than I remembered. However, it was just as surreal as the way out. We managed to spot a sea turtle, the first and only of our trip, as well!

It felt a little different when we returned to Belize City. Though I had so desperately missed AC and flushing toilets, I did suddenly start to miss the complete isolation of both Las Cuevas and Glover’s Reef.

The flight back was bittersweet, at least when we were awake. I was sad to leave Belize, but the early morning exhaustion fell over our entire crew and everyone was out cold through the flight.

Claire C and I, both from NC, had a flight that was supposed to depart at 6:10 PM, with boarding beginning at 5:30 PM. However, our flight from Belize got delayed heavily, and we ended up landing at 4:50 PM. Fortunately, our flight out of IAH ended up getting delayed, so we made it with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, our flight got delayed by almost 3 hours. We ended up departing around the same time we were expected to land, but at least this is better than us missing our flight completely.

That brings me to where I am now, finally on our flight back home, wrapping up our two week stay in Belize.

I’m already missing that dock.

Ian C

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Day 15: Bye Belize, Hello Houston

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The most bittersweet day. We woke up early to pack and aboard the dock, heading on a 3-hour boat ride away from GRRS. I’ll definitely miss the dock, the sun, and the waves. The heat and humidity? Not as much. And definitely not the seasickness (my parting gift on our way back). But still, sailing away across the choppy waters, I could not believe how quickly our reef excursions were wrapping up.

A couple hours later we were at the mainland dock. A bunch of us used the bathroom, which was no longer Clivus. That was also super surreal. And then time to aboard the bus back to the airport.

Bussing to the Belize Airport

And lastly, our flight back home. Before we left, Noelle, Sam, Ian, Dyllan, and I got some really yummy pizza for lunch in the airport. Reminiscing on our time at GRRS and how long ago LCRS seemed, it felt like deja vu that we were taking the same steps back to Houston that we had taken to get to Belize.

Waiting for our ride back at IAH

As we landed in IAH, people began leaving for their connecting flights, until only 8 of the original 14 TFBers were left.

Driving back to the place where it all started

But more to come! Some of us that are still in Houston are trying to meet up, so fingers crossed!

B-roll: Bidding the Belizean breakfast goodbye
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Day 15: Saying goodbye

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This was the last day, and it was entirely a travel day. We got up at 5:30 AM, ate a quick breakfast, and loaded up our gear onto the boat. After saying our goodbyes to the island, and doing a quick double check to make sure we had everything, we set out for Belize City.  The ride on the way back from Glover’s felt smoother to me than the one going out, but maybe I was just more used to it. It took around two and a half hours and then we were back at the Princess Marina, ready to load up the bus to the airport.

Things went smoothly at the airport. customs and security went quickly and we had a bunch of time to kill so we got an early lunch. They had two different flights to Houston boarding right next to each other at around the same time, which was a little confusing, but everyone got on the plane safely. We landed back in Houston around 6:00 PM. Passport control went smoothly and we gathered at the other side to pick up all the bags. I had to hand in my gear in the airport, because I was hopping on another flight which was supposed to take off two hours later. I said my goodbyes and set out to recheck my bags.

I thought that my travel day would be uneventful from there, but boy was I wrong. I was headed back to DC, and bad weather in the region meant that my flight was delayed by an hour and a half. That wasn’t so bad, it just meant that I would be getting back even later. When we landed in DC, though, there was some issue and they had us sitting on the runway for nearly an hour because there was some issue at the gate we were meant to be deplaning at. It was awful. By the time I finally got home, it was past 3 AM. What a day. I took a shower (my first with hot water in a while) and collapsed into bed.

This Belize trip was an amazing experience. I have a lot to reflect on in the coming days. This is the last daily blog, but I’ll have one reflection blog to wrap up my overall thoughts on the trip. The dust hasn’t really settled yet, but it definitely taught me a lot both about the specifics of rainforest and reef ecosystems and also more broadly about how science is carried out in the field. It exceeded my expectations in some ways, surprised me in others, and overall was an incredible journey.

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Day 9: Arriving at Glover’s Reef!

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We finally got to sleep in today, with a late start of 8:00 AM! We drove back to Belize City to get lunch and get to our boat that would take us to Middle Caye and Glover’s Reef Research Station.

Our dock was behind a casino, which was a bit surprising, but the boat ride was amazing. The initial portion of the trip was super fun, as we sped through the waters.

We saw the ocean turn from a murky green to a clouded dark turquoise to a beautiful vibrant blue. At one point, we couldn’t see any land around us at all!

When we finally left the reef edge, the waters become much more rough and the boat felt like it was being tossed around. At many points it felt like we got a bit of airtime from how high we would get thrown up!

Once we got to Glover’s Reef, it became a lot more calm, but this time with super clear waters filled with hundreds of patch reefs. We even saw a brown pelican repeatedly dive into the water!

Middle Caye itself is beautiful too, and so is the research station itself.

We caught the tail end of the sunset on the dock, which was stunning. Can’t wait to spend the next week here!!

All in all, it was a pretty light travel day. Excited for what the reef has to offer!

Ian C

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Day 9: Hello, Glover’s!

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Today involved a lot of long rides. We left the Tropical Education Center around 9 or 9:30 and headed for the Princess Marina. The ride back to Belize City wasn’t as long as I was expecting, I think because we covered most of the distance yesterday. The restaurant this class normally eats at, right at the marina, was apparently damaged in a hurricane, so we improvised and went for lunch around 11:30 in a touristy little visitor center called Old Belize. Then we headed back to the marina and got on board. By 1:15, the boat was packed and we were off.

The boat ride was beautiful if a little bumpy. Once we got past the reef crest it was even getting a little air. The view off the boat was beautiful and we passed tons of little islands. There was even a point where we weren’t able to see land at all, in any direction. The breeze made it feel cool on the boat, also, which was nice. After two and a half hours, though, I was glad to be back on dry land. I was a bit sore from sitting and starting to feel a little queasy so I was grateful to see Glover’s and step onto the dock.

Belize city seen from the back of the boat.
Bye, Belize City!
Glover’s Reef Research Station, viewed from the boat.
Hello, Glover’s!

The island was really beautiful. Almost immediately, we saw tons of new amazing birds and fish. I was most impressed by the frigate birds, which sort of drift lazily instead of flapping their wings most of the time. I also saw a pelican fishing which was neat—it would repeatedly fly up a ways and then swoop down to snatch fish from the water. There were tons of fish as well—bonefish were very common and we even saw a nurse shark. On the island, there were also tons of coconut palms to see, along with mangroves in certain places. We also got to see a ton of little hermit crabs and some larger land crabs, which were a treat and very cute. I haven’t ID’d any cryptobenthic fish yet—those are the little ones that live around reefs—but I think we’re going out to the reef tomorrow, so I’ll probably have more to share then.

Bonefish!
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Caracol and LCRS Night 1!

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May 17 – First Full Day, CPE —> LCRS Travel Day, Caracol Visit, and Inaugural Hike
Hello! Today was yet another great day here in Belize. When we woke up, we were met with a lovely breakfast from the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge before we hopped in the van for a ride to the Caracol Maya Ruins. Caracol was one of their larger cities, with a 5 mile radius of the site, 35,000 structures, and an estimated population of 200,000! Visiting the site and seeing the ruins, along with the beautiful Cotton Trees (pictured below with large above-surface root systems called Buttress Roots) was so awesome!
In addition to the ruins of Caracol, we arrived at Las Cuevas Research Station (our home for the next week) and had our inaugural hike! This was a short hike along the Mayan Trail, where there was no shortage of diverse ants! I saw some stray ants on leaves and the ground, but the real excitement came early on: we saw army ants! They were marching along the path, and marching back the other direction with objects they to bring back to their bivouac, a temporary colony home (as opposed to a traditional ant colony) that is in place for only one reproductive cycle. After the cycle, the entire colony will move to a new place with new forage-ables. When we moved on, after a lull in ant-spotting, we came upon a Bull’s Horn Acacia tree. I know what you’re thinking: what does a tree matter to the ant man? Well, this tree has a secret (unless you disturb it, then it is not a secret.) The tree is protected by ants through a symbiotic relationship! The tree provides shelter in its hollow thorns to the colony, while also providing both carbohydrates and protein, making a full meal. The ants never have to leave! Their rent? Protection. If someone even messes with the tree, the ants will attack that individual (person, animal, rock maybe?) So, for just a 30 minute jaunt in the woods, there was a pretty great amount of ant-stuff to see!
Images:
Cotton Tree
Caracol Ruins
Bull’s Horn Acaciaarmy ants,
Maya Trail Sign
Army ants marching
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Day 1: First impressions of Belize

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This was the first day in Belize! We landed around 11:30 and, after about an hour going through customs and getting our bags, were on our way.  Even after our flight, most of our day today was travel, but that didn’t stop us from seeing some of Belize’s awesome biodiversity. It was especially good for me because my rainforest taxon was trees, which were plentiful and immediately visible outside the car window once we landed. It was immediately so green, even right outside of the airport. After we stopped for lunch, I was able to get my taxon ID sheet and better identify the species I was seeing outside the window of the van. We ended our day at the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge, where I was able to spend some time attempting to identify the species we saw.

A river with lush forests lining both banks.
The view from the van, lush and full of trees

Two particular families of trees stood out to me and were extremely common. One of them was palm trees—there were many more than I was expecting to see. I talked with Dr. Solomon about why that might be, and he noted that it might be due to the fact that palms are able to colonize disturbed areas, so they might live in regions closer to towns and cities. When I was doing my research, I focused more on the types of families you would expect to see in the rainforest, so  while we’re near towns it makes sense that we would see different types of trees. Unfortunately, they were not highlighted in my taxon briefing presentation. There will be opportunities to see the species I highlighted in the coming days, though.

Α palm tree stands among several other trees.
A palm tree at the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge

Some final interesting things I noted on our ride were several different types of tree management regimes. These included measures to protect trees from pests, like painting the bases white, as well as some tree farms or commercial tree-growing operations. Overall, I was able to make some solid initial observations of trees. I expect these will be slightly different from the trees I’ll see outside Las Cuevas Research Station in the coming week, and I’m excited to see what’s in store!

 

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Leaping lizards!

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As I am writing this, my lower back hurts and my neck is sore, but I feel great! My day began at the ungodly hour of 5:30 AM, but I guess I better get used to it.  I had never flown internationally before, so it was really cool to get my first stamp in my passport.

My rainforest taxon is Lepidoptera, so I have been keeping my eyes peeled for butterflies and moths. I saw one of each today! Both of them were too speedy for me to get a good look at them, but I will be more prepared next time. The butterfly was HUGE and dark colored. We saw it during the day when we stopped for lunch. The moth was much smaller, and we saw it at night during the presentations. I present my taxon tomorrow, and I am a little nervous that someone will ask me a question I am not prepared for, but I am also excited because I really like my taxon. My goal for the trip is to see– and hopefully catch a blue morpho, which is a very recognizable species, known to locals as a symbol of healing or luck.

Besides my taxon, today, we stopped for lunch at the most lovely restaurant. It was so peaceful eating outside in the rainforest, and the weather wasn’t too bad. Here, we saw giant iguanas in the trees. I wouldn’t have noticed them at first, because all I could see at first was big blurs falling from the trees into the small lake below. In the photo below, you can see one iguana hiding in the trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a lovely drive, we arrived at our destination: Crystal Paradise Resort. This place is BEAUTIFUL and the family that runs it is so nice. We all went for a walk down to the river to explore a bit before it got dark, as you can see in the picture below. Two dogs kept following us everywhere– it was adorable! They said that this small hike was just a warm-up for what’s coming, so I’m a bit nervous, but also excited to explore more.

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Day one – Ants, Arkansas, and Awesomeness!

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What a great first day we had! Waking up at 4:30 was rough, but if it meant getting to the beautiful Crystal Paradise Ecolodge and embarking upon these amazing two weeks, it was worth it. We had a great day of travel, beginning dark and early (earlier than bright and early) at ABL, heading to IAH, then Belize City, then the 2-hour ride to the Ecolodge, with stops at Cheers Restaurant for lunch and a supermarket for last-minute supplies before heading off into the tropical rainforest tomorrow (among a swimming stop and ruins of the Mayan city Caracol, one of their largest cities!) The travel day, while exhausting, was great. I was excited to meet/ get to know everyone better, and I can’t wait for these next two EEPS with his group! We also met another class group from a University in Arkansas staying at the Ecolodge, so that was fun to meet and chat with a couple of them.

Ok, Ant-man suit on, I was skeptical of my ability to see ants today. I was wrong entirely! I saw some unidentifieable ones crawling along a pipe at the Cheers Resataurant (where we had lunch on the way to the Ecolodge from the airport.) When I couldn’t pick them out, I was discouraged, but luckily Dr. Solomon brought some tools to make identification easier when we get to Las Cuevas Research Station tomorrow for the week. At the Ecolodge, I was lucky enough to find ants on two occasions, despite being outside for not too long: first, I saw leaf cutter ants transporting their leaf cuttings to their fungal gardens (did not see their garden though 😔) and second, I saw ants making a little highway along the trail from the Ecolodge to the Macal River. I wonder if they trampled down that whole path. Both of these instances are pictured (in not so high quality) and attached below. Here’s to another day of fun, friends, and ants!

Sam Forman

2025