Today was filled with unexpected surprises. First day at Belize and I’m already feeling the heat (and humidity) of the class, with everything from the water crisis that closed every restaurant at Hobby Airport, to the crazy looking trees like the Ceiba during our drive to the hotel, to seeing a boa right outside the Crystal Paradise Resort dining room, to the cane toad that peed on Scott’s hand in defense. The Ceiba trees grew in plain view and were readily distinguishable from a distance. The Bridgewater book mentions that these types of trees tend to proliferate in disturbed areas of rainforest, like the sides of streets. To be able to see the example in person is like finally getting to meet your number one celebrity.

The boa Dr. Solomon located this evening was particularly active. According to one of the staff working here, the boa seemed to be on the hunt, periodically moving and stopping in the stems of trees.

But despite all the excitement in seeing these bizarre yet textbook creatures, I finally got to see what I came for, the cockroaches! Sure they’re disgusting, and I don’t really enjoy them, but witnessing one crawl down Adrienne’s leg during our outdoor dinner at Crystal Paradise, startling her in the process, made my day and got me pumped to document more of these unstudied and unappreciated insects. The cockroach we saw had a black body, but the small hood above its head, called a pronotum, had a black spot in the middle, leading me to guess it’s of the genus Blaberus, which is quite common in Central/South America. Alas, I didn’t snap a photo when I could have, serving as a reminder for me to keep my camera handy at all times. Typical of cockroaches, the insect slipped away into the crevices of the dining rooms wooden planks, out of sight.