Hey y’all!

We parted with the beautiful Chiquibul Forest yesterday morning, driving back over the Macal River and through the Mountain Pine Ridge. Though this is Cinnamon Tarantula territory, we sadly did not see any because they are nocturnal and we did not have time to stop and look for their dens.

After passing over the Roaring River–which was more like Snoring River since it is still dry season–we arrived at the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) Cave at 10:14 am. We walked to the cave itself and then swam, waded, and climbed for about 4 hours through sparkling cave formations as our tour guide talked about the archaeological findings of the ancient Maya. We were not allowed to take pictures due to preservation concerns, so I’m sorry I can’t show you what it was like.

I also spotted a spider on one ledge with really longs legs, which makes sense because cave animals have longer legs and arms to help explore caves. I don’t know what this guy was, but I’ll work on IDing him.

After a lovely lunch, we drove to the Tropical Education Center, arriving by 5:30 pm. After dinner, we visited the Belize Zoo, a zoo that only houses local, rescue animals. Some of my favorites that we saw were Edgar Hill the jaguar, Princess the puma, and Fozzie the kinkajou.

I also spotted a tarantula in its den underneath the sidewalk! I’m working on identifying what kind of tarantula it is. I guess you really can’t take a step without finding another spider, above or below ground!