Landed in Belize today! This is always one of my favorite parts of traveling, getting to see daily life in another country for the first time.
(Warning, do not watch if you get motion sickness.)
On the van ride to the Tropical Education Center, a small lodge connected to the Belize Zoo, we stopped at a convenience store for snacks and supplies. The amount of Belizean candy options was so overwhelming that I only ended up with a can of peanuts. Also, they sell the original Pears soap here! I know some people are really into that.
I saw a confusing amount of Chinese people and stationery products in the store?? I asked the Chinese cashier where he was from but he didn’t seem too talkative. How mysterious…
Note from future self: you really should have gotten extra Gatorade powder! And after doing research at home, I still couldn’t find much info about the Chinese in Belize—apparently most are here for logging work or are the descendants of indentured servants from the 1800s. But how did they stay so isolated from Belizean society? A good question for SOCI 319’s future trip to Belize?
We arrived at the TEC around 5 pm, got settled in, and had our first Belizean meal of rice and beans, chicken, plantains, coleslaw, and juice.
We didn’t get the opportunity to see many of our taxons while traveling; I didn’t see any Lepidoptera while it was still light out. But I found this little moth on a light outside my room around 8 pm:
I think it’s a prominent moth (family Notodontidae), because of its tent-like shape, hairy body/legs, and the forelegs positioned in front of the head instead of to the side.
Later that night I tried to get more pictures and it started doing this really weird thing where it was slowly raising its wings and curling up its body. Anyone know what this is?? Stop-motion sequence below.
