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.
Life finds a way, even deep into the pitch-black, flooded cave of Actun Tunichil Muknal. This cave system is the most magnificent place to exist, with arena-sized chambers full of stalactites, glimmering formations, and Maya remains. We saw intact skeletons, smashed vases, and shiny rock (polished by tourists’ butts as they climbed down). Most surprisingly, there were little seedlings sprouting from bat droppings and growing from the rock dust lining the surfaces above water level. Though they soon perish without light to photosynthesize, they were a gorgeous contrast to the black, white, and red cave (this cave was lined with speckled red walls because of its high iron content).
We also spotted a few dark black cave spiders, pale white cave catfish, and bats in their bellhole homes. These guys were better equipped to survive the darkness, with vision as we know it replaced with adaptations like echolocation and sensitivity to vibrations.
But the cave also showed evidence of what once existed–Maya sacrificial pots and skeletons dotted the ground, helping us to piece together their cultural practices and societal conditions. It seems that as a major prolonged drought progressed, Maya offerings became more severe, progressing from young adults to children to babies, potentially showing their desperation as they offered purer and purer gifts. Also, many of the skeletons we saw were modified to show prestige, with compressed skulls that resembled heads of corn (and the god of corn and crops, One Hunahpu) and filed teeth with patterned crevices. It was even proposed that one skeleton was a hostage due to its position with its arms tied behind its back.
Even though the remains only reveal a skeleton of what once was, our archeologist tour guide brought the scene to life. I could vividly imagine Mayan people starting a bonfire in the cave, illuminating the silhouette of a god (from the shadow of a stalactite crystal), and praying for water.
Fast forward 5 hours, we were in the darkness of nighttime, strolling through Belize’s lush, natural animal rescue zoo and being mowed down by wild green iguanas. We had just talked with this adorable river otter, offering it chicken as it squealed with delight, when we encountered a green lizard stuck on an electric fence with a bitten-off tail. To move it out of the way of the current, we poked it with a stick. In a frenzy, it flew off the fence and charged at Ian. When it realized it couldn’t get through him, it darted in the other direction into Sam. A good 30 seconds later, it started pouring outside. We got a good laugh, and the rain finally brought out the frogs for Elise (our expert), hoping along the tree-based epiphytes, like the common and gorgeous Philodendron sagittifolium. However, the tapir was not having it. We were lucky to say hi and feed it a few carrots, but it trotted off when the sprinkle turned into a pitter-patter.
(Poor Green Iguana – 05/23/25)
(Philodendron sagittifolium – 05/23/25)
Tonight I encountered so many new animals, like margaye (house cat-sized felines that were originally bred to interbreed with cats for their gorgeous coats), tapir (mammals known for their mini elephant trunk noses), and porcupines with prehensile tails (Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine). I also discovered my new favorite mammal: the paca, the most adorable rodent I’ve laid eyes on, known as the “Royal rat,” because it was served to Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Belize. Also, American crocodiles can go a month without eating. The zoo only feeds them once a month because they digest so slowly.
(Adorable Paca – 05/23/25)
This zoo originated as an effort to rescue 20 mammals and turned into an animal rescue center and educational hotspot. The 160 individuals there were all saved from harsh or cruel circumstances, like as neglected pets, and were all natives of Belize.
On this trip, every minute is a learning experience. From exploring underground ecosystems to learning about Central American mammals, my understanding of ecosystem complexity and what goes on past the surface is growing, kind of like a leaf-cutter ant mound. I told Dr. Solomon that, from now on, I want to travel with an ecologist to keep doing the whole learning/vacationing thing. But even better, I will be that ecologist. For now, I’m excited to learn about the reef ecosystem and share my expertise about the sponge taxa.
Travel Day! LCRS —> Tropical Education Center (TEC)
We woke up bright and early to clear out of the LCRS. WOW, how the time flew! It really feels like just yesterday we were driving into LCRS for the first time. I was sad to leave, but definitely excited for what was in store! What was that, you ask? A full tour of the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave!
Our tour guide, Rafael, was so great! He told us about how the Maya people used the ATM cave, and then took us into it to show us the ruins. Among them, skeletons from Maya human sacrifice. It was very interesting to hear how much every detail of the cave meant to them, as a representation of the Maya underworld. The placement of their firepits, for example, was designed so that shadows of certain figures resembled their god of rain’s wife, so to them that represented her presence in the cave and her availability to be a conduit for them to pray for rain as well. Overall, this cave was so cool to see and swim through, and we had such a great day.
After that, went to the TEC, settled in, and then went on a night tour of the Belize Zoo. I loved to see all the nocturnal animals, but I also loved to see how the Belize Zoo was dedicated to wildlife conservation. The only animals they had were kept from the wild either because they were orphaned and raised by humans (and therefore could not survive on their own in the wild) or if they were medically unable to return to the wild, like the Jaguar Martin, who lost his eye due to glaucoma. And, as always, it would not be a Sam blog post without an ant mention! Back at the TEC, I saw a cute “Leafcutter Ant Crossing” sign that was displayed over one of the leafcutter’s highways. I loved it!
Tomorrow, I’m looking forward to an awesome boat ride to the beautiful Glover’s Reef Research Station (GRRS) 80 miles off the coast of Belize City in the Caribbean Sea!
<3,
Sam
Images
ATM Cave Welcome Sign
ATM Cave Skeleton (formerly known as Crystal Maiden, no longer certain of gender so this name is out of style) (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-crystal-maiden-of-the-actun-tunichil-muknal-cave-belize)
This morning, we finished packing up and left Las Cuevas to begin the second half of our trip. It was a very bittersweet goodbye, as on one hand I’m super excited to go to the reef, but on the other I really wish we could stay here longer. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.
As we were rocking back and forth on the uneven gravel road, I began thinking about the rainforest part of the trip as a whole, and what LCRS has done for me. I’ve really come to love this place and it’s helped me fall back in love with forests, hiking, and camping.
We visited the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, which was an insane adventure. The first portion of the cave is a wet cave, so we had to swim and wade through water and climb over and under a ton of rocks. It felt a lot like the river travel we did on our DT trips.
The dry portion of the cave was filled with ancient Maya artifacts, including pots, fireplaces, and even human skulls and remains. Sadly, they also had a no cameras policy.
After the cave, we reached our lodge for the night (Tropical Education Center), and got a special night tour of the zoo!
We got to see jaguars, pumas, tapirs, and more.
There was even a wild iguana with its tail bitten off. It charged right at me and ran through my legs before it hit both Claire C. and Sam.
The highlight of the visit was being able to feed the tapirs. We gave them carrots and even petted them on the head.
Today was day 8 in Belize, and our last time inLas Cuevas. We promptly left Las Cuevas at around 7 AM for a 3 hour bus ride to the ATM caves. The bus ride went by soo quickly even though I was not asleep at all — I was listening to music and enjoying the scenery. We had breakfast in the car that Angie had packed for us. I missed hot sauce, but nevertheless, I devoured it.
Once we got to the ATM caves, we changed into our dive booties and began our 30 minute hike to the cave entrance. On our way, we had to cross three rivers. During the first river crossing, I not only slipped with the tour guides remarking “first one down,” but also gained a little tick buddy. I only noticed it there after Noelle had pointed out that there was something on my leg…. This was my first tick bite ever! We also had to pack socks for the dry chamber.
Once we got into the actual cave, the experience was surreal. We started out by a short swim to get past the cave entrance.I was wearing a light weatherproof jacket, and after the first river crossing, my socks were surprisingly dry, so I offered to put Lily and Ian’s socks in my pocket, but unfortunately…. they all got soaking wet during the swim to the cave entrance. We saw cute swarms of minnow-looking fish at the entrance though! After that, the water was usually only up to my knees or my torso.
We saw so many geologic formations, and it was astonishing to imagine that the very path we were adventuring through in the caves were where the Mayan people functioned. Along the way, we saw bats, a river catfish, and a spider. We had to maneuver through many slippery areas and some risky climbs, but all of us successfully made it to the dry chamber, where we then switched out of our dive booties to our (wet) socks.
In the dry chamber, we saw multiple human remains, such as 3 decapitated skulls of human sacrifices, a child’s mandible, and a calcified full human skeleton. It was also super interesting to see the countless Maya artifacts, such as the vessels and ceramics. Most of them were smashed, which apparently was to release the soul of each object after its use was completed. Throughout the entire caving, I was continuously astonished by how I am walking through an integral part of Maya culture, as caves served as a medium between the natural and supernatural worlds.
After the caving, we had lunch provided, which we all absolutely demolished. We then drove an hour to the Tropical Education Center and the Belize Zoo. The night tour of the Belize Zoo was so fun, as I got to see so many animals of my taxa (mammals) that I did not get to witness in the rainforest. We saw many species such and the neotropical river otter, jaguar, margay, kinkajou, tapir, puma, ocelot, and the Mexican hairy porcupine.
All of the animals we saw today were nocturnal species, so we did not get to see much (if any) diurnal species, but regardless, it was so cool to see SOO many mammals!
To begin with, the neotropical river otter we saw was floating around in the waters of its enclosure, and immediately jumped out of the water as soon as it saw the treat that the zookeeper had in hand for it. In fact, the otter also started making squealing noises in excitement!
We also saw two jaguars, which many of my classmates were most excited for. The first jaguar, a female, looked almost AI-generated, and I could not believe I was seeing a jaguar with my own eyes. The female jaguar was just behind the fence of the enclosure, staring at us (and the meat the zookeeper was holding). The zookeeper explained that this jaguar was confiscated from a tourist attraction where the jaguar was kept in very suboptimal conditions.
The second jaguar that we saw was a male one, and he had one of his eyes missing, which the zookeeper explained was due to enucleation (eye-removal) for glaucoma. This jaguar was also standing near the fence in plain sight. It was mainly still for the most part, except when the zookeeper fed him a treat.
It was then fascinating to think about how ~300 jaguars casually roam in the Chiquibul forest. They were most likely in close proximity to us during our hikes, just out of plain sight, especially since we actually were able to smell the distinct odor of cat urine at certain times.
We then moved on to the enclosure of margays. I had a really difficult time spotting them, even though people were pointing directly at it. After 3 minutes or so, I was finally able to see one. It was sitting in the corner of its habitat structure grooming itself. It was super adorable to see an almost super-miniature version of a jaguar, since margays are also spotted, only with the size of a household cat.
We then saw the kinkajou and mexican hairy porcupines. These creatures were interesting to see, as they both have prehensile tails, with allows them to use their tail almost as a fifth limb. The kinkajou was grabbing on to the branch, and got closer as the zookeeper fed him a banana. Likewise, the mexican hairy porcupine was also standing on a branch but did not react much.
An especially exciting portion of this tour was seeing the Baird’s Tapirs — the national mammal of Belize! Although I knew their approximate sizes beforehand, I was still astonished to see their quite immense size with my own eyes. We got to feed the tapirs with the treat that the zookeeper provided for us, and I was intrigued by how the tapirs looked like horses as they chewed.
It was super inspirational to learn about the founding story of the Belize Zoo by Ms. Sharon Matola and also how the Belize Zoo’s primary focus is on the well-being of animals since most of the intake is not only native animals but also from rescued, orphaned, injured, or abandoned backgrounds. I really thought it was meaningful to see how by seeing all of these animals in captivity, people, especially Belizean locals, were able to appreciate their natural heritage including the animals. Before, I think I viewed zoos in a subtly negative light, but after going to the Belize Zoo, I can now appreciate the impact on conservations that zoos can have. Of course, the state of animal welfare would depend per zoo, but from what I could observe, the Belize zoo appeared to be doing a really good job.
Jaguar and Kinkajou!
Tomorrow, we will eat breakfast at 8 AM then head over to Glover’s Reef on a 3(?) hour boat ride, which is presumably stunningly beautiful, so I am very excited for that. Well, I will see you guys tomorrow!
Today we had a special opportunity to take a tour of the Maya ATM cave with Dr. Rodriguez and his team. After about a one mile hike to the cave entrance, we swam for about 50 yards into the cave. Here we trekked through the river, narrow passageways, and back into the chambers of the cave. We learned a lot about how the Mayans used the cave for rituals and their religious beliefs. We learned how the chambers of the cave corresponded with layers of the underworld and how the Mayans would sacrifice especially during hard periods of drought. Something I found very interesting was the levels of sacrifice. How the Mayans would move back further into the cave as they got more desperate and also sacrifice younger and younger as they grew more desperate.
We also took a trip to the Belize zoo where we got to see a lot of local animals such as jaguars, pumas, porcupines, ocelots, a kinkajou, a tapir, an owl, and a paca!
My beetle sighting for today was in the forest lodge bathroom sink and shower. Where several beetles were scurrying around.
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!
A great start to another exciting adventure on our trip. Today we left Glover’s and took the 4 hour boat ride back, which I slept all the way through thanks to the anti-nausea medicine everyone took. We stopped for a pretty long lunch as there was only one cook at the restaurant, but I took the opportunity to have my last super fresh snapper along with a refreshing virgin piña colada. We then headed out in our vans to make a quick stop at the market before heading to where we’re staying for the night, the Tropical Education Center.
The Tropical Education center is a part of the Belize Zoo and has really nice facilities with cabanas that everyone is staying in for the night. Once we settled in and put our stuff down, we had a great presentation by Borris Avelaro about his research about the Scarlet Macaw, conservation, and why it is important to ignore the toxicity of publishing within academia and sharing your data as soon as possible with others so the species you are studying has a chance at surviving. As soon as we left the classroom, Ava pointed out the first epiphyte of the trip! A Vase Bromeliad. There are actually a lot of these popping up around the site we’re staying at and I’m excited to see what I’ll find at Las Cuevas.
After dinner, we headed out to our late night zoo excursion. Here, we were given a guided tour around the Belize Zoo that only hosts Belize’s native species. Another cool thing about the zoo is that all of the animals are rescued from being pets, confiscations, and other injuries. The zoo is also trying to show Belizeans the animals that they live beside and disprove the myths and superstitions that may surround the animals. We saw jaguars, pumas (both incredibly smart cats), and Quashes (who are related to raccoons) and got to hear the funny noises of the ocelot eating – as everyone pointed out, it sounded very happy yet very angry about eating its food. My favorite animal we got to see was Archie the anteater. He was super active in the trees – I didn’t realize that some anteaters could climb around trees like he did but it was so freaking cute. He also had a huge termites nest that he created his own nest in so he basically has a food source at all times when he’s awake and asleep. Genius. Lastly, we got to feed Indy the tapir who was also very cute. She loved carrots and we even got to pet her when she was distracted by her snacks. She’s also related to horses and rhinos and you can tell this because… Every time we left an animal, the keeper would say “Thank you, [insert animal’s name]” and it was the most precious thing I’ve heard because you can see their connection with the animals that they take care of.
– Sophia
OcelotIndy the TapirPumaQuashTapir SkeletonVase Bromeliad
Today has been a super long day! We woke up at our normal time (7 am breakfast) and ever since then we did not stop. After eating breakfast we all hurried to the boat, which we rode to Belize City. It took about 4 hours. Although it was a long ride, I can’t complain, the views were gorgeous! Also, thankfully most of us took Dramamine to avoid any chance of seasickness and it appears to have worked, as no one experienced nausea this time around! In fact, most of our crew was able to sleep throughout most of the ride!
After getting back to Belize City we ate at Calypso, a restaurant near where we were dropped off. The food was quite good, I got the pasta primavera! One interesting thing about the pasta was that it had a lot of pickles, something I hadn’t seen before in a pasta primavera; typically I’m not a fan of pickles, yet I think itmade the pasta more flavorful!
Also, I thought for the remainder of this trip I would no longer see mention of my aquatic taxa, piscivorous fish, yet it seems like mentions of the lion fish continue haunting me.
After eating at calypso we quickly headed out to get to the Tropical Education Center, where we are spending the night. Yet, before getting to the TEC we made a stop a local store to get supplies for our time in the rainforest! Personally, the only thing I needed was bug spray, yet how could I say no to cookies, so I got some of those as well!
After our stop we then made it to the TEC where Dr. Aravalo talked to us about the Scarlet Macaw. The manner in which he presented his data made me very emotional for some reason. I was hoping to ask more questions, yet today we were on a roll and we could not prolong our Q&A for too long. After our talk with Dr. Aravalo we got dinner, out of which my favorite was the cake! After dinner we headed straight to the Zoo, which was a quick drive from the TEC. At the Zoo we got to see many of the nocturnal animals in the exhibit including the Jaguar and the Tapir and even a four-eyed possum (which was not a part of the exhibit).
I almost forgot to mention that earlier in the day, when we arrived at the TEC I saw really beautiful flowering plants, yet no bees nearby to indicate bee pollination.
At night while writing my blog I was a little sad I had not gotten to see bees today, yet things often occur when you least expect it! Tonight while showering I actually got to see my taxa. It wasn’t near any plants it was hovering over the light of my shower stall! Although it was too far up to get a good look I believe it was a Concave Nose Striped Sweat Bee.
Today was a long day of travels that began with a four hour boat ride that I thankfully slept through the majority of, with no seasickness! After having a leisurely lunch at a restaurant on the dock and making a much needed pit stop for more bug spray, we took a van to the Tropical Education Center just about an hour outside of Belize City. This place is so amazing I almost wish we could stay more than one night here! Watching the landscape change from coastal areas, to savannah, and now seeing the beginnings of a rainforest environment is so exciting and the TEC is such an enticing preview of what’s to come!
While here, we got to hear a wonderful guest lecture from Dr. Boris Arevalo, one of the experts on the ecology and conservation of the scarlet macaw, which is an endangered species here in Belize. He told us about his doctoral research into the nesting behavior and habitat selection of this species and his experiences as a biologist doing conservation work.
The highlight of today was undoubtedly our guided night tour of the Belize Zoo, just a 2 minute drive down the road! The zoo itself was so different than what you might typically expect from a zoo experience in the states, with plenty of rainforest wildlife existing inside and outside the cages, forming a more cohesive picture of these animals in their habitat. We saw so many cool nocturnal animals including Belize’s national animal, the tapir which has a very weirdly flexible snout. But my favorite animals we saw were the cats they had there! We got to see jaguars that knew how to roll over for treats, a grumbly ocelot, a puma, and some margays (one of the smallest wild cats!). I wish we could stay longer, but I am so excited to get to Las Cuevas tomorrow!
