Tag Archives: caracol

Day 2: Exploring the Maya ruins

Today was primarily about the Maya ruins of Caracol. We left Crystal Paradise Ecolodge after a delicious breakfast and immediately headed for the Chiquibul National Park, one of the oldest in Central America. Along the way, we passed the the Mountain Pine Ridge, where the typical deciduous canopy gave way to pine trees due to the differences in the composition of the soil. The checkpoints are there to reduce the impact of illegal logging. We learned that logging was super restricted in Belize, including thst the country as a rule does not export timber, only finished products, in order to reduce demand. Interesting to see how the nation is trying to protect its historic forests. At one of the checkpoints on the way to Caracol, I saw a cashew tree for the first time. They’re quite odd looking—I never would have expected cashews to grow at the base of a whole fruit. It’s strange to see—I’ve included a picture here because I almost didn’t believe it myself.

Cashew fruit on the ground
Cashew fruit

The big ticket item of the day was Caracol itself. It’s an ancient Maya city, mostly buried. The parts that are excavated are quite impressive—temple complexes, ball courts, and residences. The main palace is still the tallest structure in Belize! Our guide told us that, because of their animistic beliefs, when the Maya stopped using a building they buried it and built the next one on top, and that’s why Maya buildings are on such tall mounds. We saw many of these mounds and buildings, including a whole astronomy complex which was oriented so that it different buildings tracked the sun as the seasons changed. It was all fascinating history, and a history I haven’t learned much about in the past.

An ancient Maya temple viewed from high up.
The view from atop Caana
I stand at the base of a giant Ceiba tree
The Ceiba tree, which has cultural significance to the Maya.

I was focused primarily on the trees we saw, though. On the drive, we got to see a number of Trumpet trees, particularly in the disturbed areas by the roadside. At Caracol, there were also these two magnificent Ceiba trees. They were so close together, which was surprising, considering normally their canopies spread out quite a bit. You could actually see the canopies avoiding eachother. We also saw an avacado tree (although the fruits were not ripe) and an interesting parasitic relationship between a Cohune palm and a strangling fig epiphyte, which would eventually kill it. There were tons of other interesting plants and trees as well, like agave, the tourist tree, bay cedar, and more. In addition to the trees, we got to see grey foxes, howler monkeys, and a toucan! 

Around 4 PM, we finally got to Las Cuevas. Our encounters with Maya ruins weren’t over, though: Las Cuevas is also built on an unexcavated Maya ruin, and many of the ‘hills’ around the place are Maya structures. We went on a preliminary hike through the Maya ruins around Las Cuevas and saw another ball court and temple complex built atop the caves.   This site was apparently more likely a pilgrimage site than a permanent settlement, we were told. We ended the day with another round of presentations and settled into our rooms at Las Cuevas. I can’t wait for tomorrow—so far we’ve just been doing travel and getting set up, but next we’re going to get to start doing research.

(Final note—we have limited wifi, so although I’m writing these daily, some, like this one, will be posted later. Sorry for the delay!)

Belize Day 2: Epiphytes and Flights of Stairs

Hi guys! Today felt like 3 crazy, wonderful days in one. Beginning with a nice 5:30 am shower, the day was filled with bird and critter identification and a stair-master tour of the Mayan mounds dotting the rainforest. 

(Caracol Ruins – 05/17/25)

After breakfast, we hopped aboard our iconic bus and took cat naps as we chugged up the mountains to the Caracol Maya Ruins. On our route, we passed through an area of the mountains known as Mountain Pine Ridge, featuring pine evergreen trees that were not very rainforesty. Our guide explained to us that this seemingly out-of-place pine vegetation was due to the fact that the soils in this region were different, composed of reddish (from the iron within) granite soils. We drove right through a ghost town that once flourished with the logging industry but has since been abandoned due to Belizean regulations shutting down the export of timber (though the export of timber products like furniture is legal). In the same area, baby pines had been planted as part of reforestation efforts. Human abandonment of the area allowed for pine restoration. It really makes you think about human/natural ecosystem competition. In this case, it was either the humans or the pines, not both. Is there a way they can coexist sustainably without edging each other out? 

Later down the road, we passed a beautiful, but squashed bright green vine snake in the middle of the road :(. Everyone disembarked to marvel at the pretty but gutty creature. Right when we got back on the bus, Sam coincidentally pulled out a green gummy worm and started munching on it. 

(Sam’s snake – 05/17/25)

A little while later, we arrived at Caracol, a site of Mayan ruins. We learned that the Maya built their houses and buildings on mounds of soil that contained previously used buildings – sometimes with deceased loved ones inside. They hopped on the “build up, not out” concept way early on. In fact, their tallest mound had 11 other layers of structures buried underneath. Boy, was that a climb. We climbed the stairs on this massive mound to reach the top, and by the end, we were on our hands and knees crawling up. From the top, we could see Guatemala in the horizon. Also, there were stray pieces of ancient pottery dotting the ruins, and we can all now say that we touched pieces of ancient Mayan pottery – pretty neat I think. 

(TALL Mounds – 05/17/25)

Throughout the day, I’ve seen so many of my glorious epiphytes (my taxa group, the dudes that live on trees without parasitizing them) and have been to successfully identify quite a few of them with the help my handy dandy taxon ID sheet and INaturalist (in the rare case that we have internet). We also saw a strangler fig, which is super neat because it begins its life cycle as a harmless epiphyte high up in a host tree, benefitting from the direct sunlight, but then, it grows down and around its host tree to establish its roots in the soil and strangle its host to death, taking over the space. I also was able to identify beautiful arrowhead plants with bright red fruits and winged peperomia from the pepper family, both quirky, unique epiphytes. 

(Epiphyte Friend – 05/17/25)

Amongst the epiphytes in the tree canopy (the highest part of the tree), we spotted quite a few beautifully patterned birds with some interesting behaviors. In the morning, we saw a social flycatcher with a long, bright-yellow tail, and at the ruins, we admired the hanging, bag-like nests of the Montezuma oropendola. These guys create hanging nests that serve as extra protection for their young and from nest parasitism by cowbirds. Nest parasitism happens when unrelated birds lay their eggs in the nests of different birds, forcing the nest owners to raise and nourish young that are not their own. On our way out of the ruins, we watched a toucan hop from leaf to leaf and a turkey vulture scouting the area for fresh meat. 

We are now established in our final rainforest site, the Las Cuevas Research Station, which is also built upon Mayan ruins and a cave system. Also, there are epiphytes of all shapes and colors EVERYWHERE that I’m dying to identify over the course of these next few days. I have a few more bucket list items for these next few days: (1) go birdwatching, (2) explore the underground cave system, (3) see a Scarlet Macaw (the beautiful, iconic red parrot).

Today I’ve learned SO MUCH about Belize’s history, geology, and some of the plant and critter behaviors that make up ecology. 

I’m ending my Blog today with these lovely and super true quotes from Dr. Evans: “The more you know, the more you notice” and “the longer you stare at it, the more things you see.”

  • Lily 🙂

Day 9: Epiphytes Galore

Even though today was another travel day, we managed to spend a large part of it at the Mayan Ruins of Caracol!! It was super cool because we actually got to climb on top of them and go through the rooms and tombs. We first started out learning a bit of Mayan history from Leo, our tour guide. He explained how there was a two class system: the elites and the middle class that worked for the elites. The builds of their houses were different (completely stone vs. thatched) as well as their burial methods like how intricate the tombs were and what was put inside. My favorite stop that we made was at the large pyramidal temple that a Mayan king had actually built his palace on top of, securing his status as a god or at least that it was he was divinely chosen. We got to climb onto the temple to the very top where the stairs were surprisingly tall and steep – the Mayans must have had some serious quads not gonna lie. Within Caracol, there were about 200,000 people living in 35,000 homes at one point, but Leo told us of possible reasons why the Mayan civilization fell: 1) War – self explanatory, 2) Degradation of the environment – using too many of the resources around them and a butterfly effect of affecting the organisms and habitats around them, 3) Revolt – archaeologists have found evidence from purposefully destroyed statues to finding skeletons found in mass graves/unusual spots by the palace (around which they were trying to construct a wall for protection against their own people). It was mind blowing to see these ruins in such an up-close perspective and understand how they went about daily lives. The view from on top was beautiful as you could see so much of the Chiquibul forest and its inhabitants and listen to the beautiful cacophony that is created within.

The cicadas here sounds so different than the one’s at home (they kind of sound like a constant drone flying overhead) and the Melodious Blackbirds have a super distinct call that I am sure we will hear plenty of over the next week. During lunch, we even hear the loud croak/groans of the Howler Monkeys! In terms of some of my taxa sightings (epiphytes!!), I saw plenty. I saw lots of Arrowhead Plants, Tillandsia utriculata, Philodendron hederaceum, and Monstera spp. Lots of these were growing on these super cool 200+ year old Ceiba trees that had plenty of epiphytes growing on them and here at least 100ft tall – so amazing. We also saw a Gumbo limbo tree which is funnily also known as the Tourist Tree as it has a red colored bark that peels off, just like the American tourists that come and visit.

Afterwards we headed to Las Cuevas Research Station where in the car we saw a toucan, scarlet macaw, and lots of turtles that were crossing the road. The station is super nice and we were able to get in yesterday’s taxon briefings in as well as those scheduled for today so I presented about epiphytes! I’m actually really excited to get into trying to ID them and also teaching the group about them as they are definitely very present in the forest.

-Sophia

Ceiba tree canopy
Ceiba tree butress  roots! They were amazing to see
Group photo on top of the Caana
Fish tail palms – many people try to illegally bring these across borders
Tillandsia spp. AND Philodendron hederaceum

Caracol and Chiquibul

Today was chalk-full of adventure, history, and changes. We woke up early at TEC and made three field-ID’s before breakfast! First, I spotted a Shimmering Golden Sugar Ant (Camponotus sericiventris) and I told everyone that would listen to me about golden ant butts. Then, I let McKenna borrow my binoculars and she identified both a Great Kiskadee and a Social Flycatcher flitting about high up in a pine tree. Lastly, on our way into breakfast at the dining hall, we spotted an agouti (which promptly ran away from us).

We left TEC after breakfast and were on our way to Caracol Archaeological Reserve and then to Chiquibul National Forest.

Caracol was absolutely stunning. I have never visited any ancient ruins, and it was incredible to learn about the Mayan civilization and culture. The site of Caracol is vastly underappreciated  and under-documented. Archaeologists have excavated several huge temples and astronomical buildings, but the entire complex is a seven mile radius with more than 35,000 individual structures (at its peak). I think the most fascinating building at the site was the ‘E-group’ astronomical building, whose three peaks align with the position of the rising sun at three key points throughout the year! As I climbed up the opposite building to see what the ancient Mayan astronomers did, it started to pour down rain (our first taste of Belize’s wet season), which made the uneven mossy steps even slipperier.

Slippery stone steps

We saw some very large leafcutter ant (Atta cephalotes) colonies (more than a meter in diameter) and also a very small one! Dr. Solomon said that the small one was probably a year or two old, because it only had two entrance holes to the nest.  I also saw a very large ant with mottled/spotted coloration that I didn’t recognize. I asked Dr. Solomon and he theorized that it could be a Ponerine or Hyperponerine ant.

Ponerine (?) ant

Completely Nerding Out: A Great Day for Archeology and Arachnids

Today we left the lovely TEC to journey into the Chiquibul rainforest! We had a long and bumpy car ride through the capital city Belmopan through the Maya Mountains, to our first stop: the Caracol Archeological Reserve! As someone who is also majoring in anthropology/archeology, this visit was so insanely cool! We saw multiple different plazas, ballcourts, and complexes, and got to walk up and explore one of the large stone structures, the top of which is the highest manmade point in Belize! The view was so vast and impressive! We also saw these enormous ceiba trees which had giant buttresses and intertwining roots

I also saw the first signs of my rainforest taxa which are arachnids! While we were at the site, there were a few dark and moist recesses in the stone walls, where we just barely spotted a tailless whip scorpion ! These dudes look pretty freaky, but they are non venomous and won’t hurt you. They usually like living in caves, so I wasn’t expecting to see any until our last day spelunking adventure! 

 

After this visit, we made another long car ride to Las Cuevas Research Station. We had a short orientation to the site, but spent most of our time last night doing lectures so we haven’t really gotten to explore yet. That’s for tomorrow’s adventure!

Day 9: The Lost City

Today, we made our way from the Tropical Education Center, where we stayed the night, to Las Cuevas Research Station. However, we did not take a direct shot between the two. Instead, we made a bit of a detour, to the uncovered Mayan ruins of Caracol. Our tour guide Leo, was a vast ranivore of knowledge about the ruins and the ancient Mayan culture. The structure these ancient civilizations created are truly domineering and impressive. Far beyond the size I imagined. At this particular sight, the key structure is still the tallest man-made building in all of Belize, despite being built thousands of years ago. We were able to explore for a couple hours, take some fun photos, and eat a delicious lunch while there.
We then made the hour drive to Las Cuevas. Reaching the station marked the start of a new and exciting adventure. Birds, insects, arthropods, and plants galore. The diversity of the rainforest is immense and strikingly different from my desert home. I, however, did not encounter an amphibian today. Here is where I can use my line that I probably heard them calling amongst the many sounds of the forest. Frogs/toads have very distinctive calls, and although I can’t identify them by ear yet, because it’s the wet season there is a good chance they were out there calling (especially since they are most active at night).
Today was an incredible experience, and fascinating to see the dynamic between the ancient ruins and the domineering natural forces of the forest. I am excited to be here, and start the second half of the course!

~Rusty

Mayan Ruins at Caracol
View from the top

Journey to Caracol and Las Cuevas!

Hey guys! Once again, it’s Michiel : )

We woke up this morning at the TEC (one of the most beautiful places ever) and quickly got ready for breakfast at 6:30. After breakfast, everyone gathered their luggage near the side of the road and got into vans for our journey to Caracol. On our way to Caracol, I got to sit in the front seat, where I prepared for my topic lecture that would be happening later that evening (spoiler alert). I read a bunch of papers with tiny letters while we were traveling on very bumpy roads. I may have gotten a little carsick, but it was only a little headache, and I was committed enough to presenting a wonderful lecture that a headache wouldn’t stop me. I managed to read everything I needed to by the time we got to Caracol. There, we saw a HUGE Ceiba tree, Mayan middle-class homes, and a beautiful pyramidal temple. We climbed to the top of that temple, looking in ancient bedrooms and tombs on the way up. Once we finally got to the top, we got a truly amazing view of the Chiquibul Forest. While we were there, we also saw white lined sac bat. After the pyramidal temple, we saw their place of astronomical observation, an area where they played a ballgame, and an aquifer. After all this, we had lunch, during which we were able to hear Black Howler Monkeys (Alouatta pigra) screaming throughout the forest. I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to get any pictures of these monkeys, but here is a picture of us on top of the temple and me next to a Ceiba tree!

After lunch, we left Caracol and continued our journey to Las Cuevas Research Station. On our trip, we saw three turtles crossing the road, two scarlet macaws, and a toucan! Once we finally reached the station (around 4:30), we were shown around. The station is really nice; I think I’m going to really enjoy it here. After our orientation, we began catching up on lectures that we had fallen behind on. After two taxon lectures, we had dinner, then I presented! I presented on life in the rainforest canopy, and I think I did really well, but we’ll see. After I presented, there were a couple more lectures, then we worked on our blogs and field notebooks and went to bed.

I’m really excited for everything to come. I’ll be sure to keep y’all updated!

The Ruins of Caracol!!! (Day 9)

Hi all, it’s Faith with Day 9 updates from the 2022 Belize trip!!!

Today we left the TEC to visit Caracol, one of the largest Mayan cities. I got kind of car sick on the way there, but it was OK because we sighted a Morelet’s crocodile (crocodylus moreleti). While I couldn’t get the exact size, it was obviously a younger crocodile. It even had the black tail bands that characterize young morelet’s. We saw it sunbathing on a rock near a freshwater river in the Chiquibil. What an exciting find!

After that, I fell asleep and awoke at Caracol. This ancient Mayan city was home to over 200k people at one point and spans over 7 miles. The temples are in a pyramidal shape and come in groups of threes and sixes. The property had a wide variety of trees. One of them produces fruit that are locally called horse balls, and the fruit have a sticky glue-like sap. We also saw a gumbo limbo tree wrapped in a strangling fig. The last cool tree we saw was a Ceiba tree. They can live for over 200 years, and they dominate the emergent layer of the rainforest (highest portion of the canopy). We all looked so small compared to the twin ceiba trees! The highlight of Caracol, for me at least, was seeing a bat! I love bats, so I was the first and last person out of the Mayan cave-room! He was so small (pictured below)!

After Caracol we made the 2 hour drive to Las Cuevas research center. On the way it began to rain, and the gravelly- dirt roads became faint puddles. In those puddles, we saw three turtles! One I identified as a red cheeked mud turtle (K. scorpiodes). I determined his species by noting his habitat and appearance.  I even saw a glimpse of his bright red cheeks! Because of the speed we passed them with and their small sizes, I wasn’t able to identify the other two turtles we passed. They were also living their best life in road ponds. I also couldn’t get pictures of these turtles because of the moving car 🙁

Las Cuevas seems cool for now, but I guess I have all week to figure that out. I’ll let you know what happens next!

Till Tomorrow!

QOTD

““You guys are gonna make me touch the horse balls?”

“Micheal pees! How could he?”

This is the site we saw a morelet’s crocodile! It is in this picture I will add a close up of the crocodile once I receive is from Dr. Solomon
The Giant Ceiba Tree!
THE BAT!!!
Morelet’s crocodile sunbathing!

Mayan Ruins + Welcome to the Jungle

Today marked day 9 of the trip. The overarching goal was to travel from the TEC to Las Cuevas Research Station. However, we made a stop to tour the Caracol Mayan ruins along the way!

The tour was 2.5 hours long, and I enjoyed every single minute! Leo (our tour guide) taught us so many Mayan/Belizean history facts! We saw Ceiba trees, and they were huge! The most impressive part of the tour based on the monumental size was climbing the temple/palace of the plaza. The stairs were incredibly steep, but they were so worth it! At the top of the stepped temple, I stood at the highest point of Belize!

On the rest of the tour, it began to rain. When I was taking cover, I got to see some Oropendola montezuma! These are a large species of bird that have black bodies, yellow tails, rufous wings, white cheek patches, and a pointed orange beak. Scott described perfectly how their songs sound like video game noises. I also saw their nests, which they weave themselves, and they look like sacks hanging from branches.

I also saw many other birds: blue-crowned motmot, great-tailed grackles, melodious blackbirds, a type of vulture, a type of hawk, a pileated woodpecker, and (only heard the calls) red-lored parrots.

During the drive from Caracol to Las Cuevas, I very briefly saw scarlet macaws! They were in the distance in tall, sparse trees high in the canopy. I hope to see more!

I gave my rainforest taxon lecture today on birds! I was excited to get to fangirl over my taxa, but sadly, the audio files didn’t work. Even though people didn’t get to hear the bird calls for the species I presented, we will push through TFB-style and still test out our abilities to bird by ear regardless (at least I will)!

Liliana and I are staying in room “Jobillo” at the station. Early tomorrow morning, there will be an optional birdwatch. Since I am extremely tired and am aware that tomorrow is going to be a long day, I plan on going only if I’m naturally awake by then. If my internal timing of waking up allows me to make the morning birdwatch, then I will have so many more sightings to add to my taxon log!

The jungle puts my Belizean ecosystem count to 3 (atoll, savanna, rainforest)!

– McKenna

Day 9: Caracol- Exploring the Mayan Ruins

Today we went to see the Mayan ruins, Caracol!  The view was phenomenal! We also learned about how the Maya were able to create a complex calendar and language writing system,  about their social hierarchy, and a ball game they used to play called pok ta pok (probably named after what the ball sounded like when it hit the sides of the court).

View from top of Caracol- the largest man-made structure in Belize!
View from top of Caracol- the largest man-made structure in Belize!

Many of my fellow TFBs(tropical field biologists) kept pointing out beetles! Elena pointed out a small brown beetle with a golden y shape on its elytra. Pretty cool! Its yellow/tan and black stripes looks similar to a potato lead beetle, but had red accents on its pronotum and head which was different.

 

Faith showed me another beetle with black iridescent elytra with red on the sides.Most beetles have an iridescent tint because it actually aids in their ability to camouflage from other creatures!

I also saw a firefly that while lectures were going on at Las Cuevas! Can’t wait to see more beetles!

~Maegan