Tag Archives: Day 2

2022

Crab: 1 Liliana: 0

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It’s day 2 on Glover’s and our first day in the water! We had a super early (in my opinion) start, everyone woke up around 6:30 and we all geared up and headed to breakfast at 7. After some delicious banana pancakes we got into the water for the first time and went to a patch reef a little ways off. It was a pretty calm swim through a lot of sea grass and then before we knew it we were at the reef! It was incredible and I wish I had photos to add here but I didn’t bring my camera on the first swim, hopefully someone else here will have photos for you to see! We saw so many corals and fish, and such a wide variety of organisms all over the place. Everywhere you looked there was something new to see. We even saw a small lionfish sitting on the reef, which is not ideal for invasive reef species control, but still interesting to see one out in the wild in real life! The first swim was a good one for my taxon group, crustaceans; we saw a Caribbean spiny lobster hiding in a hole underneath some coral, another organism I have been hoping to see in real life. After about an hour in the water we went out for a break and some land prep for tomorrow before lunch. Around this time I was outside with the two kids who had collected a bunch of crabs in coconut shells. They showed me one smaller crab and despite their warnings that he was (understandably) angry, I tried to pick it up to get a better look. Alas, the crab outsmarted me and got a good chunk of my finger in his claw, luckily it didn’t draw blood, just a long scrape and my hurt pride. Clearly my crab catching skills are a little rusty, but there are plenty of other crabs around that are hopefully a little friendlier.

We went back in the water after lunch, but not before a quick jog through the mangroves of death. While dramatic sounding, it’s pretty much a trail through the island that goes along the mangroves, and is absolutely filled with mosquitos, it felt like they were completely covering us until we all sprinted into the water and hid under the surface for them to go away. Once we got through that we shuffled our way through a bunch of sea grass until we got to a sandy area with lots of patch reefs, and we went swimming through looking for behaviors and organisms as part of a scavenger hunt. This area was less protected by the island from waves so we were pushed from side to side and through the reef and pulled around. My handwriting is already terrible, but with the waves pushing my arms and clipboard around I don’t think any of my notes are legible. Unfortunately these waves also pushed me up against the coral, and soon after I swam further away I realized that the part of my hand that had gotten smacked into the coral was turning red, and felt a little like it was burning. I discovered that I had the misfortune of bumping into a fire coral, named that probably because it hurts when you touch it. Coral: 1 Liliana: 0

However at the end of the day we went through our first round of taxon presentations and lectures, and by then my finger didn’t hurt from the crab and my hand wasn’t burning from the coral, and despite all the bug bites, I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow!

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Day 2: Wipeout

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It is the second day of our journey and today we got to swim at Rio on the pools before making our way to Caracol.  We had a nice breakfast on our last hour at the resort, and that was our last glimpse of the world. Sad but exciting time. At Rio, we swam for about an hour and I did slip and fall. It was like the TV show wipeout where the contestants slip and you laugh, well you would’ve laughed at me as I fell. Goodtime.

As soon as we passed a Mayan bridge on our way to Caracol and into the Chiquibul region, epiphytes were everywhere. From long vines to large fan like plants on the sides of trees (bromeliads and large lianas), they covered the forest. At Caracol, many epiphytes were present as well. Figs were present, bromeliads were present, as well as orchids. The black orchid was spotted near a bridge by the front, in which that is the country’s national flower. Many great sightings but above all, the history was very fascinating.

At Carcaol, we were given a tour of the site by our driver, who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Mayan ruins at Caracol. We climbed many buildings, one in which was for the king (people of high class). This building is the second tallest building in Belize, right behind a skyscraper in Belize City. We got to see a burial site in one of the ruins, and the system in which they bury people is very fascinating. Also, did not see bats in the burial site, in which the tour guide had warned us about, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to go inside.

At Las Cuevas Research Station, the scenery in second to none. It started raining as soon as we got here, but even that made the scenery better. Standing on the balcony and just taking everything in was a great introduction to Las Cuevas. Listening to the birds singing, to crickets chirping, Las Cuevas is the perfect place to start our journey tomorrow. Well that is it for today’s blog. See you tomorrow as our adventure is only getting started.

Picture: Rio on the pools

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Day 2: “Cheese Belize!”

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5/15/19: Well, today was our first full day in Belize and it was quite an experience. I have never before experienced anything like this.

It was a jammed pack day full of swimming, hiking, and exploring. We went to Rio on Pools site to swim which was super refreshing after being in the hot sun. I think I am going to keep reminiscing on those moments in the cool river while out here at Las Cuevas hiking in the humidity.

A picture of me enjoying the small waterfall at the Rio on Pools site.

I have to say my favorite part of the day had to be exploring the Mayan Caracol ruins. It was crazy to me to think that I was climbing structures that were built thousands of years ago. It also astounded me that Belize struggles to find funds to excavate all of the sites. We were only able to see the 1% of Caracol that has been excavated. There were so many other sites that have yet to be uncovered. If I had all the money in the world, I feel like I would want to donate some to help fund the archeological projects in Belize. I was in awe of its magnitude and beauty, so I can only imagine what it would be like to see all of the ruins uncovered.

I am atop one of the plaza structures at Caracol ruins site in Belize

I have seen 2 arachnids today, but I was too slow to grab my camera before they scurried away. One was a small common wolf spider and the other I think could have been a huntsman/banana spider (Heteropoda venatoria). It was on the smaller side, but it had the characteristic long legs seen in most banana spiders. I hope as we venture into Chiquibul tomorrow I will see many more! Hopefully, my first wild tarantula sighting will happen soon.

On a quick final note, in honor of our driver Leo, I am excited to keep saying “Cheese Belize!” in many more photo ops on this trip.

Wish me Luck!

-Bella

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Waterfalls and Mayan Cities

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We woke up early and left Crystal Paradise to begin our journey to Caracol. We made a stop at the Rio On Pools on the way and were surprised with beautiful waterfalls and pools of fresh water. Swimming in the pools was such an amazing experience, but after about an hour I heard Veronica shouting about leeches. I promptly jumped out of the water onto a rock and proceeded to check myself to make sure there wasn’t any on me, thankfully there wasn’t any.

Once we left the beautiful Rio On Pools, we headed towards Caracol to see an ancient Mayan city. Our tour guide Leo gave us a brief history of the Mayans of Caracol and then led us to some of the monuments and structures. Climbing up the steep steps of one of the monuments and being able to see to treetops of Guatemala in the distance was a breathtaking view. While at Caracol, I also spotted a brown anole on the side of one of the Mayan structures and later on the tour Scott was able to grab another brown anole so we could see it up close.

We then piled back into the van and continued the drive to Las Cuevas research station. I slept a good chunk of the ride, which was surprising because it was so bumpy. Once arrived at Las Cuevas we met Raphael who runs the station. Then we went on a hike around the station to get better used to the area. On the trail, we saw a Mexican tree leaf frog that we disturbed by trying to get a better look, so it squirted pee on us. Finally, we ended the hike back at the station and saw the beautiful and endangered scarlet macaws, which was absolutely amazing.

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Free-range Dogs and other unexpected animals

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Today was definitely a day of travel, from Crystal Paradise, to Caracol (a Mayan ruins) and then to Las Cuevas.

On the road we kept seeing animals we weren’t exactly experts on. Our guide described the animals we saw on the road side as we drove through urban and rural Belize: free-range dogs, free-range chickens, horses, dairy and beef cattle. There were trails on the side of the road for horse riders, and also cattle just hanging out. Dogs in Belize are kept as kept as pets, but not usually as indoor pets. Most owners feed their dogs in the day and at night, but either keep them on a leash in the yard or let them freely roam if they’re in a rural area.

At Rio on Pools (which translates to River on Pool) we encountered leeches that none of us expected to. When we found them on our skins and inside our swimwear. If left undisturbed, they would chew an opening into our bloodstream and feed on our blood until they expand and grow circular. Because of the pain-killers they release when they chew into human skin, they can be undetectable to us. Also, amidst natural water slides formed by granite and water,

At Caracol, we walked through the ruins that were the housing, playing grounds, and political meeting places for the Mayans. Before they abandoned this site, a whole kingdom met periodically in a rectangular plaza to hear the announcement of a king. The construction of the plaza reflected this purpose, where a hushed whisper from one of the pyramids can be heard in the plaza hundreds of feet away clearly and loudly.

Now in the abandoned plaza, a species of Stingless bee live in 30+ mounds that are evidence of underground nests and tunnels. These bees do not have a different castes, whereby one’s job may be to reproduce or to collect nectar, and live in small colonies no larger than 10-20.

 

 

 

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The Mayans and the Howlers

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Day 2: May 16th 2018,  From the Ecolodge to Las Cuevas Research Station

Today we woke up around 5:00 am in the Crystal Paradise Ecolodge, had a fantastic breakfast, and were on our way to our first stop by 7am. Our first stop was series of pools and small waterfalls called Rio on Pool.  The pools were cool and the rocks were mossy as we slipped and slid all over the rocks as we explored the areas.   There appeared to be little in the water at first glance, but after being there for a while, we saw small fish, spiders, a few leaches, and an insect exoskeleton.  After drying off, I spotted two lizards.  One was about a foot with a distant green stipe down the middle while the other was brown and a few inches long.  After saying goodbye to our little stop of paradise, we were on the road again.

The road was bumpy, and uneven as we made our way closer to the Chiquibul.  We passed through a large pine forest expanses, three military checkpoints, and into the entrance of the Chiquibul before making it to Caracol, a Mayan ruins site.  Our tour guide, Leo, showed us a variety of structures and species as we went from the Give and Take Palm to the large plaza that would have been overlooked by the king of the Mayas at the time.  Most notably, we climbed the largest Mayan structure excavated, and ironically the largest structure in Belize.  It was over seven stories high, easy to go up, and hard to come down.  When we reached the top, Leo, showed us two tombs where skeletons where found.  Within each, the walls were covered with bat guano (droppings)! Maybe not the most glamorous, but the first evidence of wild mammals I had yet to see.  

Just as I had finished climbing down the largest structure in Belize, and thought I was going to see essentially all the evidence of wild mammals, Leo pointed out a spectacular site. There was a large male howler monkey sitting in a tree several hundred feet away.  And with that came 5 other males, one after another including what appeared to be juvenile!  As we were leaving the site for lunch, we even heard their call which resembled wind howling through a tunnel. What a sightings!

After Caracol, we drove on an even more remote road to Las Cuevas Research Station.  Once we got there, were settled in and went on a short hike where we saw several interesting species including a Mexican Tree Frog.  After that, we ate dinner, and learned about Belizean trees, birds, and life in the rainforest canopy.  A long, but exciting first day in Las Cuevas.