Today’s general agenda: Crystal Paradise Ecolodge —> Rio on River —> Caracol —> Las Cuevas Research Station 

It’s another day in Belize, meaning we got to eat more rice and beans! Rice and beans is a traditional Belizean cuisine, and, to my surprise, there is a subtle but not so subtle difference between rice and beans and beans and rice. Rice and beans have beans incorporated in the rice; beans and rice have separate rice and beans. Now, you know the differences! I recommend trying the rice and beans and most certainly with Marie Sharp’s hot sauce. 

I would say what makes today unique is that we were able to contextualize our trip through understanding more history of Belize. Belize is rooted in Mayan culture and artifacts. We had an in-depth tour by Leo, our tour guide, in Carcaol, a Mayan ruin. We explored how social class translates to how and where buildings were built. We also got to explore Mayan structures used for astronomy and religious purposes.

While we were exploring Mayan structures, we got to see Montezuma oropendola nests hanging from the tree. These nests were woven by the birds themselves and are very sturdy structures. I was very fascinated by these nests because I have never seen birds build these type of basket-like nests. This trip is continuously opening my eyes to more to amazing animals! 

Finally, today, in the ant-identification department, I present to you the “Golden Butt ant” in the Camponotes genus. These ants were found on tree trunks when we were on our way to Rio on River. They were roughly 2cm long, and they had golden-colored gaster region, which is just a more scientific way of describing their golden butt. Next stop: Las Cuevas Research Station! 

Brendan Wong

Las Cuevas, Belize

5/15/2019