The birds at the Tropical Education Center have a pleasant morning alarm. I was lucky enough not to have the one obnoxious bird gurgling outside my window. The twittering was soft, musical and unobtrusive. Those sounds got my feet to swing over the edge of the bed at 5am. We were out of there by 9am and onto our next stop – the river float through Mayan caves.
I wish I had a waterproof camera. Instead my memory maker was sitting in a dry bag on Anatashio’s lap. The over-use of camera’s around me left my normally click-happy fingers to do other things. Somehow this ‘touristy’ photo madness turned me off to my own hobby. The only times I played behind the lens was in the moments I found to myself. The river float was amazing. That’s all I can really say about it. Each cave opened to another cavern that opened to an opening with waterfalls pouring from the sky and streaking the eroded stone. Anatashio had taken a group through the day prior and one of the tubers bumped along the wall, put his hand out to push off … only that wasn’t wall. That surface he pushed against with all his might was one of the most poisonous snakes on earth. Luckily, the snake was sleeping and didn’t ruin the traveler’s vacation with a bite. Anatashio lingered behind the rest of the group to kill the poor snake with his bare hands. A pissed off, poisonous snake has no place in a tourist attraction. Sad.We restacked the inner-tubes and crammed in the van once again to travel to Banana Bank Lodge. My single room is more than comfortable with A/C and mosaic stained glass bathroom. It was a relaxed day at the lodge. We took a boat ride up the Belize River for more birding and ecological banter. By the end of which I had a crick in my neck because I was forever on the wrong side of the boat for the good viewing. I am a terrible birder. I can’t initially spot them, then I can’t find them in the binoculars and don’t even ask about species identification. I never seem to listen to the final verdict on the species. So what it comes down to is this … I can tell you when it’s a Social Flea Catcher (only because I made a joke about Anti-Social Flea Catchers, yes, my memories mostly consist of times I tell a joke and actually get a laugh). And I’m good at pointing out vultures (turkey neck and black vultures alike). That’s all I got. The boat also offered up some good sitings of howler monkeys in their natural environment, iguanas that weigh more than me, and two people whose plan to skinny dip was ruined by our binoculars.
I have never eaten so much rice and beans. Every meal.
Banana Bank is over 4,000 acres. They have a spider-monkey chained to the trees. Very sad, but it was kind of funny to see it play with farm dogs. Everyone in Belize seems to have a jaguar, Banana Bank is no different. Tika-Two. My lodge is a bit detached from everything else. The stone path brings me right alongside the jaguar cage. Cool to say hi to the cat throughout the day, but approaching the chain-link in the dark rattled my nerves a bit. It’s the type of dark that only real wilderness brings. So when the basic silhouette my eyes made out was the shape of a jaguar, this time directly in my path, my heart jumped. The dark made me momentarily forget about the strategically placed feline statute just outside Tika-Two’s den.
I am not looking forward the the 5am bird calls tomorrow morning. Toucans and Cockatoos are caged outside my room. I’m sure I’ll wake to “Hello, Hello”.
Tomorrow we hit a long car ride and an even longer boat ride out to Glover’s Reef Atoll. I can’t wait to hit the water.
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