Belize adventure

Kurt and I took his boys, Gabriel(7) and Luca(4) on a trip to Belize. We spent four nights in San Ignacio which is jungle and close to the Guatemala border, following by two nights at Hopkins which is a Garifuna coastal village.

The photos are mostly aligned chronologically......

 

 Macal river bridge

                                                         Luca has a new girlfriend

 

Xunantunich Ruins

 

Luca

 

Gabriel and Luca cant wait to get to the top of the temple

 

Those are some really big steps for two little boys

                                                                        Xunantunich

                                                            View from the top of the temple

These small stingless bees made a hive in a cavity of the temple wall. The trumpet shaped entrance is composed of propolis which is a sticky material produced by the bees to protect the entrance of the hive from ants.

 

This iguana appears to be guarding the temple entrance

                                     Many iguanas on the Xunantunich grounds

 

More giant steps

 

smaller temple

 

Hand cranked ferry across the Mopan river

 

Our vehicle is the black Jeep

 

As Kurt was talking to me, an iguana crawled up on his backpack

 

Luca  is making a new Friend

                               The favorite of the boys was this green iguana that had lost two toes in a fight

 

Gabriel is feeding a small male iguana

 

I dare you to hold an iguana

 

 Brown Jay

                                                                       Lobster Plant

                                                                Bananas!

 

Maya Mountain Lodge - shared porch area

 

Mystic river breakfast

 

Cat Bird

                                                                                Rail

 

Macal River

 

It's just us and nature

 

After the boys quit worrying about gars and crocodiles, they loved the river

 

hellgrammite

 

Luca is fearless when it comes to bugs

Luca was lucky he didn't get pinched

 

That face tells its own story

 

This water moves real fast

 

I'm slipping.... 

                                                          Road hunting for iguanas

 

Deep pool below monkey falls

 

Group shot of us in the deep pool  below the falls

Below the falls

 

Luca

                                                                   Gabriel

                                                Hugging grand kids at Monkey Falls

                                            Precious moment taken by Luca's Belgium girlfriend

Raptor Center show - all birds were injured, saved but can no longer survive in the wild due to their injury

                                                                     Barn Owl

 

 

Spectacle Owl

 

Ornate Hawk Eagle

 There are diamonds in these hills

Looking for the tiny little sparkles

They might not be diamonds but to the grand kids they were precious

Collared Aracari Toucan

We were all  kinda fascinated by the toucans

Toucan picking a fruit from tree

Breakfast of Champions

 Red Headed Woodpecker at Maya Mountain Lodge

It appears that in Belize they bury family members by stacking the vaults one on top of the other.

 

Blue Hole - dark blue area is 30 feet deep

 

We shared the blue hole with a couple from Houston, Texas

 

Locally called Jesus Lizard because it can walk on water

Spelunking in St Herman's Cave

                             We had our own headlights - there was no other light in the cave

 

Where is Gabriel? 

                                           Kurt and the boys in the twilight of the cave entrance

 

So many colorful birds in the Jungle

 

Decided to stop at this roadside eatery (Yam Witts) - We were the only customers  

 

phone games and movies smoothed out the pains of a long day in the car

 

Yam Witts turned out to a great place to eat

 

Parrot Cove from the end of pier.... only twenty Poppy steps from porch to ocean

                                                       Hopkins Beach

 

The winds had been blowing and the waves had been churning up the shallows for a couple of days- no story book clarity on this day

 

Monster wave hits - Gabriel wanted more and Luca wasn't so sure

 

Sitte River near Hopkins

 

Gabriel had a blast catching and releasing from the marina

 

Mangrove snapper - Gabriel adds to life list of "Fish Caught"

 

Sunset at the marina

 

Complimentary breakfast at Parrot Cove

 

Attention Agata.....  look at that healthy breakfast - eggs, fruit, potatoes and sausage, bread and jam and orange juice

 

Beach front in Hopkins

 

Agouti - Kind of like a giant rat

 

Indie's for ethnic Garifuna lunch - The boys opted out - they had fish and chips and watermelon jiuce

 

I had Bundiga - Grated green banana  dumplings in coconut milk with a few spices served with grilled mangrove snapper

 Kurt had Hudut - The yellow that looks kinda like cornbread is Fu-fu(made from mashed green and ripe plantains. The stew is sauteed snapper in coconut milk with onion, garlic and oregano. The Belikin is the national beer of Belize.

 

Gabriel enjoying the pool at Parrot Cove

 

Driving through the villages on a school day. Each school had it's own color shirts. 

 

Belize National Zoo - we went to see the animals that we didn't get to see in the wild - Tapir's are bigger than I thought

 

Fruit Loops Toucan

 

This jaguar came right up to the wire like he was going to jump on us

 

Jaguarundi 

 

Howler Monkey - some of the jungle settings in the Zoo are very impressive

 

Gabriel is going to fly home

 

Luca's favorite was the Scarlet Macaw

 

Headed back to Houston - I was amazed at Gabriel's artwork(titled "Airplanes of the World")