Boat trip down the New River from Orange Walk to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai (30/01/09)
The picturesque New River. We decided to go on a boat trip to some Mayan ruins called Lamanai. As it turned out the boat trip itself was far more enjoyable than the ruins themselves. We travelled about 30 miles south upriver and saw lots of wildlife on the way, not letting a bit of rain dampen our spirits.
A Northern Jacana. Also known as the Jesus bird because of it's apparent ability to walk on water (or water lilies whichever the case may be).
This iguana was very well camouflaged in this rotten tree branch. We hadn't seen it until the guide pointed it out.
We were very excited to see a couple of Spider Monkeys swinging through the trees. They were very inquisitive and came right on to the branches overhanging the river to take a look at us. It was hard to tell who was doing the wildlife watching - us or the monkeys.
This one was slightly less bold than his friend.
One of the Spider Monkeys showing how they got their name. It is easy to imagine this silhouette from a distance might look like a giant spider.
Three small brown bats roosting in a rotten tree trunk. If you have trouble making them out take note that they are upside down. They are about tennis ball size and they live on mosquitos and flies.
We saw lots of different species of birds of prey. This Snail Kite was particularly interesting because it's hooked beak is perfectly designed for reaching right inside snail shells.
This Black Vulture strikes quite a dramatic pose silhouetted against the sun.
This is one of several Mennonite communities in Belize. We had previously noticed a number of strangely dressed people around, the men were all wearing the same clothes - black trousers held up with braces, checked shirts and straw hats. They looked like they had just stepped out of Little House on the Prairie. After a bit of research we discovered that they are a Christian pacifist group originally from Germany who have moved to various strange locations to escape conscription. They do not use electricity and mostly horses for farm work but still manage to produce as much as 50% of Belize's food. The fairly small numbers and ban on marrying outside the community has apparently led to problems with inbreeding, something which is very easy to believe when you see some of them.
This species of palm has a very spiny trunk. On one example near the track the guides had shaved the spines off at hand height giving rise to an amusing image of several previous tourists grabbing on to help them up the steep slope that was next to it.
This huge stone face was only discovered by accident when someone accidently knocked down one of the outer temple walls. Apparently it was common practice amongst the Mayans simply to build new structures onto what was already there.
Another enormous temple with lots of steps.
Yes, we did climb to the top. That is the New river in the background.
Liz climbing back down the steep stone steps. As our guide said - the climb to the top is physical, the climb down is psychological.
In the background is the Jaguar temple. It is supposed to depict the facial features of a Jaguar if you use your imagination. Adam is obviously not imaginative enough.
Nor Liz, but she is still smiling.
Black Orchids, the National flower of Belize. They are purple!
We were not the only river users. This was one of only a few pictures on the way back as it started raining quite hard.
But the rain storm ended well.
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