Thursday, January 25, 2007

Fer-de-Lance at Blue Hole National Park

A poisonous snake we came across in the jungles of Blue Hole National Park, Cayo District, Belize

Friday, January 19, 2007

Let's start with Belize and Guatemala...

Seth selected these photos and (with the help of Kristina) created this website. Bruce has been making music videos and slide shows behind the scenes!

A Three Hour Tour...A Three Hour Tooouuurrrr...

...the weather started getting rough, our tiny ship was tossed...
Mike Topsy piloted our motor boat for 45 minutes to this "tiny" (200yds X 100yds) island where we stayed at Tobacco Caye Paradise for 6 days. Our cabin is the third white structure from the left. Two rooms, two double beds, two hammocks, and three squares...we were in paradise! The island is right on the reef, second in size to Australia's Great Barrier, there was an incredible diversity of ocean life to explore. ~Kristina

Xunatunich and a GIANT grasshopper on KK



Guatemala Marketplace

Fruit and vegetable markets provided tomatoes, avocados, oranges, papaya, watermelon, banana, grapes, Washington apples!, garlic...and much more.

Menonite Man

The Menonites settled in Belize in the mid-1900s and have become an important part of Belizean society- they are said to control Belize's chicken production.

Ruins

Mayan royalty lived near and around these temples. The tallest temples were built in honor of their ancestors. The amazing thing is that these structures were built by a civilization with much less technology than ours. The tallest structure in Belize today is a Mayan Temple.

Magnificent Tikal, Peten District, Guatemala





Back to School

Eco Escuela Spanish Language School


Tamale-Making, Lionel and friends, Swimming




We lived with a family on the edge of this lake for 5 days over Christmas. The weather was very hot so everyday we swam in the lake. On Christmas eve I helped the women of the family make tamales, I rolled about a dozen, all together they rolled 400! ~Kristina

Beautiful Flores

On the shore of Lake Peten Itza is picturesque Flores with cobblestone streets, many restaurants, and nightly soccer or basketball matches in the hilltop town square. Canoes can be rented or motor boats hired to tour the lake. Seth got a lesson in rowing from Bruce, and learned to drive a motorboat on this lake. In our hotel, Dona Goya, we learned of a nearby language school and arranged a homestay over Christmas. "Hola Wilmer, have you mailed our postcards yet?" ~Kristina

Tikal Buttress Tree

Tikal Temple

...covered in trees. A significant portion of Tikal has been excavated, but even more lay hidden under the earth.

Green Hills Butterfly Farm

Here we took a tour of the butterfly house
where our guide enthusiastically told us about
the butterflies and their methods of keeping
them.

Macal River Canoe Trip

Our second to the last day in Belize we rented a canoe and paddled up the Macal River seeing many animals such as kingfishers, swallows, small bats, egrets and herons. (A note for the curious: these bats were found clinging to a small cave along the side of the river)

Eagle Ray

This graceful eagle ray is an amazing site, witnessed from the dock (at night) on Tobacco Caye.

Wild Turkeys












some two-and-a-half foot long birds feeding on lawn-dwelling insects in Tikal, Guatemala

Sand Crab from Tobacco Caye

This is a small crab that I caught on a tiny island we stayed on for six days...

Small Frog sighted on the Macal River

...by chance I happened upon this frog sitting on the edge of a bridge and took a photo.

The Ants Go Marching Two by Two Hurrah.....Hurrah.....

Yet another amazing trail of ants found in Tikal, Guatemala

Two Interesting Bugs


What the Heck is an Anole?

captured at the Hi-Et Hotel in San Ignacio, this anole is a fine specimen of what you might encounter in the wild.

Small Gecko

...captured in San Andres, Peten, Guatemala, in the evening

Keel-Billed Toucan and Emerald Toucanette at the Belize Zoo

Not in the Wild, thank God!

pictured here is a small alligator, found in a pond at the Belize Zoo

Iguana in tree, San Ignacio

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Basilik Lizard

This is a small basilik lizard found at the Belize Zoo. As many of you probably know, these lizards can run on water!