The jungle wakes up early. We forgot to tell the kids.
At dawn the cacophony began, and prominent in the concert was the oropendula, who says something that sounds to me like, "We're here! We're here!" (It's also among my favorites for the complex hanging nest it creates, reminding me of '70s macrame projects. I'll try to get a picture.) It was a fabulous welcome.
Yesterday's trip was long but in most ways smooth. A tremendous rain storm caused an hour delay in our departure from Miami, giving us enough time to change terminals and scrounge lunch (yay Pizza Hut!) Faithful Timothy sat tight at the airport with our rental cars, though, and we were on the way in no time. A slight further delay to change vans (I still don't know why - inner workings of the complex Belizean car rental biz, I guess) had us hunting for DuPlooy's in the dark and making the several mile dirt road trek into the heart of the rainforest by feel - there is no ambient light out here, of course, and headlights seem a weak joke when up against the dark heart of the rainforest.
So we arrived here tired and ready to crash into our rooms and enjoy the first of Miss Tanika's homemade, fresh-out-of -the garden meals. (Kate A., with her excellent manners, made the mistake of calling Tanika "Ma'am", getting the lecture, "You make me sound like my mother - Call me Tanika!" Now they know ...) With the choice of fish in lemon caper sauce, lamb curry or stuffed cabbage, most went for the fish and were not disappointed. We all repaired to our various quarters and all I can say is we older and younger folk crashed pretty hard. I've seen evidence of all teenagers at this point, so am happy to say they made it through the night (though I did hear tell of a "bug incident". Imagine - bugs in the jungle ...)
After breakfast (fresh fruit, juice, tea/coffee, homemade breads, and whatever else off the menu - most seemed to be opting for breakfast burrito) we will sort ourselves out and pile in the van for Xunantunich, the closest Maya ruin and one of our favorites. Between the site itself, the local vendors and the quaint crank ferry we have to cross the Belize River on, it'll be a fun little adventure and a low-key way to start. This afternoon we'll hang out around here - river swimming/canoeing/tubing, exploring the paths & wildlife, the botanic garden (which we could small last night even in the dark - gorgeous!) and maybe even some horseback riding. No schedule, no stress.
I'll get back on tonight and post some pictures.
Hope you're all staying warm. Hee hee hee ....
At dawn the cacophony began, and prominent in the concert was the oropendula, who says something that sounds to me like, "We're here! We're here!" (It's also among my favorites for the complex hanging nest it creates, reminding me of '70s macrame projects. I'll try to get a picture.) It was a fabulous welcome.
Yesterday's trip was long but in most ways smooth. A tremendous rain storm caused an hour delay in our departure from Miami, giving us enough time to change terminals and scrounge lunch (yay Pizza Hut!) Faithful Timothy sat tight at the airport with our rental cars, though, and we were on the way in no time. A slight further delay to change vans (I still don't know why - inner workings of the complex Belizean car rental biz, I guess) had us hunting for DuPlooy's in the dark and making the several mile dirt road trek into the heart of the rainforest by feel - there is no ambient light out here, of course, and headlights seem a weak joke when up against the dark heart of the rainforest.
So we arrived here tired and ready to crash into our rooms and enjoy the first of Miss Tanika's homemade, fresh-out-of -the garden meals. (Kate A., with her excellent manners, made the mistake of calling Tanika "Ma'am", getting the lecture, "You make me sound like my mother - Call me Tanika!" Now they know ...) With the choice of fish in lemon caper sauce, lamb curry or stuffed cabbage, most went for the fish and were not disappointed. We all repaired to our various quarters and all I can say is we older and younger folk crashed pretty hard. I've seen evidence of all teenagers at this point, so am happy to say they made it through the night (though I did hear tell of a "bug incident". Imagine - bugs in the jungle ...)
After breakfast (fresh fruit, juice, tea/coffee, homemade breads, and whatever else off the menu - most seemed to be opting for breakfast burrito) we will sort ourselves out and pile in the van for Xunantunich, the closest Maya ruin and one of our favorites. Between the site itself, the local vendors and the quaint crank ferry we have to cross the Belize River on, it'll be a fun little adventure and a low-key way to start. This afternoon we'll hang out around here - river swimming/canoeing/tubing, exploring the paths & wildlife, the botanic garden (which we could small last night even in the dark - gorgeous!) and maybe even some horseback riding. No schedule, no stress.
I'll get back on tonight and post some pictures.
Hope you're all staying warm. Hee hee hee ....
