Exploring the River of Mayan Spirits and Crocodiles

Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Belize City and Lamanai

Another wonderful breakfast before meeting our cab driver James who  picked us up at 7:45 and drove us to the Reyes dock on the New River just a few miles from Orange Walk. During our hour & 15-minute drive, LuRue quizzed James about his life growing up in Belize. There were so many similarities to Will's life on the farm in Indiana.

Throughout the day, and yesterday as well, many references were made to the Mennonites, who apparently have a very strong influence here. In one case land was being cleared, the explanation being that the Mennonites were doing so to grow crops. The attitude toward the project was positive.

Our excursion turned out to be about half boating. Our water time was about two hours each way. Though there appears to be one river on the map, there are so many channels, intersections, & back alleys, that it would have been impossible for a novice to find the way. Besides the guide, there were three men on our boat, all Spanish-speaking, and all very interested in birds. The guide was very accommodating, stopping to give photo opportunities to the men while Montana and LuRue usually looked in vain for the elusive birds hopping through the thick-leaved trees. Once in a while, we got a glimpse, but it was difficult to get too excited about cormorants much like we see in Alaska. We would have loved to see a bright-colored parrot or toucan, but none appeared.

 Spider monkey near dock

Lamanai is one of the biggest and best excavated Maya sites in northern Belize. Besides a small museum & three gift shops, there were three large well-preserved structures spread out over the area.

The guide spoke mostly in Spanish, which neither of us understood very much of, even after all our Spanish courses.  But the guide repeated the important points in English. Mainly the temples were the most interesting, though we also learned some new trees & plants.

Montana made the journey up the first & second temples. Several people were going up & down, using various methods on the steep, slick, uneven steps. No problem on the first temple for Montana, but the second one held a surprise for her. First she butt-bumped down the top steps, then stood & walked down to the first platform. She must have angered the Mayan gods for not using the rope handle, because as she reached the platform, they moved the ground just enough to cause her to pitch forward, falling on the same knee she had fallen on in Fairbanks two weeks before. She caused quite a stir among the other climbers who rushed to her aid, but being the trooper she is, she assured everyone she was fine, and continued down the final set of stairs. As she walked back to our group, we saw blood running down her leg. Oh, no! But at least she was upright. LuRue had some paper napkins in her purse & was looking for a vine to use as a tie, but our guide, Eric, came to the rescue with a plastic sack to hold the napkins in place.

As we visited temple number three...the royal palace...the howler monkeys started up a ruckus that rolled through the jungle. Too many trees to see any, though.

We had a good lunch, very similar to yesterday...rice & beans, chicken, vegetables, & fruit. There were a few minutes to look through the gift shops. Montana and LuRue each made small purchases. Then it was time to go. Eric re-bandaged Montana's knee with supplies from the boat & we took off again. More invisible birds, but this time we did catch glimpses of some crocodiles, especially one which was resting on a log. (Lamanai means submerged crocodile in Mayan)

James was waiting for us at the dock & drove us back as far as the supermarket, where we got a few more groceries to supplement what we have at Villa Boscardi. We got some ice cream bars, but when we opened the box, the bars were more like collapsed structures of chocolate with goo inside. Not an ice cream bar at all. Another long day! But a fun one, besides the wimpy ice cream bars.