Ranger for a Day

An early bus meant setting an alarm for this morning. We caught the bus around 8:00am & headed for the Ya'axché Conservation Trust...about a 2-hour bus ride.

A couple from Britain was on the bus for the same trip. We met briefly with two wardens who explained the protected areas in the Toledo district & how there was some encroachment from Guatemala for some decorative leaves.

We were split into two groups, each guide starting from opposite ends of the trail--we met & passed in the middle. The other group had a young boy with them. Apparently they had stumbled into three boys & their dogs poaching animals. Two boys ran off & the other tried to hide, but his dog was barking to protect him, so he was caught. The ranger eventually took him home to his village, where the village elders will deal with him.

There were lots of plants, vines, trees, and other vegetation to see, but little in the way of animal life. We did see a few butterflies, a hummingbird, some caterpillars, some insects, spiders, and ants, and also heard some bird songs, but the most interesting thing was the brown basilisk. Montana devoted herself to taking lots of pictures, while LuRue quizzed Coy on his life.

Doesn't that look inviting?

This is what rich caterpillars look like

This is the Basilisk 

One of the things he mentioned was the interaction between his people (Mayan) and the Amish/Mennonites in the area. He said that things are better now, but not long ago, the Amish/Mennonite people would have nothing to do with the Mayans as they believed that the Mayans were cannibals. He told about one time that he approached a house to try to make friends, but since the man of the house was gone, the women and children locked themselves in the house & refused to answer the door.

After the tour was over & we were waiting for the bus back to town, the English couple told about seeing a snake trying to eat a lizard...but it was unsuccessful. Their walk had more action than ours!

After coming back to town, we cleaned up from head to toe...lots of mud since it had been raining when we started the walk. Into town to the bank, the grocery store, and an extremely noisy Chinese restaurant. Food was good, but neither of us cared for the Saturday night crowd.