Belizean most iconic animals ...

On Dec 4th we visited Belize Zoo ... which is actually not a zoo at all, but a rescue centre for orphaned, injured and mistreated animals, lots of them ex-pets, that cannot be released to the wild ... the enclosures are spacious and natural and the jungle surroundings simply amazing ... it is very educational and it offers the opportunity to see Belizean iconic animals that you would never see in the wild ...

And yes, I confess ... I fed a carrot to the tapir ... but who could resist that little face??

Crooked Tree and night tour ...

We started our day with a boat tour at Crooked Tree - the lagoon is a wildlife sanctuary and home to loads of birds ... from the cute to the scary ...

there were also the smallest water lilies we've ever seen, they looked like snowflakes!

The real treat was at night, though - a canoe tour with Mr Crocodile Dundee II himself ... the creek was dark and scary but full of surprises ... some birds were surprised to see us but they decided to stay perched on their branch ...

well, even a jesus christ lizard (so called because it can run on water! it's hilarious) didn't blink despite my flash ...

some other creatures were lurking in the dark, awake ... like this adorable baby croc (about 20 cm long) ...

 

 

or his big brother (estimated about 3 meters) ...

 

 

 

it was a night full of surprises, the best being the amazing sounds of nature at night ...

Day 2 - Lamanai

 

Did anyone say Maya ruins? On day 2 we made our way to Lamanai to see some temples ...

 

 

in case you are wondering, the little guy on the top is not a mayan priest but Ernst being silly ...
the view from the top was very pretty ...

but the oxygen was clearly very thin ... or maybe the sun too strong ...

on our way there by boat, we had several close encounters ...

I think this is the face I made when I saw the howler monkey showing me his bits ...

 

 

Fortunately, there were also some more poetic moments ...

 



and more birds ...

It was a beautiful day but at the end we were knackered and went to bed before 8 ... oh dear

The wacky adventures continue ... welcome to Belize!!

After the usual adventurous flights (dodging strikes in Germany and cancellations in Washington), we managed to land in Belize on time!! The temperature difference was a real choc, but we will survive the tropics once again :)
We spent the first afternoon sleeping, but the first day in Bermudian Landing didn't disappoint: we took a river tour on a canoe with Russell, known locally as Crocodile Dundee II ... it was just so peaceful and beautiful and we saw lots of animals ... a couple of impressions follow:

beautiful birds (except the vultures circling over our heads, maybe!), stunning iguanas, adorable howler monkeys (the males have some protruding attributes, though) ... and even a fricking crocodile!!

our home for the next few nights ... very pretty!

and tomorrow, up early to visit some Maya ruins ... but we still have time for a couple of local beers tonight!