It’s been a full week here in Belize and after decimating carefully managing the environment to clear around an acre of land for the new primate enclosures. But it hasn’t all been hard work:

On Friday we had a day off travelling to Lamanai, an ancient Mayan city with the highest Mayan temple in Belize which is suitably named the ‘High Temple’. This was our first day outside of our jungle home since we arrived. On our trip we encountered three crocodiles, a wide variety of birds and bats, howler monkeys and two spider monkeys which were, unbeknownst to us, illegally placed there and are going to be the first monkeys in the new enclosure we’re building.

Clearing the area for the monkeys took a good few days and the site we were working on was a Mayan ruin itself although we haven’t found anything but a few pieces of pottery. Building the cage has finally begun, the idea is that it’s around four times the volume of the cage it’s replacing.

Adrian and Zach

Hi all. Just coming to the end of our 3rd full day here already. Spent Monday cleaning down our new home and moved in. We are staying in the original hut built by HSX on their first visit here back in 94(ish). Some great construction, it’s still standing strong. Found lots of mice, scorpions, bats and other crawlies but hopefully they have moved out now!

Tuesday was great, we were shown the Manati here (Twiggy) and the 10 monkeys in various cages. Was good to hear more detail about what we will be working on and what help we can be. As soon as we have the pre-release enclosure set up some of the howlers will be introduced to it, as they progress to full release next year.

Today the bulk of the work started; clearing jungle for the new cages and painting the hut white. I’m sure everyone will sleep well!

Apologies for the lack of pics, my camera phone has died so can’t upload via wifi. Will try to transfer some from a camera next time.

Ian

So after a very long day travelling (up at 4am, arrived 830pm) we reached Wildtracks. Below is the view from our back garden this morning, not bad huh?

Everyone in good spirits and looking forward to setting up our camping area today.

Up at 4am.

Just boarding now, next stop cancun!

With just a few days to go before we head off on our expedition, I thought I’d give you a quick overview of who is going and what we are planning to do on our 4 week expedition to Central America.

The team consits of 11 members including 3 leaders, 3 network and 5 explorers. The team is as follows:

• Ian
• Mark
• Charlotte
• Max
• Tom
• James
• Clare
• Adrian
• Zach
• Aaron
• Colm

We are going to be based at a conservation charity called Wildtracks, on the North-Eastern tip of mainland Belize in a village called Sarteneja.

View Larger Map

teamHSX on Atacama recieved emails today with details on the course…

It makes for interesting reading..

Distance of Each Stage
The approximate distances of each stage are detailed below.  There are checkpoints approximately every 10 kilometers / 6 miles along the course where volunteers and a medical doctor are stationed to give you water and support.  Each checkpoint also has a tent providing shade.
 
Stage 1 – 35.2 km / 21.9 miles
Stage 2 – 41.8 km / 26.0 miles
Stage 3 – 40.0 km / 24.9 miles
Stage 4 – 42.8 km / 26.6 miles
Stage 5 – 73.6 km / 45.7 miles
Stage 6 – 16.0 km / 9.9 miles

 
Terrain
The terrain is varied.  You can expect salt flats, sand dunes, loose rock and dirt, grassy plains, canyons and hard-packed dirt tracks.  There are also a few water crossings throughout the week.
 
Altitude
The course starts at its highest altitude.  Camp 1 is just over 3,000 meters / 10,000 feet.  Each Stage takes competitors to a lower level, with the week finishing in San Pedro de Atacama at 2,443 meters / 7,780 feet.
 
Climate
The climate of the Atacama Desert is hot and dry.  Course temperatures can reach higher than 40°C / 104°F (with lows of 5°C / 41°F at night).

Good luck to us…..

The Belize team will be hosting the annual HSX Christmas dinner this weekend.

After the Inca trail we made our way to the nearby town of Aguas Calientes for a couple of days rest and relaxation before we returned to Cuzco. Our first afternoon was spent visiting the many local shops and markets to look for souvenirs ranging from chess sets to ponchos to the ever popular stripy trousers. The leaders explained to us that we would be given a certain amount of money a day per person to buy our own meals, something which was enjoyed by everyone, as we found a wide variety of foods to suit our own tastes (and budgets).

The next morning we visited the hot springs at the edge of the town. It was particularly enjoyable to sit in the hot, slightly yellow, water and feel the assorted aches and pains from the Inca trail be soaked away.  Several people decided that moving from the coldest pool to the hottest at high speed was a good plan, leading to some pretty funny reactions when they realized that the hot pools felt somewhat hotter.

After another afternoon of browsing the shops and markets, it was time for us to leave for Cuzco, which meant a train journey from Aguas Calientes to Ollyontambo, and then a bus trip from Ollyontambo to Cuzco. The train journey turned out to be quite different from one in the UK. We where first treated to a demonstration of a local dance, in which the train staff would dance up and down the isles which was brilliant. Near the end of the journey the staff started to do a catwalk down the isle with Peruvian clothes that you could buy!

We arrived in Cusco late in the night and fell straight to sleep as the journey had been very tiring. We got up late in the morning as everyone decided they wanted a rest. We changed hotels that day to a smaller hotel but it meant that we had the run of the place. That night we went out to celebrate Alex´s birthday in a pizzeria in which we consumed many family sized pizza´s. The Snake patrol (originally the Owl Monkeys, changed because the snakes are cooler) presented Alex with a toy snake to remind him of his patrol in Peru. Also Alex had a massive cake which he soon plunged his face in! We left the pizzeria to go to a karaoke session where people (Bertie, Joe D, Joe B, Ross and James) attempted to sing “living on a prayer”, “livin la viva loca” and “breaking free”. This sent the tone for the rest of the evening.  

On the 28^th we went to visit different scout units across Cusco, me, Dave, Katrina, John and Will visited the La Salle scout unit. Even though their was a language barrier the scouts made us feel very welcome and involved in all of the games we played with them which included duck, duck goose and kick the bucket. We did flag break and flag down with them in a similar fashion as we do in England but they say a prayer each time. Nearer the end we exchanged Scarves and email address´s so that we would remember the experience.

Rafael had arranged for us to go to a restaurant in Tipon (A town close to Cusco) to try Guinea pig. Most people had half a Guinea Pig, it tasted similar to rabbit and was accompanied by stuffed peppers and salad. It was definitely a great experience and something that everyone wanted to try, it is also a great thing to tell my sister that I have eaten a Guinea Pig as she has two of them!

Andrew, Joe D

The trail started for us in a place called Patapata which is 2 days before the start to the actual Inca Trail, we were to spend this time on another part of the old inca trails on what is now called the Chilca circuit. This section took us to our highest pass called Huyanyay at around 4800m on only the second day walking.

The team all did extremely well and we were soon at a place called Huayllabamba on the traditional Inca Trail. The climb from here to the Dead Womans Pass was the steepest on the trail but was worth it for the incredible views of the snow capped mountains. Our longest distance was covered on the last full day from Pacaymayo to Winaywayne where it was possible to get a shower before the early start to Machu Picchu.

The team were up at 3.30am after a warmer nights sleep than any other on the trail. The plan was to walk the last one and a half hours before sunrise and reach the Sun Gate for a magnificent view of the ruins.

After 6 days of trekking through some of the most impressive and mixed scenery in Peru on Wednesday morning at 6.30am we arrived at Inti Punku (the Sun Gate) were there was a distinct lack of sun as it was a foggy morning. However shortly after the team arrived at the Guardian House overlooking the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu.

We have since spent a relaxed night in Aguas Calientes enjoying some fine food and local culture. This mornings visit to the Hot Springs have further relaxed the mood as we approach our last 2 weeks in Peru.

All the team are well and happy.

Dave and Bram