by Ian | Dec 26, 2011 | Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
Hi all,
Merry Christmas from all of us here. Paul and Zoe cooked up a wonderful meal for us all yesterday with a great combination of home comforts (yorkshires) and local dishes (fresh black beans direct from South Belize, just 4 days old).
On Christmas Eve, we joined in with the local celebrations in the village. They hosted a party by the beach with a band and lots of food and drink.
Today we are packing up, ready for the Thunderbolt to San Pedro early tomorrow morning.
Ian
by Ian | Dec 23, 2011 | Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
Hi all,
We are back from Fireburn. We spent the night in the fieldbase that the last expedition put the roof on. The forest has changed quite a bit since then, as in 2007 there was a big hurricane and the jungle was flattened (the building was okay). The jungle is till regrowing to it’s former glory, and although the forest is still dense on the lower levels, the canopy is rather patchy.
Was a great couple of days, plenty of photos to share on our return. Makes us appreciate the convenience of living near a village.
Final full day on the project today, finishing off a few loose ends. Most the team are off shopping in Orange Walk tomorrow before the Christmas celebrations start.
Oh, we got the Christmas parcel through thanks 🙂
by Ian | Dec 20, 2011 | Belize 2011/12
We are off to Fireburn for an over-nighter on Wednesday-Thursday. Looking forward to seeing the work the last HSX expedition did over there. We’ll try to give you all an update when we return, so check back Friday evening.
In other news, we are approaching the completion of our various projects over here. A few finishing touches on the main cage, planting grass in the area around it, tidying up the site, and building 14 panels for some further cages.
Thanks for all your messages on the blog, the team always look forward to hearing from you all. We are mostly excited about the possibility of a Christmas package, just hoping it makes it to Belize City by tomorrow as this is the last time Paul will be heading that way before we leave.
Ian
by Ian | Dec 19, 2011 | Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
Saturday morning and on our first day off of work, we have to wake up at the most ridiculous time so far, thus resulting in a large amount of last minute packing. We managed to catch the bus without incident and then just a few minutes after setting off, the bus broke down (setting us back about 20 minutes). Once we had arrived in Orange walk after a two hour bus journey on one of the bumpiest roads I have ever experienced (with a driver determined to talk on the phone and exceed the speed limit at the same time), we proceeded with all haste to the bakery, where we were able to indulge ourselves in the finest sweet treats Orange Walk has to offer. The most extravagant buy was a pastry crocodile with cheese in the middle and strawberry icing for the mouth. Another two hour car ride south of orange walk and we had arrived at the river tubing site in the shadow of a large complex of hills and a large forest canopy flanked by the river we were due to set off on. A quick safety briefing later and we were hiking to our set off point. We crossed the river which we would be floating down and then had a twenty minute walk to where we would be setting off. We were met by an ideal natural pool which we made full advantage of by taking a dip in this snippet or paradise. Once we had finished at the pool we set off down the river and were immediately met by the cave entrance. The cave which we were tubing down was a vast structure and around forty feet deep with water. There were also a number of interesting natural structures in the cave such as rock formations, large walls of crystal and waterfall. We were then met by a series of small rapids as we exited the cave and once past revealed a long expanse of water with large trees overhanging the river with an assortment of diverse wildlife perched on the branches of said trees. At the end of the tour our tour guide showed us a place where we would be able to jump into the water from a decent height. Once we had all had our fill of being able to plummet several feet into water only a few feet deep we returned to the pick-nick area for lunch and once again the tour company rose to the occasion by preparing a lunch with a selection of tasty homemade drinks. We then proceeded to drive another two hours back to Orange Walk and managed to catch the bus on its way out of town and discovered it to be almost completely full of Menanites. Two more hours on the cramped bus and we get back to Sarteneja in time for the local scout barbecue. They had laid out a massive pile of pork and chicken, freshly cooked on the barbecue and seasoned beautifully which the whole congregation proceeded to devour in five minutes. Afterwards we were given a presentation by the scouts of Sarteneja which involved a series of comedic performances and a speech by the local scout leader. We then gave our own presentation which was not up to the same standard as the other scouts i am ashamed to say as we only had minutes to prepare once we arrived. Once all was said and done we headed back to wild-tracks and got a good nights sleep. The next day we proceeded into town on foot to meet the local scouts for a game of football and basketball, of which we managed to win both, however the basketball match was very close and was only won by a fluke shot. Now returned and completely exhausted we look forward to the Sunday roast that Besty has prepared for us as apposed to the usual rice and beans diet we have survived on for the past two weeks.
I am very thankful to be on this trip and am having a great time as we are staying beside a lagoon and with other people who have come to wild tracks to help conserve the howler and spider monkey population of all different nationalities. My only complaint would be the ridiculous amount of mosquitoes around which have dealt all members of the team with numerous bites and i am told are only 10% of what Belize gets around August and July. Glad i missed that.
See you all in two weeks
Colm
by Ian | Dec 16, 2011 | Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
Good morning all family members, fellow scouting types and other forum followers! It’s James here for a quick update on the Belizean front. All is going very well on the cage construction, as Ian posted yesterday. Currently half of us are finishing the wiring on the top of the structure, whilst the rest of us, including myself, are excavating a lot of Mayan ruins, which surround the cage, and reconstructing them, creating a good bit of dry stone wall. We like to think we’re teaching the Ancient Mayans a thing or two about how to build. Everybody is firing on all cylinders, as Netto, our handyman helper and building instructor, is leaving on Friday. Weather is improving, but still having to dodge a few sprinklings of tropical rain. I’m off for now to finish another section of wall, and then to make lunch for the happy workers, hopefully keeping us happy, we rarely go hungry!
I will try to get another post in during our time here, but the team will keep updating as much as possible.
Speak soon
James
by Ian | Dec 14, 2011 | Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
We’re well into the project now, the main frame on the monkey enclosure is in place and the wiring is being pinned in place as I type. We are planning to spend most our time on the project this week, before heading off for some cave tubing and a trip to Fireburn next week (with a few smaller projects thrown in for good measure).
We celebrated Clare’s birthday on Sunday, and the local cake baker in the village produced a fantastic cake. Looking forward to Charlotte’s birthday, just so we can order another!
Raining here today, but sure it’ll pass soon. Hope all is well back home, and it’s not too cold!
Ian
