Guatemala

Wednesday 21st September 2016 – Up at 7.30am, after breakfasting, looking out onto the golden beach, we got ready to leave our paradise Island that had shared its ocean jewels with us so freely. We took the 10.30 ferry back to the mainland…wind in our hair…sun on our skin and dolphins jumping for joy in our wake. What a stunning vision to behold. On dry land again we jumped in a taxi and headed to the bus station for a ride of four hours to Cockscomb Wildlife Basin otherwise known as Jaguar Reserve…over four hundred square kilometres of stunning rainforest. It is said that the basin could be home to as many as sixty of Belize’s 800 strong jaguar population…although the chances of actually seeing one is very slim for they are mainly active at night and avoid humans at all costs. The journey was relatively comfortable and soon we had arrived at a small village called Maya Centre just a 10km taxi drive from the reserve. It was the end of the people’s Independence Day celebrations and as we walked through town looking for a ride a young puppy spotted Aaron and decided to attack his bag and chase around his ankles…it was hilarious watching Aaron try to outmanoeuvre the tiny pup…the canine was definitely getting the better of him! After buying provisions of pot noodles, crackers, cheese, crisps, tinned sardines, tea and drinks at the local store, (you have to come armed with supplies as there is no restaurant or shop at the reserve accommodation…it really is in the middle of the jungle!) we headed off. The 10km road was rough, bumpy and wild but we were treated to numerous sightings of the Keel Billed Toucans, the National birds of Belize who had an unmistakable call and looked down at us with alarm from the tall trees above. On arrival we met Elvis…one of the wardens…he wasn’t ‘All Shook Up’ at all! We chose a rustic room as our home for a few nights and enjoyed an early evening pot noodle and cup of tea. It was then that I realised my legs were covered in bites from some harmless looking minuscule flies…it turned out they weren’t harmless at all as over the next few days my legs would itch like crazy and resemble a bad outbreak of chicken pox….there’s always a downside to paradise and it was often my legs that would suffer! That night we went on our first trek through the rainforest. Aaron’s head torch was perfect for picking out reflective eyes in the night. Spiders, scorpions, frogs, toads, birds, opossums and bats were the creatures that night, what an adventure. Returning to our rustic cabin to sleep, an almighty thunderstorm commenced…the rains were upon us…downpours of tremendous magnitude at stereophonic level would be our companion of the night!

Thursday 22nd September 2016 – Rise and shine…6.30am and we were out in search of the wild animals of the rainforest. Tracking, we spotted our faithful toucans and various other birds including a Lineated Woodpecker. Next was a scorpion mud turtle on our path and the noise of howler monkeys deep in the forest. At 9.00am we returned to base for breakfast, showered and rested before heading out again in the mugginess of the day. My bites itched like mad, those monstrous little flies had really left their mark on me…that was for sure. En route Aaron set up his GoPro…attaching it to a tree and camouflaging it to look invisible to everyone but us in the hope of catching some footage of wildlife while we were gone. That night, while I slept, Aaron went on another trek deep into the rainforest. The thunderstorm was not kind to him and he came back in the early hours of the morning drenched from head to toe. His prize for perseverance…a wonderful sighting of a Kinkajou in a tree…otherwise known as the Night Walker….Game of Thrones coming to mind at such an appropriate name for a mammal that walks the trees in the dead of night.

Friday 23rd September 2016 – The rain had been torrential in the night but by 7am had subsided, allowing us to set off yet again in search of nature. We were not disappointed. After a mere 10 minute walk two beautiful Gray Foxes were foraging for their breakfast on the side of the path. They were completely unaware of our presence and we managed to get quite close…watching them at leisure for more than 15 minutes, what a treat. While breakfasting on our walk we spied squirrels and monkeys well hidden in the forest. It is so incredibly hard to spot animals with such a dense forest for them to disappear into…but what a wonderful home for such creatures. At lunch, while relaxing in the kitchen, a scorpion shot across the floor, meanwhile cockroaches swarmed the kitchen surfaces and made Aaron jump when he turned on the light switch only to find a live cockroach instead at his fingertips…and to top it all off Roland the rat legged it past us trying to get to the bin for a tasty morsel of any description. Five star accommodation this was truly not! After booking an early morning taxi for the next day, we walked to the waterfall and watched as a Jesus Lizard ran across the water seemingly weightless in its miraculous activity.

Saturday 24th September 2016 – 5.30am and we were on our last rainforest trek before our taxi arrived at 8am. A quiet morning, although a beautiful hummingbird hovered around me as though saying its final farewell. The illusive, nocturnal jaguar had not shown his face to us but knowing he was there, well hidden in his perfect habitat, was all I needed to know…for we had so enjoyed all the other creature sightings of our visit. The taxi driver arrived at 9am apologising for his hour long delay, the poor chap had needed to return home to collect his chainsaw as a huge tree had fallen because of the high winds and rain in the night, making the road impassable. He had cleared the tree solo, seemingly used to this kind of obstacle in the way. Our driver must have been in his 60s but had lived in the jungle all his life. We listened as he fed us stories of his many jaguar sightings including two incredibly rare glimpses of the velvet like black Jaguars. It was wonderful hearing his tales of that elusive, beautiful one known as the jaguar. Sitting at the bus stop we ate chocolate biscuits washed down with Coca Cola. Two buses and a taxi drive later we arrived at the border and paid $20 to exit the country. (You usually end up paying one way or another at a border…whether a visa or an exit fee…the officials almost always demand payment of some kind and you are at their mercy…they have the power to decline your entry or exit, so play the game you must!) Over the border we booked a bus to Santa Elena, near Flores our destination for the day. After a few hours wait we were off…goodbye beautiful Belize and hello Guatemala! Arriving in Flores around 5pm we took a room at Green World Hotel…a friendly, home from home kind of place and treated ourselves to a fish dinner at Casa Amelia overlooking the lake, with the resident cat sat snug on my lap…’La Dolce Vita’…The Sweet Life.

Sunday 25th September 2016 – After a blissful lay in we breakfasted on the balcony, the panoramic view blinking back at us through the late morning sunshine. Alone, I walked around the tiny island of Flores while Aaron blogged back at the hotel. It was Sunday and very quiet. I sauntered along and stopped to read about Tikal from our travel book…we had planned to visit there for the next day. Slowly but surely locals began to emerge from their homes. They started to catch crabs as a Sunday family activity off the low walls of the promenade that encircles Flores. The town is so tiny and quaint but the climate incredibly clammy and humid. Even after showering three or four times a day, you still feel hot and sticky. That night we dined in a lovely local restaurant on vegetable pasta and beer…famous tunes like ‘Hotel California’ serenading us during our meal. It was to be an early night as our minibus would arrive at 4am the next morning to take us to Tikal…possibly the most renowned of all Mayan Ruins, hidden deep in the jungle of the Parque Nacional Tikal, known by early explorers as ‘The Place Where the Gods Speak’. We couldn’t wait!