Monkeys, Crocs and a Spot of Cricket

Ben and a baby croc!
see all photos »

We spent a two days at Bermudian Landing, a small village an hours drive from Belize City. The area is known for the Community Baboon Sanctury, where troops of Black Howler Monkeys live in the wild.

We stayed at the Nature Resort in another cabana. This time with air condingtioning - a definite bonus! A lovely setting surrounded by cashew and palm trees. The place is alive with the sounds of the monkeys howling and all the different birds.

Roy, the owner, knocked us a coconut each off the tree - very tasty. You don{t get much fresher than that. As it was Good Friday the one local shop was closed so we could not get any beers. Never mind - we managed by mixing some rum we had bought from the airport with the fresh coconut juice - typical traveller style!

Mum and Dad searching for crocs
see all photos »

Next morning, Alvin, a lovely old man who works at the sanctury was out guide for the nature walk. The walk took us only a shhort way into the forest where a family on monkeys lkived. Alvin pointed out lots of different plants and birds (including nightinglaes and hawks) on the way. Then we saw the Black Howler monkeys! So nice to see them in their natural environment. As they live so close to the village they are not really scared of humans so came within touching distance of us. There were nine of them in total, including two babies clinging to their mothers backs as they swang fearlessly through the trees. A beautiful sight.

What a name!
see all photos »

In the afternoon we got a lift to a neighbouring village amusingly called Double Head cabbage where a cricket match was going on against another nearby village called Crooked Tree! You cant not go and watch! There was a great atmosphere at the match - again the people were really welcoming. Got talking to the ex president of the village - an interesting chap who introduced us to a few other local characters. Sat on the grass and enjoyed a few cold beers while enjoying the match. Walked back to our cabana which took about an hour. Had to stop drinking at this point as probably not a good idea to be too drunk when going crocodile spotting!

P4070644
see all photos »

Had chicken and beans (very typical food) for dinner before setting off on our canoe trip in search of the crocs!

We set out after dark so it was a little scary at first. Lots of mosquitoes around too. Two people and a guide to a boat so me and Ben went in one and Mum and Dada in another. Once we had been going a little while we began to relax and enjoy it a bit more. A lovely night - really still and the sky was full of stars. We even saw a satelite moving accross the sky. To spot the crocodiles we had to shine a torch and look for the red reflection in their eyes just above the surface of the water. Managed to spot several but only got close to a couple of smaller ones. The "belizian Crocodile Hunter", a guide who took out the other two people in our group caught hold of a baby croc which was cool. Travelling down the creek on the canoes was a very mellow experience. All we could hear were the noisy herrons and the jumping fish (there were loads of them splashing about) - a few even jumped too high and landed in the canoe!

P4070642
see all photos »

Back for a few beers and a game of bridge.

A great couple of days