Paddling our way through paradise in Belize

Jim Cochrane -

Hanging upside down in our overturned sea kayak, we were desperately trying to remember our guide's recent instructions -- "Pull the 'Oh s--t' tab and if you can't find it, punch out your spray skirt with your knees."

This was the part that I secretly feared when my wife, Kathryn, and I planned our trip to Belize.

It was clear from the information on the Island Expeditions website that we would be tipping our kayaks, escaping and eventually getting back in as part of our trip, but being in my 70s, sporting a hip replacement and having never kayaked before, I was a bit apprehensive. But, under the watchful eyes of the staff, we were successful in righting our kayak and climbing safely back in. Whew.

This was the second part of a trip that we had booked with Island Expeditions in March of this year. For the first leg we spent three days at Birds Eye View Lodge, located on the shores of the Crooked Tree Lagoon in Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Belize.

From our balcony the lagoon looked to be blanketed with thousands of birds. And a trip on the water in a small boat brought us within camera range of many varieties of birds. The Jabiru stork is just one of over 250 resident and migrating bird species commonly seen around the lodge. We saw 27 varieties in two days there. This is truly a birdwatcher's paradise, with birders from all over the world coming to Crooked Tree nature reserve.

The next day we boated 20 km upriver to the Lamanai Mayan site, spotting lots of birds and animals along the way. Our outstanding guides were able to spot some tiny creatures such as a Jesus Christ lizard (they run across the top of the water) to turtles, crocodiles and many birds as we cruised along at about 35 km/h. Also along the river were locals fishing from everything from outboard powered craft to dugout canoes.

There are 21 Mayan sites throughout Belize, and one of our day trips was a visit to the Altun Ha ruins. This is where the famous Jade Head -- "the Jewel of Belize" -- was found in 1968 by David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum. The head, 14.9 cm high and weighing 4.42 kg, was kept for several years in Ontario, but has been back in Belize for some time, and this year it is being toured throughout the country.

Read more...

Posted via http://batavia08.posterous.com batavia08's posterous