Belize the day!

I have had inconsistent internet connections in the last couple places, hence why I have not been able to post as much. While this leg of the trip is a little different than the first, I feel that this has helped me a good snapshot of some of the diverse sides of Belize. If my journey was similar to "Eat Pray Love" (a very good book, I just finished it), this would be the "Eat" part. Eat, and indulge a bit :)


Needless to say, this has given me a very different picture of Belize- from ranch, to small village, to deep jungle, to large town, to capitol city, to jungle cabana, to jungle spa, to sketchy seaside hostel, to birdwatching inn, to thatched roof resort, to high end ocean resort...I've seen it all.

For the past several days, we have been traveling around the north of Belize with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and sister in an air-conditioned car. Which is pretty different than the old school buses I had become accustomed to.

I had another disappointment on Sunday, when we drove for several hours looking for the Baboon Sanctuary, and never found it. Belize is not necessarily known for its signage, as we have come to realize. We did find one monkey in the trees (yay!), which made us think we were on the right track. But once we started going deeper into the forest, over shifty bridges, on a bumpy back road, and into a tiny village, we realized something was not quite right. In the village, my family made me get out of the car and ask about the Baboon Sanctuary. The Belizians laughed at me and pointed back to the main road; we had gone several miles off track.

Anyway, the Community Baboon Sanctuary (CBS) will have to happen next time. "Baboon" is the local name for the black howler monkey (which really does howl almost like it's in pain, I've heard it). Local communities have collaborated to preserve the land and live in peace with the monkeys, who were becoming scarce in Central America due to hunting. Those involved in this effort have found that educating locals about the issue has been even more effective than strict hunting laws. The education at CBS also targets more sustainable farming techniques as well, and involves schoolchildren as well as adults in surrounding communities.


As a result of all this, CBS has become a model of wildlife preservation combined with preserving the way of life of humans who have lived on the land for generations. It's a win-win situation! The more I write about it, the more I want to see it. Guess that will have to come on the next trip...

(P.S. Check out my Facebook profile if you want to see a video of my sister with a friendly howler monkey at CBS)