Friday, March 1, 2013

Light or Dark?

The Belize jungle is amazing. So many sights and sounds that we don't have in Cleveland. Our flights went like clockwork, which was a miracle in itself, must be our good karma :). Ed, our host, collected us at the airport and it was about a 30 minute drive to the Howler Monkey Lodge. Along the way, Ed shared his passion for this area and some interesting facts about the howler monkeys: they were first called "baboons", incorrectly, by the English settlers; they live in tribes of 5 to 10; they are vegetarian; each tribe occupies about a 5 acre area of jungle; young alpha males challenge older males for the right to lead the tribe and inherit the "harem" and then the older male is ostracized from the tribe. Ed and his wife Mel, are our hosts here in Bermudian Landing (pop. 200) in the Belize District. After a quick stop at the local pub for some beers to go we arrived! This place is rustic, as expected, though our cabin had a/c if needed and there even is a river-fed swimming pool (we plan on canoeing the river tomorrow). After settling in we went for a hike around their 20 acre property then, unexpectedly, Mel and Ed surprised us with fresh coconuts to drink! Spent the afternoon chilling on the porch overlooking the river and listening to the howler monkeys on the other side of the bank. Wow!
Light or Dark? Yeah, that was our biggest decision today...light or dark beer! I love vaca!