Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
We were very excited about this destination, having read somewhere that tapirs can be seen in the area. From Caye Caulker, we got the water taxi back to Belize City, then a bus down to Maya Centre. From there, we had to get a taxi to the sanctuary headquarters. The taxi driver, Julian, is a guide also so we arranged for him to return later for a night tour.
It's a small operation for such a large area. The headquarters consist of a small visitor centre and a few different types of accommodation. We got one of four rooms in a wee rustic cabin. It was cheap, but is has no ventilation/fans (no electricity) and LOTS of bugs. It's a cabin in the middle of the jungle. We got eaten alive by various biting creatures, and the heat and humidity were nearly unbearable, but never mind! There were only three other people in the cabin, and it turned out they're all uni students from Vermont, studying for a term in San Ignacio. What amazed us is that one of them knows my cousins in Vermont! (Hello, Bosworths!) What a small world!
It soon got dark, so we headed out to await Julian for our night walk. We were happy to see lots of stars overhead as well as some fireflies! One firefly was drawn to Chris's headlight. We couldn't believe it when we got a good look at him (the firefly, not Chris!)...he was more like a beetle then a fly, a lot larger than we expected.
Julian showed up, and we set off. We spent a little over three hours walking around. Julian knew that our main priority was to see tapirs, so he took us towards the river for our best chance to spot them. We didn't manage to see any, but we did see their footprints in the mud as well as plants they'd munched on. There were four times we turned off our lights for about 10 minutes, staying still and quiet to listen to all the animal activity but also in the hope that when the lights were turned back on animals would be nearby and easy to spot. The sounds were amazing. We could hear jaguars calling out, large rodents gnawing off seed coverings, mice jumping about in the undergrowth, birds calling, even big bats flying right by our heads (with a wonderful breeze when they did). We saw some cool spiders, lizards, leaf-cutter ants, mice, and an animal that was either a paca or a cat (not sure, but its eyes were freaky red!). It was a cool experience.
The next day we hiked to some double waterfalls. It wasn't a long hike but was all uphill in the end. We got to a great lookout point and enjoyed the view while we caught our breath and tried not to melt. Then we took a downhill trail to the falls themselves. They were two sets of falls, each with a lovely pool for swimming. The water was so cold and refreshing, we couldn't resist a swim. Gorgeous! Then it was uphill again to return to the main trail; it was so hard to leave that cold water behind! I was thrilled with how much the hike reminded me of family trips to Mentone and hiking to Bell's Rock. Memories!
We spent the second night in the cabin but decided to move on the next morning; it was just too hot and humid, the bugs were really getting to us (including ticks – disgusting creatures!!!), and we hadn't managed to spot any tapirs. We loved knowing that so many animals were in that area around us, but they didn't want to be spotted by us. Fair enough! We'll see if we can manage to spot tapirs elsewhere. In the meantime, we'll head back to Caye Caulker if Chocolate has a tour lined up...
It's a small operation for such a large area. The headquarters consist of a small visitor centre and a few different types of accommodation. We got one of four rooms in a wee rustic cabin. It was cheap, but is has no ventilation/fans (no electricity) and LOTS of bugs. It's a cabin in the middle of the jungle. We got eaten alive by various biting creatures, and the heat and humidity were nearly unbearable, but never mind! There were only three other people in the cabin, and it turned out they're all uni students from Vermont, studying for a term in San Ignacio. What amazed us is that one of them knows my cousins in Vermont! (Hello, Bosworths!) What a small world!
It soon got dark, so we headed out to await Julian for our night walk. We were happy to see lots of stars overhead as well as some fireflies! One firefly was drawn to Chris's headlight. We couldn't believe it when we got a good look at him (the firefly, not Chris!)...he was more like a beetle then a fly, a lot larger than we expected.
Julian showed up, and we set off. We spent a little over three hours walking around. Julian knew that our main priority was to see tapirs, so he took us towards the river for our best chance to spot them. We didn't manage to see any, but we did see their footprints in the mud as well as plants they'd munched on. There were four times we turned off our lights for about 10 minutes, staying still and quiet to listen to all the animal activity but also in the hope that when the lights were turned back on animals would be nearby and easy to spot. The sounds were amazing. We could hear jaguars calling out, large rodents gnawing off seed coverings, mice jumping about in the undergrowth, birds calling, even big bats flying right by our heads (with a wonderful breeze when they did). We saw some cool spiders, lizards, leaf-cutter ants, mice, and an animal that was either a paca or a cat (not sure, but its eyes were freaky red!). It was a cool experience.
The next day we hiked to some double waterfalls. It wasn't a long hike but was all uphill in the end. We got to a great lookout point and enjoyed the view while we caught our breath and tried not to melt. Then we took a downhill trail to the falls themselves. They were two sets of falls, each with a lovely pool for swimming. The water was so cold and refreshing, we couldn't resist a swim. Gorgeous! Then it was uphill again to return to the main trail; it was so hard to leave that cold water behind! I was thrilled with how much the hike reminded me of family trips to Mentone and hiking to Bell's Rock. Memories!
We spent the second night in the cabin but decided to move on the next morning; it was just too hot and humid, the bugs were really getting to us (including ticks – disgusting creatures!!!), and we hadn't managed to spot any tapirs. We loved knowing that so many animals were in that area around us, but they didn't want to be spotted by us. Fair enough! We'll see if we can manage to spot tapirs elsewhere. In the meantime, we'll head back to Caye Caulker if Chocolate has a tour lined up...
posted by Trace at
7:35 pm
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