Excerpts from Explore Belize (Fourth Edition)

Containing the planet's most complex ecosystem, rainforests have a richer animal and plant life than any other type of forest. Unlike other areas in which living organisms face conflicts in the face of a hostile climate, in the rainforest organisms struggle for survival primarily against each other. Each being--whether plant, animal, insect, or microbe--has been able to develop its niche. and because there are so many species, numerous examples of specialized niches can be found. Rainforests occur in regions without major seasonal variation (although rainfall does vary during the year) and where more than 70 in. (1,800 mm) of rain fall annually. When seen from the air, the canopy appears uneven because there are trees of varied species and stages of development.

Informative

Joined in a symbiotic relationship with the acacia tree, the Acacia Ant (Hormiga de Cornizuelo) wards off herbivores while the tree supplies the ants with nectar, protein and protection in return. The ants produce an alarm pheromone which can be smelled for some six ft. downwind. You can easily recognize these trees by their hollow swollen horns, resembling those of cattle.

Comprehensive

All told, there are some 130 animals here, including 18 species of mammals and 12 of birds. All of the animals in the zoo have their own names and personalities. You'll meet Betty and Bambi the deer, Tanga and Henry the scarlet macaws, Zuni and Inca the pumas, Angel the jaguar, Pancho and Gracie the spider monkeys, growling Sugar the ocelot (tigrillo), and other creatures Ü including a roadside hawk, a sleeping great horned owl that can rotate its neck up to 270¡, an Aztec parakeet, and a woodrill that's so persistently noisy you feel like telling it to shut up.

Humorous

One of the more amusing incidents in the history of Guatemala's claim to Belize took place in 1962 when Francisco Sagastume, a political opponent of President Yd’goras (who had staged a similarly unsuccessful "liberation mission" to Benque Viejo in 1958), arrived in town. Having already announced in the border village of Pueblo Viejo that liberation was at hand, and having burned photographs of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh along with a Union Jack to dramatize the declaration, he encountered hostility from the locals, whose ancestors had fled from Guatemala three generations before. Proceeding to PG, the band was arrested at Stann Creek and sentenced to 10 years hard labor. This was the last Guatemalan attempt at "liberation."

Descriptive

Placencia's main drag is an often-crowded sidewalk, and goods are transported around by wheelbarrow. The village's history dates back to the infamous Portuguese pirate Cabral, who settled the peninsula along with his buccaneer chums. Many of the residents are fair-skinned descendants of English and Portuguese settlers. There have been a number of Spanish galleons wrecked offshore, and Spanish "pieces of eight" are found on the beach from time to time. And then there are the stories about the bales of cocaine that have floated out to the cayes (and, reportedly, even village beaches) in the past few years. Dubbed "sea lotto" by the locals, some 55 bales (24 kg) washed up as recently as Feb. 1997; a previous flotilla came in Nov. 1996.

Filled With Tips!

Taxi drivers at Belize International are notorious for rapacity. Don't let taxi drivers scam you! Prices are set at BZ$30 per cab. Don't buy the line that it is illegal to share a cab with a friend you met at the airport! Solve this by having one person set to pay the fare. Be sure that you specify "Belizean dollars" for the fare.

"Ecotouristic"

Set a mile off the highway just south of the entrance to the Blue Hole and on the opposite side of the road (Mi. 41 1/2), the screened and thatched cabins and bunkhouses lack private baths: you bathe in the river. There's no electricity, and food is cooked over an open hearth. Activities include tubing through three different caves, horseback riding, Maya ruin exploration, wildlife treks, and oneand twonight jungle treks, as well as longer guided walks and offsite excursions.

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This page last updated: Thu, Jul 2, 1998