Tropical Field Biology

Today was not exactly what I had hoped. Unfortunately, I got some sort of illness with a 104 fever. It began in the early afternoon, so I spent the rest of the day resting and taking medications to bring the fever down. The best part was that the women here gave me a natural remedy – rubbing alcohol poured all over my head covered in large leaves and then wrapped in a cloth. Somehow it worked, and my temperature dropped back to normal. They also made me special delicious chicken soup!

I am very sad that I missed looking at more of the Mayan ruins, and I also missed two beetles mating, which was apparently quite exciting.

In the morning, however, I had a great time. We set up arthropod traps along the Monkey trail. At 10 different locations, we set up two containers in trees and 2 in the ground nearby. One of each was filled with water and soap (to break the surface tension) and the other was filled with urine and soap. This is to test whether arthropods living in trees would be more attracted to a nitrogen source (urine) than those on the ground because nitrogen is scarcer in the trees.

What was exciting was that I got to see all 3 different stages in the beetle’s life under one log along the trail! From larvae to pupa to adult beetle. The most impressive stage was the pupa, which was almost clear and constantly wiggled around. I believe the beetles were Pssalids, having a large thorax and being black in color.

After lunch, we got to go further into the incredible cave, which would have been more enjoyable if I had felt better, but regardless it was spectacular. The way the walls glistened with water drops was marvelous and climbing through the narrow spaces into back chambers was quite a treat. I really hope that we can borrow helmets and crawl all the way through to the opening high in the front of the cave. It was also awesome to hear from the archeologists working back in the cave, explaining what they were excavating.

Hopefully tomorrow will be less feverish!

Goodnight, Sleepy White Lotus

Today our morning project was pitfall traps for arthropods! We set up 10 stations with four groups of traps at each station. The control group was a tube with soapy water (soap to act as a surfactant) and the experimental group was urine with soapy water. We put one of each in the ground, and one of each in the canopy for a grand total of four. We’re planning on comparing the between all four, and are especially interested in differences in the urine sample between the canopy and the ground. The group hypothesis was, based on the fact that nitrogen is a vital resource for organisms and is most abundant in the ground as opposed to up in the canopy, that the urine sample in the canopy would hence be more appealing for the arthropods in the canopy that have a harder time finding a source of nitrogen. Thus, there would be more arthropods caught in the canopy group of urine than in the urine group in the ground. Water acts as a control, and hopefully will be a good baseline as to the average number of arthropods that are around to fall into our pitfall traps.

After lunch we had some downtime (what!?) and then went to explore the first couple of zones of the cave the archeologists here are excavating for Mayan ruins. It was beautiful, and especially since Caroline and I did some research on caves for the lecture we’re going to give it was cool to see some of that stuff in person. The archeologists are a chatty bunch and are quite happy to share their work with us, which has just been amazing. It’s such a nice coincidence that we’re in the same place!

Let’s see, cool species today. We found some longhorn beetles mating. That was quite a highlight. We also saw a really interesting salamander or lizard that had really spectacular colors. It was iridescent blue, really bright like the blue morpho, on the body and bright orange near the eyes. Brian thought it might be a skink (sp?) and I think I’ll try and see if any of our books have and ID for it! It was another pretty standard day for epiphyte sight-seeing, I saw some pretty big bromeliads though, with leaves maybe four feet long. No orchids, unfortunately. I’m starting to think we might need a good rain for those to come out. I’ve seen a few things that I’ve thought are birds nest ferns because they’re so big and high up, but they haven’t really been at the very top of a tree as most of the pictures I’ve found. Maybe I’ll scour some of our books to get a better idea of the variations of those.

Tomorrow…I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow. But adventure awaits!

I had a fair amount of trouble falling asleep last night. After Mackenzie came into the room and shared with me that she found a tick on her hip, I started freaking myself out and getting all paranoid that some small colony of ticks could be sucking my blood bone dry while I sit here—feeling nothing. After about 15 minutes of compulsively checking myself over and over, I finally determined that I was tick free. For now, at least. The second reason for my insomnia I owe to the howler monkeys. Those things are damn terrifying. I was lying in bed peacefully, until what sounded like a fight to the death between two jaguars came booming out of the forest. Turns out it was just a couple of lazy monkeys defending their territory. I finally managed to doze off, though. Can’t wait to hear those suckers again tonight.

We woke up and went on quite the treacherous hike. There’s nothing like a constant uphill downhill stroll to reiterate the fact that you’re out of shape! It was a 5K hike, making a huge square around the research station. Although the hike was more than tiring, we saw some pretty amazing things while we were sweating bullets: tons of leafcutter ants, a beautiful little caterpillar that pooped on Mackenzie, which she absolutely adored, tons of colorful beetles with chewing mouthparts, all of which chewed a hole straight through the plastic baggies. We started off our hike by setting up cameras that will take photos of whatever mammals pass by them…hopefully we’ll get some photos of jags!! The hike was extremely interesting, and I learned a fair amount about rainforest structure. Especially forest dynamics. We came upon a clearing, which is essential for maintaining diversity in the forest since it allows sun to reach new species…these gaps are key. We also saw a spider monkey, which was AWESOME! I kept thinking of Talledega Nights, and that awesome quote about them. It made me laugh

In the evening we got an amazing lecture from the leading Jaguar, Puma, and Ocelot ecologist. She’s done some amazing things here, especially with regards to estimating total population sizes.

Upon arriving back at Las Cuevas after the hike, I was suddenly struck with a horrible sense of nausea. Turns out I was wicked dehydrated, but I’ve been bedridden all afternoon. I threw up, though, which is officially my least favorite thing in the world, especially when mom isn’t here to bring me ginger ale and saltines. I’m writing this from bed, still, so it’s going on six hours of feeling like absolute poop. Lesson learned: DRINK. MORE. WATER.

Started today off with a bang—Belgian waffles. Breakfast at the Midas was delightful; the dense morning fog still hung on the branches while we listened to the soft music of birds chirping, seeming to enjoy the morning along with us. After trying papaya and drinking what was the best orange juice I’ve ever had, we loaded back into our magic school bus and headed deep into the rainforest toward Las Cuevas. Much like our ride yesterday, we were greeted by a bumpy dirt road that wound endlessly around the Belizean land. It was incredible seeing how the flora incrementally changed as we sunk further and further into the forest: sprawling flatlands became hills decorated with ferns, which then transformed into deep green fringe pushing against the road. I was somewhat taken aback when we drove through a pine forest—giant pine trees seemed somewhat out of place, being flanked by lush green foliage on either side.

In the heart of this out-of-place pine forest was the most beautiful collection of small pools of water. This little river was complete with a few small waterfalls and rushing streams that percussively beat on the rocks. As I looked out on a massive expanse of forest and water, it was hard to believe that it wasn’t a painted backdrop. We all decided to get our feet wet, and so I stepped onto a submerged rock and, of course, lost my footing right away. Typical. Once I got myself together I started hopping around from rock to rock, posing for goofy pictures and taking in all the natural beauty surrounding me. As I was drying my feet off, I saw tons of baby frogs hopping around the gravel J .

We kept on keeping on until we arrived here at Las Cuevas around lunch time. Since I had creepily stalked this place online prior to coming, I wasn’t shocked to see that it sits on a fairly generous chunk of open land. What did surprise me, though, is how comfortable this place is! My room is perfectly functional and it’s thankfully MUCH cooler than my room back at Midas…not being able to work a simple air conditioner makes me feel that all my Rice tuition sure is going to good use! The food here was also much better than I was expecting. I’ve now fallen in love with Rice and Beans, which is different than Beans and Rice. I find that hilarious.

Our afternoon hike was very exciting. We were lucky enough to get a guided tour of the Mayan ruins that lay just on the outskirts of the research station by the lead archaeologist here—the only guy at the station who knows how to read Mayan iconography. I learned so much on that little tour. Who knew that I was so interested in history? Kind of ironic, since you couldn’t have paid me two cents to pay attention to history during high school. I found myself on the edge of my seat as Mark talked to us all about the Mayan processions and rituals that must have taken place in the giant cave in whose mouth we stood, awestruck. I learned about Mayan mythology and astronomy, and how important both are in the architectural planning of a city. Essentially, I fell in love with physical anthropology today, and some part of me thinks that it would be pretty neat to get to excavate small bits of history in hopes of piecing together the details of an unknown culture.

Night hike = Best. Thing. Ever. I thought that the afternoon hike was thrilling? It was nothing compared to this. For some reason, it felt far more jungle-ey to be traversing through pitch black rainforest, swatting bugs off your face guided only by the light on your little headlamp. We had great success on the bug-front…found tons and tons of wolf spiders on the forest floor. They looked like little specs of glitter reflecting the light from our headlamps. My favorite insect that we found was a giant cockroach that secreted this gnarly superglue from its rear upon being picked up. Quite the weird find. Mackenzie wanted to keep it, of course, so it’s now our third roommate and new friend. Looking forward to tomorrow!

The end of day two at LCRS, and it has been a full day. This morning we set up our 12 cameras for camera traps, and set off on the 50 hectare trail to set them up. It took us until lunchtime to set up four traps along that trail (out of six) and after lunch we got to work making clay snakes in a repetition of the classic aposematic coloration and mimicry experiment with venomous snakes. We set them up along the clearing of the station, along the trail, and along the road. I’m very excited to collect them and look at the markings on them. I think it will be really interesting to see how to identify what made different marks, and especially if there will be any marks at all on the pink, blue, white striped snake Angela and I made with yellow polka dots!

We saw some really cool organisms today on our hikes, some straight from our biology textbook! That is always so exciting. In the morning our guide Boris pointed out three spider monkeys that were swinging up really high in the canopy, maybe 40 feet up, right behind a large gap so they were pretty visible. It’s always so cool to see mammals, especially monkeys, in the wild. We also saw an acacia tree, which was straight from an EBIO 202 lecture we had this semester. It was really an amazing thing to see in person, because I certainly never imagined I would be able to see a real one! Mutualism is also a really interesting phenomenon, and apparently an important one between ants and plants. The acacia tree really provides everything for the ants, which I think are the species pseudomermax (sp), including sugar, nitrogen, and a place to live. I think it would be interesting to see how both the trees and the ants evolved together…Brian?

As far as epiphytes go, there were plenty to see along the trail and up high in the canopy. Lots of bromeliads again, but no orchids! There were a few more interesting bromeliads with red leaves today, and some that were really tiny on the sides of trees. Dr. Solomon found a branch with a green bromeliad sitting on the road, which was cool. They really do just look like common houseplants. I’ll try upload that picture!

Not too sure about the plans for tomorrow…but I’m exciting. Especially if Dr. Solomon is right and the first day of hiking is the hardest!

Today we made it out to the middle of the rainforest! Looking at a map at where we are is really amazing. The Google map satellite image of the station is a tiny little clearing that looks like a tiny grey dot on a huge green carpet. It’s really something to wrap your brain around.

We went on two hikes today, one in the afternoon and one at nighttime. The day hike had a really good dose of epiphytes to see, and they are much more common than I originally thought they might be. Bromeliad varieties seemed to be the most common one I saw. They look a lot like any decorative houseplant, with long simple green leaves that meet to a point on the end. There’s probably a better name for those. I even saw a flowering bromeliad!

There were all kinds of epiphytes on so many kinds of trees, but two others that I thought were cool were a small cactus one growing on a skinny tree, and another looked like a vine with leaves on it. The vine one was growing on a tall tree with long spikes all over the trunk, at least an inch or two long. It did not look like an appealing place to climb up in search of food. The epiphyte, however, was curling up the tree, making a nice highway for leaf cutter ants to use to avoid the treacherous spikes!

The night hike we went on around 8 PM, and it was spectacular. We saw one mammal, an opossum, high up in the canopy just staring at us. It was really amazing to see the ground sparkle with the eye shine of insects in our headlamps. Another really cool part was when we all turned off our headlamps. It was so dark you couldn’t see the hand in front of your face! It was a strange feeling, almost like you were being covered in a darkness blanket. The stars were amazing as well.

Tomorrow we are going on the 50 hectare trail that looks like a nice rectangle to set up our camera traps. I’m pretty excited for that, and it will be cool to see how it’s done and what goes into where they are placed. I’m also hoping to see some other cool flowering epiphytes tomorrow, maybe even an orchid!

I’d like to put this Guide to Orchids in Belize book to some use!

Today was quite an adventure. We woke, and ventured out into the forest to set up our 6 sets of cameras to detect cats and other animals. The hike was soooo much fun, even though it was a little difficult at times. I now know to bring more water in the future. But overall the forest was incredible, and I finally got to really see the incredible vines and vegetation creating the perfect monkey playground (also, I’m so mad I missed a spotted spider monkey!).

We set up the cameras in opposing positions, in order to catch the animal on both sides, if we’re lucky. Hopefully we’ll get some awesome images!!!

We saw so much! One highlight was that a caterpillar pooped on me; I learned that caterpillar poop is called frass. We also got to see the mutualistic relationship between an acacia tree and the ants that inhabit it. After reading about this example in textbooks, it was incredible to see it in real life!! Another treat were all of the lizards, with beautiful dewlaps.

As far as beetles go, I got to see a few beautiful beetles, and even bring one back! The first was a long horned beetle, with black and yellow stripes. Dr. Solomon caught this beetle and placed it in a plastic bag, allowing me to bring it back to the station. It had large mandibles, unfortunately, which allowed it to chew through the plastic bag and make a near escape. Luckily, I folded the bag over it and was given a plastic container for a more long-term home. Another similar beetle, also probably a long horned beetle, was seen very shortly with blue and black stripes.

After lunch, we spent a few relaxing hours making clay snakes resembling venomous coral snakes and a few of their nonvenomous mimics. Afterward we set out to strategically place them on the grounds, on the trail, and on the road. During this walk, we saw beautiful katydids, butterflies, and even some sort of brown snake! I also saw a black beetle, possibly a Pssalid, with a large thorax and a large space between the thorax and abdomen.

The day ended with a wonderful talk from Marcella Kelly about the cats she studies, focusing on jaguars. It was awesome to hear about her work, and I hope that our cameras are as successful as hers (which is doubtful because she had 20x more)!

Later alligators, White Lotus

This morning started off with goodbye to the beautiful Midas Hotel, and hello to the forest. We took the bus from the hotel, stopping at an amazing river site with pools of water and small waterfalls. Playing on the rocks was a blast, and we even found a ton of tadpoles and small frogs! After that, we continued the bumpy journey to the research station.

We arrived at the research station (Las Cuevas), and it is incredible – a lot more luxurious than I expected. At the station, we ate lunch, got an AMAZING tour from the lead archaeologist, went on a short hike, ate dinner, and then got to go on an awesome night hike, which was my highlight of the day.

During the day hike, we mostly explored the fauna of the area, seeing strangler figs, pokey give and take palms, and gumbolimbo! My favorite part of the day hike was definitely finding the leaf-cutter mound with its many super highways. I cannot believe that such small creatures can create such massive structures – it is truly amazing. I really hope that we get to see the annual mating of the ants during the first rainy day of the year. Mostly I just want to eat one, because apparently they taste like popcorn. J

I discovered that Bruchinae beetles lay their eggs on legume seeds (and found a few of the seeds – thanks to Brian.) He then found seeds with small holes in them, which had been burrowed into by the developing beetles, who receive all of their nutrients from the seed in their early stages of life. After that, they require no more nutrients to live.

The night hike was the highlight of my day.

Basically I could just talk about the amazing cockroach sitting next to me right now (in a bag) for hours, but I’ll spare you the details. To sum it up, he is one beautiful, sticky, noisy creature who I cannot wait to learn more about!

As far as other life goes, we saw an opossum, lots of spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, moths, katydids, centipedes, lizards, trumpet trees, and night hawks, among much much more. Watching the leaf-cutters work at night was also impressive – they certainly are strong. I saw one beetle; it was small – about 1 cm long – and solid black in coloration. I am currently unsure of its taxonomy but I hope to learn more about it after closer examination of the photos.

Side note – the stars were freaking beautiful.

Peace out, White Lotus

Beginning my trip with the idiotic idea to not sleep before an early morning flight, this day seemed to start off as an adventure to say the least.  In general, everything went smoothly.  The itinerary was not full, which left for flexibility within the full day we had to spend in Belize.

First arriving in the country, I was struck by how small the airport was.  I figure that it’s not very often that you land on the runway, slow down, then make a U-turn and proceed the opposite way toward your gate.  The movement through customs was easy, and the weather was gorgeous.  I was a fan of the school bus, as it brought up memories of going on a field trip.  Just as I would stare outside the windows of whatever novel environment I was being shown as a child, I pictured myself as entering on a slightly more adventurous type of field trip; one more appropriate for The Magic School Bus.

The landscape was as vast as I could imagine, and there was even less concrete and industry than I would have expected.  The hotel’s nice, and San Ignacio proved to have a unique character that I have missed from smaller towns.

I thought that we had some pretty solid conversations, however off-topic they proved to be.  Learning about termites and their nest and tunnel building on trees was probably my favorite insight of the day.  I also had some struggles but realizations snorkeling which leave me still slightly hesitant but hopeful about exploring the reef.

One of my favorite parts of the day, however, were those spent talking about our time in the rainforest, which I gleefully look forward to as I am now forcing myself to finish this blog and finally go to sleep.

May 14, 2013

* I am using Scott’s account because mine is having problems allowing me to log in

The flight from Houston to Belize was surprisingly short, lasting only about two hours.

When we were flying over Belize, I observed a lot of tropical rain forest fires.  This time is the end of the dry season; the wet season begins in June.  Therefore, the land and plants here are dry and easily burn.  Fires are a natural occurrence that are considered a disturbance that leads to secondary succession.  However, residents commonly use the slash-and-burn agriculture technique.

Once we landed, we took a bus to San Ignacio.  This ride allowed me to have a closer look at what I had previously seem from the plane.  There were so many types of plants that made up the forests we saw.  I could recognize palm trees.  Another tree I really liked was a tree that flowered red to orange flowers all over.  It was a burst of vibrant color in the vastly green landscape.

When we stopped for lunch, we saw a termite nest in a tree.  It looked like a bee hive.

Driving to the Midas Hotel, we passes through a lot of small towns.  I loved the vibrant pink, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple colored homes.

When we arrived at the Midas Hotel in San Ignacio, I saw some small goats.  This was the first mammal that we had seen.  Since I am a “specialist” on mammals, I took note.  These were pets, but when we get to Las Cuevas today I cant wait to see some rainforest mammals.  Also, at the Midas Hotel was a mangrove.  I took note of it because I am giving a presentation on mangroves and seagrasses and how they are important for coral reefs.

First impression was breath-taking.  The plane gave a nice overview of it all, but being in the town and seeing the simple lifestyle locals lead is just as interesting.  We saw children playing and swimming in a river by the hotel, and we decided to wade in it a bit too.  The sunsets here are so beautiful compared to in Houston.  The sky is decorated with hues of orange and pink.  We also saw the Big Dipper! The stars are clearer here, but still not as good as they will be when we get to Las Cuevas due to the haziness from the smoke from the slash-and-burning.  I cant wait to arrive at Las Cuevas and continue this adventure!

- Meghan Hager

Morning of May 15^th

Looking out the window as we touched down in Belize City was an eyeful. Before the trees came into focus, a winding snake of a river kept pace with us, winding vehemently round and round and up and everywhere as if it gained some personal satisfaction from being arbitrary. The trees were never the same, one minute a thick grey trunk with great grasping branches, the next a burst of orange blossoms, followed by ones of red, then of purple. Palm trees sprouting yellow coconuts were interspersed everywhere. Hibiscus flowers lined fences. Hand-painted signs along stretches of Hummingbird Highway offered fresh coconut milk, ripened watermelons and papayas, and Rodrigo’s Own Barbecued Chicken and Pork. Let me tell you it looked delicious. On the bus we passed by pastel adobe houses with some scattered neons in between. Many had bright white trims on windows and railings with diamond-shaped patterns surrounding balconies. Well-fed horses were ridden to and from town, roped around the neck, with the rider carrying white sacks of corn, and rice, and beans to who knows where. As we passed a small town, two men riding horses dismounted and sat on a lump of soil to let their horses graze in the grass that grew everywhere effortlessly. Sometimes there were sharp intrusions of wealth in the form of Official Tourist Centers buildings or billboards promoting wealthy resorts The wealth I saw there, misplaced among the easy poverty I had so far observed, was the reason I started noticing the cracks. Cracks in the Perfect Belize, and the more I looked, the more I saw. Riding the bus to San Ignacio they were small at first: the patches of rainforest that were burned black, exposing rich dark soil that was covered in ash. Smoke was ever in the air and in the nostrils. Mountain ranges came into view, lurching smoke as if the now distinct ranges where active volcanoes. The charred patches grew bigger, reaching what my mind decided were massive. There were occasional patches of young trees, all equally spaced, all identically sized – an attempt to compensate. The smoke and the scent of it, however, remain ever present. The sun is covered by a layer of grey. We could see a few stars and the Big Dipper faintly. I am curious how Las Cuevas, the research station we will travel to today, will be different.

I cannot imagine a better way to start this adventure. Today has been long but full of excitement and anticipation. This country is so different than anything I have ever experienced. I want to relate it to something, but I can’t quite place it. There is a certain feeling here that indescribable. There is just so much life. No one seems to be rushing anywhere. I guess when you live in a place so beautiful, it’s easy to stop and smell the roses.

I have already seen so much and had some great experiences. We’ve eaten at a few places and learned that rice and beans and beans & rice. Apparently one is cooked together and the other is separate. We’ve also been on a quest to find the best hot sauce. There are so many options, but I think I’ve found my favorite. I’ll have to post a picture later when I buy a bottle. It just seems to make everything better!

One of the first stops on our tour of San Ignacio was an open market filled with exotic fruits and vegetables. A few of us decided that we wanted to try the fruit of a cashew nut. Apparently there is a chemical on the outside of the skin that can cause a rash, similar to poison ivy. Luckily, it is not very intense and no one seems to be suffering any symptoms. I actually really enjoyed to the juice but the meat of the fruit had a very dry quality, almost like a tannin filled wine.

After a nice walk, we found a bar in the more touristy side of town and relaxed for a bit. At this point, we were all getting a little tired so we ventured back to the hotel to regroup. However, the pool was just too alluring. We jumped in and tested our new waterproof cameras. I tried working on my swimming a bit, just to ready for next week.

After a while we went back to our rooms, got ready for dinner and walked over to a neighboring restaurant. It was delicious and we had more great conversation. We got back to the hotel I saw my first reptile! There were a few geckos running around the bar by the pool. They reminded me of the green anoles back home. Apparently they are an invasive species, meaning they were brought in from another area. So far I am really enjoying my first experience across the sea and I can’t wait to see more of this beautiful country!

We’re here! In San Ignacio, our docking point before we venture off from civilization into the depths of the rainforest.

It has certainly been a long day to arrive at this point, starting at 6 AM this morning at Rice. The flight is surprisingly short for such a transformation, only three hours. We arrived, stepped off the plane, and were greeted by the thick, dry heat I had been attempting to prepare myself for. After customs we boarded a classic-looking yellow school bus, and bumped down a dusty narrow road heading west. The air was hazy from the many small fires that seemed to be burning every few miles in the tangled jungle on both sides of the road. Our driver informed us that they were natural, and happen normally during this period of the dry season.

My favorite part of the drive was looking at all the houses and little towns we passed on our way. Roofs of rusty, wavy steel, clotheslines, old cars, hand-painted road signs, little boys teetering down the road on bikes, sometimes two to a bike, sometimes with a younger sibling in hand, they were all stark reminders of this very different environment we are lucky to be visiting. We stopped for lunch, and when we got to San Ignacio we went out to explore the town a little. We found a market with all kinds of fruits and peppers and other produce for sale, and probably created quite the scene with all twelve of us poking at all the weird fruits.

There is a river that runs through the middle of the town, and people of all ages were swimming, playing, and washing their bikes in it. The town was cute, and it had a lot of little shops that offered all sorts of goods and services. We noticed a few people who looked like they could be in a similar situation as we are, with big backpacks and possible plans to travel to the rainforest. I got the feeling that San Ignacio is a good tourist spot for splitting off into different rainforest areas, be it Mayan ruins or caves or different rainforest spots to explore. The locals seem to have embraced it, and tell us to move out of the middle of the road with a polite toot of their horn, often from a little old pickup truck.

We went swimming before dinner and ate at a little place right next to the hotel. Somehow the inside of our hotel room is much hotter than it is outside, but I think I’m quite exhausted enough to be able to fall asleep without any trouble. Tomorrow to Las Cuevas Research Station!

Day 1 in Belize and I’ve already fallen in love with this country! It’s so quiet and simple and quiet, and the fact that we literally were able to cross from one coast to another in a matter of 2 or so hours is pretty amazing! The weather here is hot and humid, but luckily living in Houston prepared me for that! Our leisurely stroll turned into a bit of a hike — thank you steep hill— but it was worth it to get to see downtown San Ignacio! The abundance of colors and people kept me thrilled the entire time! Although the heat felt a bit inescapable, it was worth it for the experience!

We haven’t made it to the research station yet, but even in the bustling city of San Ignacio we were still able to talk about some of the native organisms that we found in the city. We ran into a swallowtail butterfly (allegedly) and the hibiscus flower! Both organisms so beautiful and amazing to find! We also found termites, and lots and lots of ANTS! However, when it comes to the trees and shrubbery here, there is little diversity to be found. Coconut palm trees lined the streets of Belize, showering the residents with the fruits of their labor (and if you’re worried that the residents would get hurt in this “shower of fruit” its okay, there’s coconut insurance!). There was a lot of low shrubs, most likely because the land here isn’t very fertile, so they would need to stay low to the ground so that the nutrients don’t have to travel very far. I’m excited to get to the rainforest and begin to collect data on the various species of trees, and maybe even algae, as well as be introduced to and learn about how diverse the rainforest really is!

Even thought tonight’s our last night in a hotel with running water and “air conditioning” for a while, I’m excited to immerse myself with nature and really appreciate its marvels! I can’t wait for the adventures and surprises that tomorrow has in store for us!

Today has been eventful to say the least.  I didn’t get any sleep the night before so I’m terribly exhausted now.  The flight from Houston to Belize was very short and sweet.  I had the pleasure of sitting next to Professor Solomon and he was kind enough to share his fascinating and scary adventures he faced during his trips around the world.

As cliché as this may sound, driving through Belize really gave me a new perspective on my life and on what life really is about.  The people of Belize live a more simplistic lifestyle compared to us, and I don’t necessary think it’s a bad thing.  Yes, it may be true that their life expectancy may be shorter but they live a life worth living.  I’m not saying our lives are pointless and useless, but in a way, they look so happy even if they possess so little. It is very possible that I am just fantasizing their life in Belize and that living in Belize may not be all that great.

We had lunch at this cute restaurant.  I had a fajita because the waitress recommended it and it was delicious! I also had tres leche cake! Best tres leche I have had so far!  Near our table, there was a big termite nest. It was literally less than a foot away from the restaurant and that kind of made me nervous.  Once we finished lunch, we continued to ride on the bus to the hotel! Midas Resort is absolutely gorgeous! I’m not going to lie, when I drove up here, I thought our room would not have indoor plumbing and be a bit shady, but it turned out to be such a spectacular resort!

The people around this area are so friendly and kind! A lot of people would greet us with a hello, some were a bit too friendly…greeting us with their loud and obnoxious honks.  WE GET THE POINT, WE ARE SEXY AMERICANS haha.  We stopped at another cute drinking hub during happy hour and ordered some drinks.  After that, we decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming. The swim was much needed.  After a sweaty and long day, it was nice to just relax at the pool and get to know everyone a little better!

For dinner we went to another cute restaurant and I had a chicken, beef, and pork combination plate with rice and beans, NOT beans and rice.  Apparently here in Belize, there seems to be a difference between the two.  For dessert, I spoiled myself once again and ordered a lemon pie.  Absolutely delicious, but that will be my last treat to myself for the trip! #TEAMEATHEALTHY.  LOL.

Now its 11:00 p.m., the day is about to end, and I can say that today was a lot of fun and I think as a group we have become a lot closer.  If this is any insight to what the next two weeks will be like, I think this trip will be something memorable.