Tag Archives: Iguana

San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize – Day 2

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San Ignacio, Belize – Iguana & Nature Walk – Day 2

After a good nights rest in the Hotel (Midas Hotel), it was time to get started on seeing the many sights in and around San Ignacio and Western Belize. The Hotel offered a complimentary breakfast in its dining area, where the first thing that catches your eye are the many Iguanas that are either on the ground or in the trees around the Hotel.

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One of the first things I want to do was go see the San san-ignacio-2-3-of-27Ignacio Hotel & Resort, which I was unable to get a booking in, but was rated as one of the top Hotels / Resorts in the area. The San Ignacio Hotel / Resort is located on the south side of the town, the opposite of where I was staying and is home to the Green Iguana Conservation Project and a highly rated Nature Walk – Herbal Medicine tour , both of san-ignacio-2-2-of-27which I was interested in seeing while here in town. The Hotel is located at the top of a large hill from downtown San Ignacio and offers great views of the surrounding countryside. You immediately know that you are in an upscale hotel, once you enter the lobby area. The marble floors, and beautiful flower arrangments, and paintings or photographs on the walls. Once I walked through the san-ignacio-2-14-of-27lobby and to the back of the hotel and looked out on the vista and the pool area, I knew I wanted to stay here. This was probably the best Hotel and Resort I have seen since leaving the States. Unfortunately, they still had no vacancies and I would have to stay where I was at the Midas Hotel.

At the Hotel / Resort, they have the Green Iguana Conservation Project and Nature Walk – Herbal Medicine tours, that I read about and wanted to do while here. The first tour that was available was the Iguana tour, which I only had to wait about 30 minutes before it would start.

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The Green Iguana Conservation Project was created in san-ignacio-2-8-of-271996 by Mrs. Mariam Roberson and Daniel Velasquez due to the decreasing survival rate of Green Iguanas in Belize caused by overhunting. It’s a continuous effort that aims to conserve and look after the endangered Green Iguana species in Belize. The Project uses interactive exhibits and programs to help educate visitors and create awareness san-ignacio-2-6-of-27among the general public. The tour takes about 1 to 1.5 hours, and will get you up close and personal with lots of Iguanas. Our guide, Abdon, was great and very knowledgeable about the project and Iguanas. There are three separate caged areas, one for the juveniles (about 1 – 2.5 years old, one for the babies, and one area for the incubation of eggs. They let you feed the juveniles with san-ignacio-2-9-of-27fresh vegetables that the guide will give to you. Just make sure you don’t hold on to the food too long because the Iguanas will climb right up your pants to get to the food (See pictures and video below). You can even pick up and hold some of the Iguanas. Once the Iguanas reach about 2.5 years of age, the project lets them loose into the forest. There are hundreds of Iguanas located all around the hotel / resort, and surrounding area. Everywhere you go in Western Belize, you see Iguanas in the trees or on the ground.

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Below is a quick video showing how the iguanas will climb right up your pants leg if you are holding any food for them.

Later in the afternoon, I was able to book the Nature / Herbal Medicine Tour, which is also located on the Hotel property. This tour lasted about 2+ hours and I was lucky enough to get the same guide (Abdon) as I had for the Iguana Conservation Project tour. This tour follows a path through the jungle located behind the Hotel and down the side of the valley towards the river. All along the path is located these information boards that identify the name of the tree or shrub behind it along with information about the item and their medical use. If you are lucky, you will also see some very interesting wildlife, including birds, butterflies and even monkeys.

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After the tour, I headed back to my Hotel where I ended up walking towards town to get some dinner and was able to capture a few pictures of the moonrise.

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What a great way to spend a day in San Ignacio, Belize.

Up next will be the trip to Tikal, a large and famous Mayan Ruin City located in Guatemala.

 

 

 

The Belize Adventure Begins

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Travel to Belize Begins – April 17, 2016

Well after a month-in-a-half rest after my trip to Panama in Southern California, it’s time to go check out Belize. If you have been following this blog, I (Turtle), am still not convinced that Panama should be my new home, and want to go check out some other Central American Countries to see if they might be the right candidates for me to retire in.

In my past travels to Belize many years ago (first in 1998), I found that the Belizians were very friendly, and the money system was based on the US dollar (2BZ to $1US), along with English as the official language. Belize also has a great barrier reef (2nd largest in the world) all along its coast. This makes for great diving, which this turtle is looking for. Along with the coast and hundreds of islands, there are mountains, rivers, rainforests, jungles and lots of Mayan Ruins throughout the Country.

Belize is not a big country, and there are only 4 or 5 main roads in the Country, so it is easy to get from one end to the other in just a few hours. There are less than 332,000 people that call Belize home. Belize is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the south and west by Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea.

With my previous travels to Belize and all the research I was able to get done prior to leaving for Belize, I decided I really wanted to spend the first three weeks on the mainland, exploring Mayan Ruins, the Belize Zoo and checking out towns like San Ignacio, Hopkins and Placencia, prior to spending almost two weeks on Ambergris Caye where I really expect that this turtle might decide to settle down.

Getting to Belize from the US is easy and only takes on average about two-and-a-half to three hours from Houston or Miami. From Los Angeles, where this Turtle flies out of, it takes more time. Most every flight entering into Belize goes into Belize City (largest city in Belize) through its international airport called Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (BZE). This airport is located just outside (15 km) of Belize City proper along the northern highway. Because of ongoing trouble with gangs in Belize city, most people avoid staying overnight in the city and chose hotels or resorts outside of the city. Although there are some nice Hotels / resorts located within the City, and since I was going to visit locations within the mainland of Belize, I chose to make my first stop in Burrel Boom. So upon arrival at the airport, I rented a car (AQ Rental Car) and bought a SIM card for my phone right in the airport parking lot and drove the northern highway (17 km) to the Black Orchid Resort in Burrel Boom.

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I chose the Black Orchid Resort because of the good reviews, the location close to the airport, and some other great tourist destinations that I wanted to go see. The Black Orchid Resort is located right on the Belize River, and offered a pool, restaurant, nice rooms, and had breakfast included. (See my reviews in Tripadvisor). The property is well maintained, with lots of trees, shrubs, flowers, birds and lizards / Iguanas on the grounds.

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My room at the Black Orchid Resort was located right along the river with the front entrance and patio looking out over the river. The Belize River at this point is about 150 yards wide and is quite deep. There is a mild current, but people do swim in the river along the shore. I am sure that in the wet season May through November, this river will be a lot wider and the current much stronger. This part of the river has few properties along the banks so there is a lot of trees and growth along the shores. Apparently, Burrel Boom was once the site where huge logging chains were strung across the river to snag the tree logs (Logwood & Mahogany) that were cut upstream in the rain forests of Belize and Guatemala. They used the river to float the trees down to this point and then removed the logs and transported them to the saw mills.

Up next on this blog will be my trip to the Baboon Sanctuary.