,
so we walked in to town after breakfast. Our experience at the market and
in town validated what we had been reading about Belize's multi ethnic mix.
Jane bought some excellent homemade yogurt from some Mennonites. We heard
English and Spanish, but it turns out that
creole is the
most commonly spoken language in Belize (70%).
Jane bought some 'black fruit cake,' which is a Trinidad or Jamaica version
of what we send unwanted relatives at Christmas. I had never heard of it
but she found it advertised at the beauty supply store. That made more
sense after I found the best internet place in town was in the movie
theater. Lunch at our favorite Sri Lankan restaurant. It grew too hot to
walk back *up* the hill to the lodge, so we splurged on a taxi.
Jane had been reading about a woman who
had been studying medicinal use of plants at the knee of an ancient medicine
man not far from San Ignacio.
Abandoning our planned itinerary she convinced the management (the lodge,
not me) to substitute a trip to the Rainforest Medicine Trail for whatever
we had planned. By Sunday morning both of the other couples at the Lodge
had decided that they wanted to join us, and Belize had decided to show us
why it is called a tropical *rain* forest. It had started raining Saturday
afternoon, and it continued with slight breaks for 24 hours.
Our approach to the rainforest trail was down river, which means that we
traveled by canoe. Our guide was a muscular young man named Henry. The
rain created a challenge getting our selves and our gear down to the river,
as everything was muddy and slippery. Once we were under weigh, however,
the cloudy skies kept the temperature in the low 70s, and our raingear kept
us mostly comfortable. We paddled about 90 minutes, helped by a current that
was usually brisk and occasionally excited by mild rapids.
Along the sides of the river we saw mostly only steep walls of thick
jungle. Occasionally there was a farm, sometimes with a canoe beached and
tied at the bottom of steps or a path. We saw frequent birds, including
macaws, parrots, and heron. Others, too, whose names have been lost in my
wetware. Also large colorful iguanas, frequently high on tree branches.
Okay, I mean iguanas two or more feet long sitting improbably 40 or 60 feet
above the river balanced gracefully on fairly slender branches.I have some
pictures, but they will probably look like a wide place in the branch. It
was a very grey day, and the drizzle didn't help.
In late morning we arrived at the bottom of some cement steps that were
clearly of superior quality. Henry secured the canoes and we climbed up a
hundred or so feet into a large and tastefully done 'high-end' jungle
resort. LINK It turns out that the medicine
trail lady was friends with the people who turned their farm into this
resort so she purchased land adjacent and set up her so called medicine
trail there. Henry was going to beg off, but he liked being on stage, I
think, so he stayed with us as we followed the trail, explaining the local
names for and some of the uses of the various plants along the way.
An aside about jungle trees. It seems that they are all hardwood, and lots
of it *very* dense. Wood used in construction or furniture in this part of
the world is not likely softwood, but probably very hard wood. This means
even 1x2 strapping and 2x4's and trim. They have few pine like trees, and
what they have are stunted and gnarly and sappy, and probably not much good
for anything but making smoke. Also about the jungle, lots of it is
poisonous. Still more is very sharp. And the rest harbors insects and
snakes and god knows what else that wants to eat me.
After the trail we hiked farther up the trail to a little eco-museum
maintained by the resort. There we viewed sculls and samples and specimens
in formaldehyde. Then we walked to an adjacent project where they 'farm'
butterflies. There are several of these in the area, serving academic and
commercial needs. Interesting note: the export business to the States has
dried up since 9/11. I am unclear whether pupae can be considered munitions
or what. Anyway, this location raises the Blue Morpho (ARTICLE AND PICTURE).
We learned that there is a lot more to this butterfly stuff than
caterpillar-pupa-metamorphosis-butterfly. And were shown pretty much every
stage in the process. No petting zoo, however.
The rain had been on and off all day, but had given us a break for most of
the medicine trail. We ate lunches that the lodge had packed under a
shelter, then retraced our steps down to the river. At this point we were
mostly walking down a stream to get there. Back in the canoes, and the
better part of two hours downstream to the bridge at San Ignacio.
This was our last day in the inland jungle. According to its publicity
department, Belize offers two experiences to tourists: surf and turf. This
was our last day of inland adventure. Tomorrow (Monday) we will be leaving
the turf for the surf, trading hot and wet for wet and hot. Or so it
seems. Stay tuned, dear reader!