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| Our plane sets down at Gallon Jug Ranch after a 20-minute flight from Belize City.
| The road into Chan Chich Lodge is 12 miles long and offers our first glimpse of jungle habitat.
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| The lodge is situated in the center of an unexcavated Maya ruin and surrounded by private nature preserves of over 350,000 acres.
| Ancient Maya temple mounds are scattered throughout the grounds.
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| There are 12 thatched-roof cabañas made of exotic hardwoods, each with wrap-around veranda and a hammock! Paths are surfaced with wood rounds.
| Over nine miles of trails surround the lodge. This trail is in the Cahune Palm forest.
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| Leaf litter makes good cover for jungle creatures like lizards, snakes, scorpions, and this tarantula.
| Leaf litter is raked from the trails daily. That's great for birders who typically look mostly upward.
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| Most meals were served on the veranda . . .
| where nearby a Red-capped Manakin could usually be seen feeding in a fruiting bush.
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| Patience is the name of the game when you're dealing with a skulking Antshrike!
| On the other hand, the Plain Chachalaca's noisy call makes its presence in the forest unmistakable.
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| Watchful waiting in this small meadow rewarded us with some great birds including Slaty-tailed Trogon, Emerald Toucanet, and a sunlit Purple-crowned Fairy Hummingbird.
| Birders check out the nest of a Black-and-White Hawk-Eagle in a rare old Mahogany tree.
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| Careful inspection of the canopy turned up a napping Northern Tamandua (anteater).
| This furry fellow has a black vest and golden head, legs, and thick prehensile tail.
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| The open air bus was a great way to travel around, but maybe not in a downpour!
| Earlier logging and chicle extraction on ranch property has given way to farming of crops and cattle breeding.
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| Sign language at Gallon Jug Ranch.
| It was a tight squeeze in this 6-passenger Tropic Air plane for our flight back to Belize City.
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| Victor demonstrates the hammock at Crooked Tree Sanctuary.
| There's something amusing going on in that bush…whatever it is!
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| The morning boat ride on North Lagoon to Spanish Creek brought us close to many birds…
| including this Wood Stork at the water's edge.
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| Lunch at Crooked Tree was a Belizean favorite - stewed chicken, rice, and beans.
| A Grey-necked Wood Rail poses in a roadside marsh enroute to Belize City.
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| Home
| Part 2 - Hidden Valley, Caracol and Lamanai
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