Wildlife Holidays Worldwide Blog: May 2009

REPORT ON VISIT TO BELIZE, April 2009

It always seems extraordinary to me how difficult it can be to travel from one country to another in a region, even to neighbouring countries. As you grow older time seems to accelerate exponentially; this is an illusion of course but for older folk time relates more to what is left than what is past. Now we know we can only travel to other continents for a relatively short number of years, we are inclined to twin or triplet the countries we visit.

This year we were returning to Venezuela and wished to marry it to a wildlife experience in another nearby country in Latin America. Guyana looked like a good choice for the Kaieteur Falls, the possibility of jaguar at Iwokrama and giant otter on the Rupununi River. But there are no direct flights between these immediate neighbours and travel by road would have taken us away from our dogs for too long. Combining Venezuela and Guyana involves using Trinidad as a staging post. To get the best air fares, the trip demands 4 local flights to and from the island. Maybe next time the call of steel bands will be enough to seduce us.

We turned instead to Belize, a lot like a Caribbean ‘island’ except it is landlocked. Getting to this charming country from Venezuela, and then home, is even more complicated than combining Venezuela and Guyana. It involved a flight from Caracas via Panama City into San Salvador for an overnight stop, before a further two flights to take us to the lodge at Gallon Jug in Belize; with two flights via San Salvador to Guatemala and a flight home from there, exiting the plane at Panama City, changing in Madrid for London. Exhausting, yes, and not recommended. The first time we went to Belize we flew direct to Cancun in Mexico and took a simple, easy and interesting road transfer from there.

The lure in Belize was the real possibility of an encounter with puma, jaguar and ocelot at Chan Chich, a terrific lodge located in the heart of 125, 000 acres, most of which is tropical forest. The small plane journey was a dream. We were whisked by our pilot through Godson International Airport, Belize City, like VIPs, and flown in to Gallon Jug, 2000 ft over jungle as dense as a forest of broccoli. Effects of the two day transfer started to fade with the onset of delicious anticipation in searches and sightings to come.

We had our first night drive that very evening, not wholly productive as heat and travel were taking their toll. We relied entirely on Luiz, our driver, for spotting and to awaken us if we nodded off. During the following seven days we fell into a routine of rising at four thirty to catch the dawn on our morning drives and departing two hours before sunset for pre-dinner drives. On two of the days we varied the routine so that we could stay out longer, taking a breakfast picnic on the escarpment one morning and a picnic dinner by Laguna Seca one evening. In between drives, we walked the nine trails that surround the lodge.

There were lots of howler monkeys roaring to get us up before dawn and, each evening, an entertaining troupe of spider monkeys swung in near the lodge to take up residence for the night. As we travelled, we marvelled at the display and colours of the ocellated turkey, every bit as impressive in its shimmering, many coloured feathers as a peacock. Apparently these large birds have been ‘disappeared’ in most places outside Gallon Jug because they make such good eating.

Gallon Jug provides a variety of habitats and some great places to observe birds and butterflies, not forgetting frogs and crocodiles. Our quest was centred on the big cats; we had to rely on them to make an appearance in the open areas as the jungle is so dense, a jaguar would be lost to sight a few metres into it. The road and trail systems together with the 3000 acre clear area around Gallon Jug village and farm, offers the best possibility of a sighting. On our first day, one member of staff saw a puma on the Logger’s Trail within a kilometre of Chan Chich lodge. On day three there were two puma sightings by the lodge manager and, on day four, a jaguar was seen at 200 ft. crossing the road, apparently on its way to slack it thirst in Laguna Seca.

Next morning, an hour after we had driven our golf cart to Sylvester Village, there was a close encounter there with a large puma by staff man, Jorge, who came back to lodge with a photo in his camera. That night we staked out a spot where the farm had laid a dead calf to be naturally re-cycled by vultures and, we hoped, the big cats. No luck there, so we headed off to Laguna Seca keeping our eyes peeled as it grew dark so suddenly. On our way back from the lagoon, I was picking out the eyes of deer and cattle with the spotlight, when I lighted up something that was too low down to be either: the green eyes reflecting back at me were only two or three feet off the ground on a hill in a large field fenced off for the cattle.

We moved right next to the fence and continued to stare through the binoculars until we could be sure the colour, shape and size meant we were looking at a puma. It was 80 metres away but identifiable in the spotlight, although out of camera range. We squeezed through the barbed wire and tried to get a better view but it shrank away over the hill and out of sight. We drove down an adjacent road still trying to catch it in the light. As we cast about, our guide saw a different pair of green eyes lurking in a mango orchard on the opposite side of the road to the first sighting, this time about 120 metres away. We saw the eyes and a faint suggestion of a body as it moved along the base of the trees but we could get no closer. So we had two distant, night sightings to go down in the book, our first ever of puma, and therefore a special thrill.

The Chan Chich Lodge at Gallon Jug is situated in an old Mayan site. Both the main lodge and the cabanas are beautifully appointed: our bathroom alone was 15 sq metres, with his and her showers and washbasins. The forty odd staff come from about 6 families who live nearby in service areas or the village. Most of them have grown up in Gallon Jug or worked there for years, all part of a Chan Chich community which gives the place a very special feeling. There is a school, where almost 80 of the community’s children are taught, located near the airstrip and farm, along with a shop and post-office.

There are lots of activities both on and off the Chan Chich reserve, which itself borders two other large areas of forest, including the 260, 000 acre Rio Bravo Nature Reserve. You can visit the impressive Mayan ruins at Lamanai or trip next door to seek out the wildlife. We had more than enough within the reserve to keep us fully engaged, with visits to the Jacuzzi, swimming pool and massage parlour to help recover from all those drives and walks. You can also hire a golf cart (make sure its battery is fully charged!), go bike riding or take a canoe out on Laguna Verde, another pretty lake on the property. All of which makes Chan Chich a great place to visit.

"Female collared peccary"