Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve, and Sittee River, Belize
We were already moving towards the jaguar Preserve of Cockscomb and the sun hadn’t come up yet. An early start in the tropics is the only way to go and so, in less than an hour we were in the preserve. Due to the incredible amount of rain that had fallen in the last few days, some of the paths into the jungle were excessively muddy and slippery, and the river was roaring by its banks. But we had the opportunity of walking to other parts of the preserve, where we enjoyed a cool waterfall, an incredible view of the whole valley from Ben’s Bluff, and a shorter walk that paralleled a river, and led through a lovely segment of primary forest.
We drove through the town of Dangriga, a small community of Garifuna people, and enormous plantations of oranges and grapefruit, which are pressed for their juice, and transformed into concentrate. On a metal bridge over the Sittee River, we stopped and looked for iguanas among the huge trees. These big lizards are called “Bamboo Chicken” for obvious reasons.
Later in the day we had repositioned and took our Zodiacs into the mouth of the Sittee River, along a mangrove habitat (chiefly black, white and red mangroves), interspersed with numerous other trees and flowering vines. But the most interesting animals we saw as we cruised those waters, were the huge male iguanas on the branches of the trees. Different bird species were seen also, such as herons, parrots, trogons, an osprey and a sun grebe.
We were already moving towards the jaguar Preserve of Cockscomb and the sun hadn’t come up yet. An early start in the tropics is the only way to go and so, in less than an hour we were in the preserve. Due to the incredible amount of rain that had fallen in the last few days, some of the paths into the jungle were excessively muddy and slippery, and the river was roaring by its banks. But we had the opportunity of walking to other parts of the preserve, where we enjoyed a cool waterfall, an incredible view of the whole valley from Ben’s Bluff, and a shorter walk that paralleled a river, and led through a lovely segment of primary forest.
We drove through the town of Dangriga, a small community of Garifuna people, and enormous plantations of oranges and grapefruit, which are pressed for their juice, and transformed into concentrate. On a metal bridge over the Sittee River, we stopped and looked for iguanas among the huge trees. These big lizards are called “Bamboo Chicken” for obvious reasons.
Later in the day we had repositioned and took our Zodiacs into the mouth of the Sittee River, along a mangrove habitat (chiefly black, white and red mangroves), interspersed with numerous other trees and flowering vines. But the most interesting animals we saw as we cruised those waters, were the huge male iguanas on the branches of the trees. Different bird species were seen also, such as herons, parrots, trogons, an osprey and a sun grebe.
