Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve and Sittee River
If I could give you some advice, I’d say find a cool waterfall in a hot place and get under it. The guests on two of our morning hikes would agree that this is one of the finest activities one can do in the tropics. We are refreshing ourselves in this photo after a hike to the top of Ben’s Bluff. The name for this high ridge is not from a game strategy but from an early researcher who came to this high point to receive signals from radio-collared jaguars. Our goal for the hike was to see the 3,600’ Victoria Peak. Clouds at first covered the top but later burned off and give us a view of all but the very top.
Here in the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve there are over 50 of these exquisite cats, many other animals, and an impressive segment of tropical forest. As we looked upwards, the exhubrance of plant life filled the sky. Vines, lianas, bromeliads, and a seemingly endless mosaic of leaf shapes and shades of green were overwhelming. Guests saw more than 70 species of birds including a great tinamou, blue-crowned motmot, and scarlet-rumped (Passerini’s) tanagers.
After a deck lunch back on the Sea Lion, the Caribbean was too much of a temptation. Many people hopped aboard a Zodiac and plunged into the sea.
We spent the late afternoon exploring the Sittee River. This slow moving waterway flows out of the Maya Range, winds through the lowlands, and ends in the mangroves and the sea. We saw different sizes of crocodiles, but it was the large orange iguanas that really caught our attention. The dominant males displayed impressively in conspicuous places as we approached them. They threw their heads straight upwards, then made a series of lower bobs as they erected their spines. The dewlap under their chin flopped around and must have been of great appeal to females. We stopped at the Iguana Club, a local spot, for a quick refreshment before retuning to the ship and the evening activities.
If I could give you some advice, I’d say find a cool waterfall in a hot place and get under it. The guests on two of our morning hikes would agree that this is one of the finest activities one can do in the tropics. We are refreshing ourselves in this photo after a hike to the top of Ben’s Bluff. The name for this high ridge is not from a game strategy but from an early researcher who came to this high point to receive signals from radio-collared jaguars. Our goal for the hike was to see the 3,600’ Victoria Peak. Clouds at first covered the top but later burned off and give us a view of all but the very top.
Here in the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve there are over 50 of these exquisite cats, many other animals, and an impressive segment of tropical forest. As we looked upwards, the exhubrance of plant life filled the sky. Vines, lianas, bromeliads, and a seemingly endless mosaic of leaf shapes and shades of green were overwhelming. Guests saw more than 70 species of birds including a great tinamou, blue-crowned motmot, and scarlet-rumped (Passerini’s) tanagers.
After a deck lunch back on the Sea Lion, the Caribbean was too much of a temptation. Many people hopped aboard a Zodiac and plunged into the sea.
We spent the late afternoon exploring the Sittee River. This slow moving waterway flows out of the Maya Range, winds through the lowlands, and ends in the mangroves and the sea. We saw different sizes of crocodiles, but it was the large orange iguanas that really caught our attention. The dominant males displayed impressively in conspicuous places as we approached them. They threw their heads straight upwards, then made a series of lower bobs as they erected their spines. The dewlap under their chin flopped around and must have been of great appeal to females. We stopped at the Iguana Club, a local spot, for a quick refreshment before retuning to the ship and the evening activities.
