Monkey River and Seal Caye
This was a perfect day to explore… the weather was absolutely beautiful and the opportunity presented itself to visit two new locations. Monkey River in Belize was where we spent our morning. Guests were given the option of kayaking or enjoying a more leisurely Zodiac cruise up the river. The first offered an opportunity for some quiet time and personal exploration, the second more creature comfort and a naturalist to interpret the sights.
Thanks to the sharp eyes of one guest, what appeared to be an iguana with its tail hanging down from a limb on closer inspection became a boa constrictor attempting to consume the iguana (see photo). The snake had grabbed the lizard in its mouth and was slowly constricting its body to kill it before “inviting” it to become the day’s meal.
The boa was hanging with its tail wrapped around the limb, with the iguana’s body and tail dangling below. While observing this example of “the mutual eating society” (a link in the food chain in action), the sound of the tree limb snapping heralded the fall of both predator and prey from the canopy. The iguana made it’s way up onto a small tree limb in the river, dazed and confused but alive, and the boa slowly swam off to the river bank.
We all returned to the Sea Lion for lunch and the ship sailed off to a group of small cayes offshore, known as the Sapodilla Cayes. We chose tiny Seal Caye for our afternoon’s activities which included snorkeling, SCUBA diving and kayaking. Both snorkelers and divers alike thought this was a spectacular site. The hard and soft coral appeared very healthy and there were many invertebrates and fish to observe underwater.
Divers and snorkelers alike were treated to the beautiful color of the blue-bell tunicate, members of a group of marine invertebrates that are our closest relatives as fellow chordates. A parrotfish swam around us with a shark sucker (remora) attached to its body, and blue tang males were seen in their breeding coloration. Several primitive crinoids were observed feeding from safe recesses in the coral with one spread out on top of a sponge like a submarine spider web to capture plankton and organic matter by suspension feeding.
An excellent dinner gave us sustenance to resume our activities tomorrow morning. Afterwards guests gathered in the lounge to see a preview of the video chronicle for this adventure, then retired to recharge their batteries for what lies ahead.
This was a perfect day to explore… the weather was absolutely beautiful and the opportunity presented itself to visit two new locations. Monkey River in Belize was where we spent our morning. Guests were given the option of kayaking or enjoying a more leisurely Zodiac cruise up the river. The first offered an opportunity for some quiet time and personal exploration, the second more creature comfort and a naturalist to interpret the sights.
Thanks to the sharp eyes of one guest, what appeared to be an iguana with its tail hanging down from a limb on closer inspection became a boa constrictor attempting to consume the iguana (see photo). The snake had grabbed the lizard in its mouth and was slowly constricting its body to kill it before “inviting” it to become the day’s meal.
The boa was hanging with its tail wrapped around the limb, with the iguana’s body and tail dangling below. While observing this example of “the mutual eating society” (a link in the food chain in action), the sound of the tree limb snapping heralded the fall of both predator and prey from the canopy. The iguana made it’s way up onto a small tree limb in the river, dazed and confused but alive, and the boa slowly swam off to the river bank.
We all returned to the Sea Lion for lunch and the ship sailed off to a group of small cayes offshore, known as the Sapodilla Cayes. We chose tiny Seal Caye for our afternoon’s activities which included snorkeling, SCUBA diving and kayaking. Both snorkelers and divers alike thought this was a spectacular site. The hard and soft coral appeared very healthy and there were many invertebrates and fish to observe underwater.
Divers and snorkelers alike were treated to the beautiful color of the blue-bell tunicate, members of a group of marine invertebrates that are our closest relatives as fellow chordates. A parrotfish swam around us with a shark sucker (remora) attached to its body, and blue tang males were seen in their breeding coloration. Several primitive crinoids were observed feeding from safe recesses in the coral with one spread out on top of a sponge like a submarine spider web to capture plankton and organic matter by suspension feeding.
An excellent dinner gave us sustenance to resume our activities tomorrow morning. Afterwards guests gathered in the lounge to see a preview of the video chronicle for this adventure, then retired to recharge their batteries for what lies ahead.
