Monkey River & Tom Olsen Caye, Belize
Hello, Belize! After saying goodbye to Utila, Honduras and traveling over a somewhat placid sea, we found ourselves in the calm waters of the barrier reef of Belize. A light morning shower sprinkled down as the sun made its grand entrance. It was going to be a fine day!
The seas seemed to get calmer as we anchored at our new destination-Monkey River. And why is it called Monkey River? Because of all the howler monkeys! No sooner had we traveled about five minutes up into the mouth of the river when we heard the far off bark of the howlers. What a thrill to experience these guttural sounds in the wild. They sounded more like a jaguar than a small monkey. With our appetites wetted, we wanted more so we continued to cruise further up river. Our efforts paid off because there in the tops of another tree was a troop of three howlers or “baboons” as they are called in Belize!
Perched on a tree over the water is a tropical king bird, and a little further up river, a pair of rough winged swallows and their nest in a hollowed out log precariously close to the water’s edge. A green-backed heron hurriedly took flight as we approached and a black hawk soared up above us. Our kayakers breezed by us as they practiced their synchronized motion of their paddles in the water.
After returning to the ship we then made our way back out to the barrier reef to Tom Owens caye. This little speck of sand is located at the southern end of the barrier reef and is very isolated-perfect spot for us. We head out once again from our Zodiacs to explore the waters surrounding the caye. What a snorkelers paradise! The fringing reef has an array of gorgonians and hard corals that are home to schools of snappers, angelfish, grunts, tangs and parrotfish. And then to spice things up add a spotted eagle ray, a scorpion fish and a slipper lobster! This is what Belize is all about.
Hello, Belize! After saying goodbye to Utila, Honduras and traveling over a somewhat placid sea, we found ourselves in the calm waters of the barrier reef of Belize. A light morning shower sprinkled down as the sun made its grand entrance. It was going to be a fine day!
The seas seemed to get calmer as we anchored at our new destination-Monkey River. And why is it called Monkey River? Because of all the howler monkeys! No sooner had we traveled about five minutes up into the mouth of the river when we heard the far off bark of the howlers. What a thrill to experience these guttural sounds in the wild. They sounded more like a jaguar than a small monkey. With our appetites wetted, we wanted more so we continued to cruise further up river. Our efforts paid off because there in the tops of another tree was a troop of three howlers or “baboons” as they are called in Belize!
Perched on a tree over the water is a tropical king bird, and a little further up river, a pair of rough winged swallows and their nest in a hollowed out log precariously close to the water’s edge. A green-backed heron hurriedly took flight as we approached and a black hawk soared up above us. Our kayakers breezed by us as they practiced their synchronized motion of their paddles in the water.
After returning to the ship we then made our way back out to the barrier reef to Tom Owens caye. This little speck of sand is located at the southern end of the barrier reef and is very isolated-perfect spot for us. We head out once again from our Zodiacs to explore the waters surrounding the caye. What a snorkelers paradise! The fringing reef has an array of gorgonians and hard corals that are home to schools of snappers, angelfish, grunts, tangs and parrotfish. And then to spice things up add a spotted eagle ray, a scorpion fish and a slipper lobster! This is what Belize is all about.
