Belize and Guatemala
Family trip, March 31-April 8, 2007

Welcome to Belize, Land of the Maya...

The friendly Belcove Hotel in Belize City...

...with a view over the Belize River.

Chillin' on the back porch.
The unique yellow 'swing bridge' in the distance--the only one of it's kind...

Belize City post office

caribbean color

Belize national flag, with some guys holding axes, attesting to the logging history of the country

first view of the Caribbean Sea

Arrrrr! Pirate Museum!
(but like many places in Belize City, it was closed)

not sure what it means, but it sounds cool!!

heading out to the islands, mon....

San Pedro, Ambergris Caye

Julie admiring the view of the ocean and reef from
the Corona Del Mar Hotel at Woody's Wharf

basking in the sun...

basking in the hammock. Ahhh, vacation!

Woody's Wharf

Craig and Melanie

our local dive buddies

rainbow over the pier

Melanie getting a quick 10 minute scuba lesson.....

..before hitting Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley!

snorkelers on the world's second longest barrier reef

The local conch harvesters had lots of visitors-the dark shapes in the water are sting rays waiting for some crumbs...

sea grass beds off the beach

beachfront accomodation

speaks for itself

Mom and Marylin

Mom and Margherita!!

new resorts going up all over the north part of the island...

enjoy a drink in this palapa built over the water..

lots of little huts (palapas) and boat docks

construction workers on their way home

the bridge crossing ticket booth

San Pedro street scene

mass transit in San Pedro

"downtown"

celebrating Mom and Dad's 40th Anniversary!!

Mom co-piloting us en route to Belize City and Guatemala

flying over Ambergris Caye

the edge of the barrier reef visible as the white waves break against it

new housing development outside of Belize City

Safe on the ground--thanks Mom!!

FINALLY, the bags arrived. halfway into the trip....

Part of the aiport tax ($2 per person) goes to conservation of Belize's biodiversity

now it's Melanie's turn to co-pilot!!

river winds it's way through the Belize jungle. An old bend has formed a horseshoe lake...

agriculutral lands fragmenting the forest....

...which in areas stretched unbroken as far as one could see....

...but this changed as we began entering Guatemala.

some beautiful lakes in northeastern Guatemala

arriving at the town of Flores...

en route to the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal (dating from 700 A.D.)!!

spotted a stunning wild turkey on the roadside...

5.00 am walk to witness the sunrise from one of the temples....This one, Templo I, just visible at dawn....

climbing the perilous steps up Templo IV

and the view was worth it!!!

Templos I, II, and III poke out above the rainforest canopy, filled with toucan, parrots, spider and howler monkeys....

an astronomic observatory pyramid visible in the distance

ah, sunrise.

Craig and Melanie basking in the morning rays

Our guide points out a 'chicle' tree. Rubber tappers used to (and still do) collect the trees' sap for making chewing gum (hence the name chiclets). It was these 'chicleros' who re-discovered Tikal after it was lost to the jungle for about 1,000 years!

Some of the ruins are still buried under piles of sediment and covered by vegetation

amazing bird life and flora in the park

climbing up the pyramid

safely on top of the pyramid

with a view back to Templo IV where we had just watched the sunrise

Melanie just about to summit!

Dad poses on top.

magnificent tree covered in spanish moss

Mom butt-sliding down the steps. "Safety is our first priority"!!

and for good reason. those steps were STEEP!

spider monkey swinging in the canopy.

trail through the forest

arriving at the Gran Plaza!

Templo II (one of the only ones we didn't climb)

an eroded carved stele

Templo I

a face still visible in the Acropolis Del Norte

View from the Acropolis Del Norte over the Gran Plaza, with Templo V in the distance

Scale model of Tikal city, backdropped by t-shirts. They had intricate cement-lined irrigation canals to deliver water to the low lying city build on limestone.

A beautiful tree in flower, with a crocodile basking on the banks (really!)

some interesting Mayan dolls and handicrafts for sale.

exquisite stele preserved in the museum

detail of stele carvings

many articfacts from the ancient city also on display, including this incense burner.

intricate pottery

Craig and I on a jungle adventure...

to the top of a scary tree canopy platform....

the platform is way up there in the top right!

self-explanatory

didn't see the croc, but it was a beautiful pond

a huge turkey vulture

and some cute furry racoon-like animal whose name escapes me...(coati maybe?)

Dad poses in front of a spectacular specimen of Guatemala's national tree

more ruins

the stairs up Templo V. Perhaps the most scary one of all....

the restored Templo V, present day

here's some scale for ya'

view from the top!

the other view from the top!!

BEFORE the $2 million restoration project

AFTER

back side of Templo V

current restoration work

amazing leaf-cutter ant!

bird nests

Mayan painting

roadside Guatemala

wow, Coke must be really valuable!
(actually security on Easter weekend)

Entering the island town of Flores

short visit to the lake at Flores island

the old church in the center of the island

shopping!!

flying out of Flores...

land clearing

beautiful lakes. Those small white specks on the center-left are more Mayan ruins, poking over the jungle.

ecotone

touching down back in Belize City....