Today we took the boat from Turneffe Flats back to Belize City, then transited by jeep and small boat up the New River to Lamanai Outpost Lodge. The 90-minute boat ride was great fun, and we spotted a baby crocodile and many birds both big and small. Within about 10 minutes of checking into our lagoon-view room, we heard a strange sound that sounded almost like some type of big steel machine. It turned out to be our welcoming call from an adult male black howler monkey! He was quite large, and his call was incredibly loud and penetrating; I will try to upload a video and sound recording of him later.

After a relaxing afternoon we had our nice vegetarian vegan dinners (kudos to Lamanai Lodge for remembering and knowing the difference), then set out for a night boat safari. We were joined with a group of avid birders, and the experience was interesting. It was amazing what our guide could do, both navigating the boat, operating his strong lamp from side to side *and* spotting the smallest of birds in the best of camouflage. Unfortunately it was so dark it was almost impossible to get any good pictures. However, we did see many different types of birds, with an emphasis on the smaller and more colourful ones. Coming back to the lodge we also briefly spotted an opposum and a crocodile, which ended our first day in Lamanai!

03/03/08 by visitEarth
Tags: Belize, Lamanai, howler monkey