Belize It - 2010!

On the way home

2010-05-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

Dr. Wright and the students are headed home. Earlier today with boat captains Fermin and Lloyd (aka "chop ham"), we boated over from Tobacco caye to Dangriga town to shop for final gifts and hot sauces. Everyone then boarded a Maya Island puddle jumper - a 20-minute flight to Belize International airport. They'll connect in Houston tonight and then on to El Paso.

WATCH THIS 3-minute video of the trip!

(If the video is cut off, you can also see it from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfCNQU8tFNU)

TO THE CLASS FROM BELIZE FIELD SCHOOL STAFF: Kimo, Emil, Lenney, Kristi, Charles, Daniel, Sylvino, Lucy and the kids (Kimito and Kaiza) miss you guys already!! It was such a pleasure having you all here! Remember you are always welcome back to Belize - we hope you visit again soon!!

Tobacco Caye

2010-05-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

KRISTI: Hey folks! Tobacco caye is beautiful! We had a wonderful time snorkeling yesterday at Whale Shoal and the forereef after visiting Carrie Bow caye and the Smithsonian research center. Despite a little sea sickness from a few students and a little sunburn, we're all doing great and having a nice relaxing time on the caye. Half of us went on a local night snorkel - everything is so amazing here! (I'm using an island internet connection so I won't even attempt to upload photos until Friday when we return to the mainland - but we have a lot of good ones to share with you.)

Today we have a mangrove snorkel, a visit to a frigate bird colony and another reef snorkel planned. Beautiful weather, breezy and calm crystal clear waters - we couldn't have asked for better conditions. Later tonight, we'll try our hand at Garifuna drumming and dancing! Tomorrow, the class heads home.

Here are some student posts:

ESTRELLA - Tabacco caye is PARADISE. The water is clear and warm. The people here are friendly and have taught us a lot about the marine ecology here. We got to visit the Smithsonian for marine biology. We went snorkeling and saw a lot of biodiversity, ranging from Corals to Fish. We snorkeled above a grass sea patched reef, the outer reef and actually got to see the ocean drop off. My favorite part was swimming from the front reef, through a channel to the back reef. The fish are amazing, colorful and peaceful. We got a chance to snorkel at a red mangrove location. I was hoping to see a manatee or and crocodile, but I didn’t. I saw a seahorse and got to take a close look. At the drop off I also saw a Loggerhead Sea Turtle. It was amazing! It was really big. I conquered my fear of water these last two days here at Tobacco Caye. We got to pass by Bird Island which was full of Frigid birds, boobies, and sea gulls. I have enjoyed these two weeks in Belize. I got to experience four habitat types. I am still speechless about the sunset here at the Caye. The water is calm and the sky turns a pinkish, orange color.

VICKI - Hey everybody! We are nearing the end of our journey, and we couldn’t have come to a better place to relax and recuperate from the hard research. Tabacco Caye is absolutely beautiful. The entire island is only 5 acres, and it takes a total of ten minutes to walk around the whole island. Despite it’s size, however, the island is rich with culture and beauty, just like every other place we have visited in Belize. So far we have snorkeled along patch reefs, the front reef, back reef, and in the mangroves. Each new snorkeling trip shows us a new perspective to the overwhelming list of marine species. Unfortunately a few of us have sustained some pretty nasty sunburns, and we had a slight case of sea sickness, put for the most part everyone is doing well.

My favorite part of this island is the thunderstorms every night. It is absolutely breathtaking to sit out on the dock at night and watch the lightning light up the ocean. I am still amazed that this much beauty can be found on a five acre island. So overall, despite the heat, bugs, and non-stop sweating, this entire trip has been incredible.

JONI - Our journey is nearly complete, soon we will board those awful planes headed north back home. It feels surreal; I still think I’m tucked into some part of Arizona or New Mexico. However, I’m really enjoying this trip. It’s been amazing to see so many different types of locations in such a small area and small time frame. Let’s see, the bug bite count is down to 33 and the sizes have shrunk drastically, each bite was about the size of a quarter, some larger and now they are smaller than any American coin. Hurray! I’ve done quite a bit of snorkeling. Not my favorite activity but its cool being able to breathe under water. Unfortunately, I can no longer report that I don’t have a sun burn. :[ BUT! I do have one of the less severe burns among the group! Mom, you will be pleased to know that by the time we leave I will have used an entire giant bottle of sunscreen. I can honestly say I have lathered up more than the entire group combined these past few days and it is pretty darn obvious. I am a faint brownish-pink hue, which means I may have the onset of a tan. Yes, yes you read correctly, Joni may be getting a tan, arms AND legs. It has been odd wearing shorts, but I’m getting by. Also my knee has shown some improvement after feeling pretty darn awful for awhile. So all in all the trip has been good.
My highlight is… seeing a tailless spotted eagle ray, followed by another spotted eagle ray!!! The tail difference, pretty obvious when side by side! This really has been a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support.

Welcome to the RAINforest!

2010-05-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone - Joni and Kristi here from Dangriga. We stopped in town to get snacks and update the blog. Everyone is doing great out in the jungle - even after the torrential rainstorm last night. But the skies are clearing (just in time for our trip to Tobacco caye tomorrow morning!)

Here are some student and staff entries from the last day at Cockscomb:

SYLVINO (driver/guide): It was an adventurous trip, NMSU kids you rock. Great job gathering data and my being able to assist in any way possible. It was a great learning process for me and also was able to share a little of my knowledge with you. I hope you are able to return sometime and experience more of our beautiful country and if possible learn more of us and our diverse culture. Continue enjoying Belize.

LUCY JOLLY (the chef): They have really good appetites and they are easy not picky eaters which makes any cook happy. I’ve had groups that I had to plan and get everything special – but not NMSU students…they are GOOD!

DR. WRIGHT: I have had a blast on this trip. It is a real thrill to introduce students to the tropics. The students have worked very hard on their projects and are finding some very interesting results. They have dived into Belizean culture both modern and ancient. They have also taken every opportunity to get wet, whether swimming under the waterfall or hiking through a true tropical downpour. We all are in awe of the tremendous logistical support provided by Krisiti and Kimo and their team—thanks to you all for making this such a great trip!

Here are a couple photos from last night's dinner and yesterday's field work/evaluations.

On to Cockscomb Basin

2010-05-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone loved the ATM cave yesterday. It is a world-class cave that is usually the highlight of many students' experience in Belize (second to the coral reef, of course!). Photos and student posts to come - but we're keeping them really busy so forgive the delay.

The class headed out to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Santuary this morning - the world's first Jaguar sanctuary. This is the second study site for the 3 groups conducting field research. They are comparing findings between La Milpa (dry forest) and Cockscomb (wetter forest) for their student projects. For more information, check out the Belize Audubon Society's website at http://www.belizeaudubon.org/protected_areas/cockscomb-basin-wildlife-sanctuary.html.

Here are some student blog contributions:

KATIE AND KELSI: This is Katey Wahlen and Kelsi Skee checking in…….
We arrived in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday; we were momentarily shocked by the amount of humidity in the air. It’s so intense you don’t know if the droplets rolling down your back are from sweat or moisture from the air. It is breathtakingly beautiful here. Everywhere you look there are lush green palms, ferns, and massive trees; flowers in every color of the rainbow dot the landscape. The stark contrast between the dry forest of La Milpa and wet forest we currently are exploring gives us a good look at the different ecosystems within this beautiful country. There are cascading waterfalls nearby and we are all excited to go hike to them tomorrow.

The few of us that had any remaining energy went on a night hike. No Jaguars yet but we are still looking. According to our guide one jaguar requires a 5mile radius to find enough food. They say that we won’t be able to see them but they probably are following us through the bush……
We were all up at 4:30am this morning running our research projects….we’re almost all done with our data collection which is exciting. After a very sweaty morning of data collection we decided to have some “fun time” and float down the nearby river on inner tubes. As we finally got some R&R on the rio we saw about a hundred sulfur butterflies flitting around on the breeze coming to say hi to us.

KELSI: We are having so much fun!! Getting lots and lots of bug bites. Everyone is getting along very well. I (Kelsi) am about to go play some soccer! I am very excited to go to the cayes. The mayan culture saturates every inch of soil and is found in every person. This is more of a mañana land than New Mexico; I am glad to be away from rushed lifestyle of the states. I will be sad to leave my new friends and the beautiful forest but…. I miss my animals and of course mi familia too. The food is wonderful, Lucy, our guide Kimo’s wife, has been cooking for us and giving us a good overview of the local cuisine.

CASSANDRA—Hi everyone, Belize is beautiful despite all the mysterious bug bites, sweat and sore feet. I’ve seen an array of amazing birds and animals thankfully no snakes (knock on wood). We are all having an awesome time swimming in rivers and tubing!! I had the unique opportunity to spend the day with a Belizean family this past week. They are very kind and I will be sad to leave them. I got to visit a Mennonite Christian School and interact with the first and second grade students. I’m having an awesome time and I can’t wait to get home and tell you all about it. John take care and don’t be a dumbo, give the fufs a squeeze for me . Mom, Hotda &Sherdine don’t worry too much I will be back soon.

Shout outs!!

JONI LOYD-- Hey guys, glad to see your reading this! The trip has been fantastic, my knee is hurting a bit, so I’m icing twice a day! We went tubing down the river today; it was so beautiful and amazing. I’ve been listening to “Joni’s chill mix vol 1” quite a bit here in the forest and feel totally relaxed. I miss and love you guys! The trip has been wonderful and I’m almost ready to go back to the states. Wish you guys could see these stars! Still no sunburn! However, I have 36 bug bites and next stop is the keys. There was debate on what they were from, mosquitoes, chiggers, bot flies, but the verdict seems to be “no see flies”, they have made a lovely swirl pattern on my right knee. Its.. strange.

ESTRELLA: Hello everyone! I am having such a great time. I am officially a jungle girl and tropical field ecologist now! The weather here at cockscomb is extremely humid, my hair and clothes stay wet 24/7. I still have not seen any snakes (bummer) but I have seen tons of amazing birds and howler monkeys. I am home sick! I miss you Rayne, I can’t wait to see you and give you a big hug and kiss. I am still waiting for my botfly, I actually want to get one hahahaha. The cave was a little scary for me cause I still can’t swim so well. Today we went tubing down the river/creek here at cockscomb, we are all sunburned. I hope I get to see some snakes while still here in BELIZE. We still have the keys left to go to, then we get to come home. Mom, dad, cristal….miss you guys…see you soon. Rayne I miss you so much ( mommie will be home soon, to show you all the pictures). I also have tons of surprises for all you guys. Well dinner time is approaching…..see you guys soon.

EMIL: NMSU kids are hardworking kids – very into their work. I think it’s cool that I get a chance to work with these guys since they work with ornithology, I also work in these fields so it gives me a chance to share my knowledge of birds and at the same time I can get knowledge from their field academic part – so it’s a 2-way learning experience. I would encourage this kind of field study for any student – it comes once in a lifetime.

COREY: Winter and Blair, love from Belize angels. The only thing missing down here is you two! –Daddy

ATM cave

2010-05-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

The class is touring the "ATM" cave today - Actun Tunichil Muknal - south of Teakettle village. Here are some student contributions:

OSIRIS: (The French-Cameroonian-Polish Guy): After 45 minutes in the forest, it appears: a big opening through a stone which seems to be unbelievable to have been undiscovered since the last century. Leaving this huge mouth, a water source goes down the forest. After few advices about caving, we start our adventure in the belly of the ATM monster. The deep river at some points requires us to swim sometimes in warm water. Wearing a head lamp to light our walk, the guide presents us the different chambers and secret entrances of the cave that we could not have guessed ourselves. A spider scorpion bother by Kimo shows us its large antennae and in spite of the girl screams “oh it’s Huuuuge !”, Emil let us know that this is not the biggest form of the species, by far and oh good news, it BITES ! When all the girls are ok, we continue our journey facing the sliding and vicious rocks spread under the water. Pieces of nice pottery used by the Mayan as presents to their Gods are found in a lot of chambers which starts to make us feel more the mysticiticy and religioucity of this wonderful site. Some tight ways force the tallest persons (including me…) to articulate their body in order to continue to move on. Gymnastic. It is very emotional and mysterious to place its feet and paws at the same place where thousand years ago the Mayans formed incrusted tracks into the rock. The spirit of the site penetrates us a bit more when we discovered the first place of the human sacrifice with modified skulls and broken bones, followed few meters further by a crystallized skull (I’m not lying, the skull was literally covered by crystal!!!Beautiful!). The highest emotional part of our trip into the cave is the 7-year-old sacrifice dead body in the position of the fetus next to the intact body of a young princess. A precise history of the Mayan culture tells by our guide permits us to understand more the reasons of those sacrifices while we continue to walk/swim in the (according to the Ancient Mayans) Underworld. It is not surprisingly that our guide explains us that a lot of actual Mayans and even other Native American Tribes, still come to this cave doing ceremonies, the spirit of the Mayan culture penetrates us…
Oupsiies! We totally forgot the time! Well, once again we won’t respect our schedule but it is worth it. We leave the cave after enjoying a little bit more the deep water at the entrance, jumping into it from an isolated rock. The ATM and its beauties are still here after thousands years, end its magic will still live into it for others centuries…

JONI: ATM is an abbreviation of three words which I (Joni) will not attempt to say or spell, they are the name of one of the many local caves, possibly the most famous. Our journey began after a pancake breakfast at Trek Stop. We loaded up in water savvy clothing and boarded our modified tour truck. We made a quick stop to p0ick up our day packs and lunch then made our way to the “parking lot” of ATM. They parking lot is in the middle of a forest, it is absolutely stunning. From there we went for a hike crossing three or so small streams in the process. Those of you reading who know about my knee injury are possibly wondering how I managed this. Well one of our lovely guides brought a broom handle for me to use as a walking stick. It is safe to say without my stick I wouldn’t have made it very far! After our hike we come to a picnic grounds and get into groups with our headlamps and helmets and started on a short hike which lead to the mouth of a cave. To get into the cave we had to swim a few yards where we made it into dry land, but the cave had several other locations requiring swimming. There were several tight spots and we were constantly ducking and hitting our heads and squeezing between rocks hoping to not get stuck. There were areas where we climbed rock formations. I had my stick to help me get up, used mostly like a lever in these tight spots and used my arms to pull me up. There are not words to explain the beauty of this cave. Not only the natural wonders but also the remains left by Mayans during rituals. The cave is symbolic to the Mayan people because it is considered to be the gate way to the underworld. For that reason it is important to respect the cave. We make as little impact as possible traveling part way in water shoes and part way in socks. This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I can’t tell you enough how gorgeous it was and how I simply cannot describe it. Although I have to say it is a hard trip, but very worthwhile!

ESTRELA "STAR" YGLECIAS: The Cave was AMAZING!!!!!!! Nothing I would have imagined. You have to swim in to get in, and swim through rivers inside. Wish you guys were here to experience it with us. I didn’t want to leave the cave, I just wanted to stay longer.

The Belize Zoo and Cayo

2010-05-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

Joni and Leilani next to display of Jabiru stork

Corey and "Boa" the boa constrictor

Cassidi and Boa with Kelsi, Joni Emil and Dr. Wright in back

Meghann and Osiris at Lizbeth's house in Succotz village

Hey everyone. The class is here at Trek Stop Ecolodge in the Cayo District (western border). Lisbeth, one of the Belizean students from Succotz village is presently taking the class on a walking tour of her village. Earlier this afternoon, Sylvino with Cayo Adventure Tours delivered the class here from La Milpa via the Belize Zoo, a quick lunch stop at Cheers, and then some time to tour San Ignacio town. Here are some web links...

The Belize Zoo: www.belizezoo.org
The Trek Stop: www.thetrekstop.com

Mist netting and Lamanai ruins

2010-05-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Dr. Wright marking a captured honeycreeper

Rachel with American red start in hand

Meghann and Emil getting instruction from Dr. Wright (with red-legged honey creeper in hand)

Boating on New River to Lamanai Maya ruin (Dr. Wright and Katie in front)

Climbing Lamanai temple

Estrella at the top of Lamanai ruin (view of New River lagoon in the background)

Class at the base of Lamanai's main temple

The class is continuing their field work this morning and then touring Lamanai Maya Archeological site.

Belize it! Day 3 at La Milpa

2010-05-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Joni recording plant transect data

Katie and Emil measuring a bird's wing length

Osiris, Ryan and Emil photographing bird

The class during La Milpa site orientation

Dr. Wright's lecture on experimental design

Dr. Wright checking on Katie and Ryan's bird extraction from mist net

Dr. Wright and staff leading a morning hike to see study sites

Mid-day meal at La Milpa outdoor dining room

Plant transect group near the Mahogany trail

Dr. Wright and the class are doing great! The students (and guides Emil and Kimo) are working very hard on the Tropical Field Ecology projects. One group has been capturing birds in the mist nets for a biodiversity study. A second is drawing a blood samples from these birds and capturing mosquitos to test for avaian malaria. The third group is running plant transects to measure insect herbivory. These students are amazing and the 2 Belizean students are fitting right in. We are all big fans of the hot water showers, nice food and hammocks here at the beautiful La Milpa site. A big thanks to Vladamir, Jorge and the rest of the staff at Programme for Belize.

Here are some messages from this morning:

LISBETH: Hi Everybody. I’m Lisbeth Perez. I am from San Jose Succotz village and I attend Galen University here in Belize. I am enjoying being with the students of New Mexico State University. It is my first time being outside home doing field work but I am enjoying it a lot. I am working with the group of plants and how plants are damaged with insects in Belize. We have been working so hard out and in the bush. We are measuring the outer part and today we are measuring the inner part of the forest. In my team, we are Estrella, Vicki, Joni, Leilani and myself.

KIMO: Good morning, this is Kimo Jolly. I'm the coordinator of the Belize Field School here in Belize. The NMSU students - they are excellent – they are great! I'm with the plant group - we are running a couple plant transacts to compare edges with interior forest ecosystem - comparing insect predation of forest edges and the interior.

COREY: Hello from the jungle, this is Corey Jefferson. I am part of the malaria group. In conjunction with the bird group, we are mist netting birds and attempting to trap mosquitoes. From the birds we are obtaining blood for thin smear preparation; from the mosquitoes we will obtain mid-guts. The purpose is to determine the prevalence of avian malaria parasites infecting Belizean Neoaves and Culex mosquitoes, the major avian malaria vector. Aside from the project, Belize is amazing. A five minute walk from the place we’re staying we can find howler monkeys. Reagan and Blair, I miss you monkeys. I can’t wait to show you this place.

Corey blogging after breakfast

La Milpa, Day 2

2010-05-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Rachel taking notes at orientation

Kelsi and Vladamir hiking 'medicinal trail'

Kimo and Vladamir having a logistics pow-wow

Daniel Velazquez creating a video diary of the course

Emil Gamez, our star guide. (You may have seen him on Discovery, History or Travel channels 'for real!")

La Milpa dorms (with hot water showers, ahhhh)

Cassidi viewing Black Howler Monkeys

Here are a few messages from students about their first 2 days in Belize...

RACHEL: Well folks, we’ve made it… you betta belize it.

Yesterday we arrived in the airport of Belize where we successfully made it through the greeting checkpoint and the customs counter. We were then greeted by Kimo, Kristi, Emil and Daniel and we packed our bags, got into a lovely air conditioned bus-esque vehicle and rode our way to Orange Walk (1.5 hours). We stopped in Orange Walk to get gas and purchase a last minute chocolate bar or two. We then continued on our voyage to the La Milpa Field Station (1.5 hours). Vladimir found us and much to our relief let us go unpack our bags into our rooms and then eat! The dormitories are rooms with two bunk beds and a loft. We had a brief introduction to the camp, ate, and then went to bed.

At the ripe hour of 5:45am we all arose to go on a bird walk. We observed an Oscillated Turkey, Keel Bill Toucan, White-Collared Sead-Eater, Roadside Hawk, Red-Headed Turkey Vultures, many types of hummingbirds, all the while hearing a howling in the distance… the Black Howler Monkeys. Much to our enjoyment we got to venture in their direction. We saw 3 adult Howlers and one of them was carrying the baby. It was an amazing sight to see and we’ll try to post pictures for you all soon!!
After our bird walk we were given a delicious breakfast of eggs, cheese, tortas, a slice of salami and fresh fruit. The condiment of choice here in Belize is Marie Sharp’s Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce. It’s addicting and delicious!

Our next adventure of the day was touring the local hiking trails that introduced our group to three types of forest so that our special project groups could decide where they wanted to conduct their study. Prior to embarking into the forests Vladimir told us a bit about the program here, Programme for Belize. It is a non-profit organization, has been working in this area for 22 years, and hosts over 460,000 acres of protected land. The hikes we went on were brief introductions to the Cohune Forest, the Medicinal Trail (which is a young forest that then segways into an older forest), and the Bajo Forest (which has a 4-6 foot layer of clay beneath the surface). All three forests provided us with an excellent taste of what the area was like. We transitioned from our hikes into a lecture about our experiments, ate lunch and then began our projects!!

The groups are conducting field experiments that include mist netting birds, sampling avian blood for the presence of malaria as well as checking mosquitoes for malaria as well, and assessing insect herbivore damage. All groups found their sites and hit the ground running.

The bird groups set up mist nets and caught an astounding amount of two birds, Greenish Elania and the Stub-Tailed Spay Bill… but there is much promise for the 4am mist netting tomorrow! The plant group set up their line transects and started sampling plant damage along the outer edge of the forest.

After a LONG day of work, this group ate some delicious food for dinner and joined a guide for a night tour of one of the trials. The night trail allowed us to hear the wildlife in the forests and see some of the bioluminescent plants in the area.
All in all, we’re having an amazing time. Very limited bug bites to date. Going to be out in the field tomorrow… keep you’re fingers crossed we catch lots and lots of birds!!!

SHOUT OUTS:

Estrella “Star” Yglecias: Hi mom, dad, cristal and Rayne..I miss you guys, having a really great time. I MISS YOU, AND LOVE YOU VERY MUCH RAYNE. See you guys in 11 days.

Vicki St. Clair: Hi guys. I hope you don’t miss me too much. It is so beautiful here, I am having a blast. Tell nana I love her and I hope she is feeling better. I love you and I miss you. See you soon.

Joni Loyd: Hey Everyone! It so beautiful down here, even the weather! Believe it or not, I’m not sunburned! :] Hey mom, would you post the blog web address on my fb wall, I may have forgotten to tell my friends about it! Oops! Thank you everyone who has been praying for my safety on this trip. I feel it! My knee is doing alright and I’m diligently doing my exercises and icing my injury. I love you mom, dad and ber and all my extended and adopted families. See you guys soon, although I’m in no rush to go back!

Rachel Judge: mom and dad i miss you tons. mom, i realized we talk on the phone 20 times a day sometimes and i have been wanting to call you after everything cool. love you guys and miss you tons. hope you’re feeling better, dad and are well on your way to recovery for our own central american adventures!! Xo

We're here!

2010-05-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody. This is Kristi, the Director of the Belize Field School for New Mexico State University. Students of Dr Tim Wright's class arrived in Belize today and we are currently at Blue Creek Village on our way to La Milpa Research station-where we will spend the next four days. We are stopping here at Blue Creek Village only long enough to call my dad back in Las Cruces so he can post this short message - WE'RE HERE and all doing well. Please check back later for more details.

Scarlet Macaw project

2010-04-13T15:04:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone. We're ready and waiting for Dr. Tim Wright's class from New Mexico State University to arrive May 9. They'll spend 2 weeks here in Belize at La Milpa Field Station, Cayo, Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve and then Tobacco caye. Check back May 9 for class updates!

So, until then - I get to help with Charles' Scarlet Macaw project. It's going really well for them but unfortunately yesterday we weren't able to get two kayaks fixed in time for me to go out this week. SO, Charles and Brad are using the 2 working ones (the other 2 needs repairs) and James who's visiting from New Mexico doing short fish project is using his own blow up kayak. Our friends Ernesto, Daniel, and a belizean student who was with us on Dr. Roemer's class last year (Ron - who's dad owns Chaa Creek) helped find a solution to the kayak repair issue. No plastic welders in Belize but we may have come up with a temporary solution involving roofing materials...we'll see!

The drop off at Ballerina road/reservoir put in. The Jeep and the guys preparing for the 5-day expedition up Raspaculo.

Brad sharpening his machete. Notice the new gloves (thanks to Brad's mom for those and a million other things she's sent in care packages!)

Charles and Brad starting off (it's pretty mucky in the res).

Taking off on the Macal river (reservoir above Chalillo Dam); James on the left, Charles and Brad.

This macaw project is hard work. It's mostly due to humor (and going a little nutty) that they aren't burned out yet despite weeks of intense field work - with only a day or 2 off to fix the jeep, wash clothes, buy food, make jerky, update their data points, update the blog...and then hope to have time to sleep/relax. They are constantly on the go! If you haven't read their blog about what they are doing - you just have to see for yourself. Check out Charles' blog http://scarlet-macaws.blogspot.com/.

Glovers Reef Atoll

2010-03-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Dr. Nishiguchi's Tropical Marine Ecology class headed to Glovers reef atoll yesterday (Thursday). A hour boat ride east from Tobacco caye, Glovers has some amazingly pristine reef in Belize. The guides, Nish and the students spent a whole day snorkeling and logging species into journals, stopped for a packed lunch on Glovers island and then headed back to Tobacco base - and then they were still hyped up enough to do a night snorkel in the shallow cove - this is an energetic bunch! Everyone is getting a lot of field time in on this marine ecology course. That, mixed with our traveling microscope lab is providing for a pretty rigorous field ecology experience. I'm amazed at their enthusiasm and very proud at the quality of the program NMSU students are experiencing here in Belize. Nish says: "There is crystal clear visibility in the back reef - you can't ask for more than that - its fantastic!" Student Casey De Leon says "I'm having the time of my life here in Belize." And Mary Wells says "we are finding every reef fish and coral in the book here". It's true - you need to see it to Belize it!

Kristi

Whale Shoal and the Smithsonian

2010-03-25T15:48:00.001-07:00

Here's Chanze below keeping a species log on an underwater slate

Below are Casey de Leon and Luis Morales

Hello! Today Nish's NMSU Tropical Marine Ecology students are continuing their study at Whale Shoal reef site and the Smithsonian research station on Carrie Bow caye (this afternoon) with a stop at Southwater caye. Incredible class - the students are learning a lot and doing really well in their studies! Thanks to the marine guides: Kimo, Melanie and captain Lloyd. Scroll down- we are catching up on postings from earlier this week...

Ecology Lab, Mangroves, Bird Island and a close encounter with a Manatee

2010-03-25T15:44:00.001-07:00

Hi guys! My name is Stephanie and I am another one of the lucky students that got to come on this amazing learning experience with the Belize field school. Let me just start off with WOW!!!!! We are only half way into this journey and have already experienced so much! We have learned about cultural differences between our community back home and the community here, about the ancient and modern mayan cultures, different types of forests, rivers, coastal zones, reef habitats and all the creatures that live within these places. It has truly been a sensory overload, not that any of us are complaining. Last night and today several of our students and coordinators came down with some sort of bug, myself included. But, for the most part everyone is feeling better. While some of us were resting up, the rest of the class went on an intertidal walk and were able to collect different sea specimans. They took the different organisms to our make-shift lab and were able to examine them more closely with microscopes. One table in our dining area has also been dedicated to our learning purposes. We have all sorts of books and reference materials to help us identify what we are seeing in the field. Also on the agenda today is a snorkel to the mangroves. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will be in better health and be able to go back out into the field. We miss you all back at home and look forward to talking everyone’s ears off when we arrive home ;)

My name is Cassie. Everyone here has come to know Stephanie and I as "the twins". One goal for me on this trip was to see a manatee. They usually hang out at the mangroves, but we did not see any the other day when we came down the river. Today we saw 3 from the boat! After we were all satisfied with seeing white blobs swim away very fast, we jumped in for a snorkel and there was one right under us! 4 of us followed him for a while and he was HUGE!!! This trip is amazing!! Hello Mom, Dad, Puffin and Crystal!!!!!

Maya Center and Tobacco Caye

2010-03-24T08:24:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone! My name is Luis Morales and I am one of the students in the Belize Field School. While at the Maya Center, our class had the opportunity to support the local indigenous community by purchasing handmade products from the craftswomen. It’s interesting to note that the entire community is run by women. At times they’ve taken drastic measures such as blocking roads with trees and wielding machetes to protect their “Tierra Y Libertad.” An inspiring story for anyone who believes in human rights and creating self-sustaining communities that is harmonious with the local ecology.

After our indigenous shopping experience, we proceeded to visit the newly created Maya Museum, which features a working model of a typical Maya home. Frank, Alex and Erin tested their tortilla making skills, and Casey, “The Lion,” had an explosive experience with an entire habanero!! The local Senora had quite a laugh. We also ate lunch at the Center, an array of Maya foods such as: Col with boiled eggs(made with annato), atole, chaya, bollos(tamales), chaya juice, and a dish consisting of tomatoes and hardboiled eggs with a funky sounding name I can’t remember.

Ok, so off to Tobacco Caye!!! We situated ourselves along the mosquito infested Sittee River, where Frank got cross-cultural and donned a t-shirt as a turban and a towel as a dress to protect him from the killer mosquitoes. It was quite comical. During our transitional boat trip from a freshwater ecosystem to the salty sea world, Kimo explained the current condition of this ecosystem. Due to intense financial pressure, Lots of land are selling for six figures. To make these lots ‘attractive’ the riparian forests are being cut down, which contain the very important mangroves responsible for stabilizing sediment and uptaking nutrients, not to mention providing a habitat for seabirds and young fish. It was quite sad to know there are no plans to control this destructive development practice.

After a beautiful thirty minute boat ride, we finally arrived at our house for the next six days! It was so exciting to be back, and the class seemed ready to settle in. After a brief introduction and a quick caveat regarding the precarious coconut trees, we were off to our snorkel lesson in the seagrass. Everyone had a blast (wink-wink), getting used to and adjusting their equipment. We were then treated to a Garifuna dinner, not entirely unlike a New Mexican Dinner of rice with beans, chicken, and potato salad, with some oh so good Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce. After a quick meeting it was off to bed for the sleepyheads. Everyone else experienced Garifuna Drumming, and our first encounters with the local wildlife.

Xunantunich and River Clean Up

2010-03-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning, Lenney Gentle took the class on a early bird walk at the Trek Stop - it's own 22 acre private reserve, butterfly farm, museum - even a frisbee golf course!

Later the class headed to Xunantunich Maya ruin right across the river from Trek Stop.

We ended the day with a river clean up service project on the Macal River right in San Ignacio town. It's a really great thing for students to experience the west before heading to the cayes - not only are they seeing the transition between the ecosystems, but they are seeing that there are strong connections between healthy rivers and healthy reef. Also, learning about cultures and how people live in these environments is critical to their understanding of the larger pictures of how these ecosystems work.

During the river clean up, it was a great experience working side by side with youth from Sacred Heart Junior College cleaning up garbage on the banks of the river and then canoeing up and down stream to see riparian habitat - Thanks NMSU for helping keep Cayo clean!

On Monday we picked up our two Belizean students, Lisa and Gedisa - 2 serious Biology students. Gedisa from Galen U. is pictured below from Sunday's river cleanup -she's in the front with Erin, Chanz and Nish.

Driving through the Hummingbird Highway was incredibly beautiful, with of course a stop at gravity hill to witness our bus roll UPhill - an optical illusion that left people's jaws dropped!

Right now we're headed to Maya Center enjoying a traditional Maya lunch and a tour of the brand new Maya museum. We'll be headed straight from here to Sittee River where we catch a boat all the way through the river and mangrove systems out to the lagoon and Tobacco caye. Should be a beautiful trip! It is overcast today but nice and cool.

Below is a photo of Lenney (left), Nish, and Kimo - our stellar guides and instructor.

"ATM" Cave

2010-03-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! This is Kristi again with a quick update: The NMSU Belize Field School course is strong into its 3rd day today (Sunday). Our muscles are sore this morning from a tour through ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) cave - but it was fantastic!! ATM cave is one of the premier cave tours and although a minor vehicle breakdown delayed us about 1/2 hour, we still got to the cave early enough to have the cave ALMOST to ourselves. What an experience this was - you can’t come close to describing it with words – not even photos. You just have to see it for yourself. This is the entrance to Xibalba - first stop on the way to the Maya underworld.

Our star guides Emil Gamez -pictured below with the helmet- and Lenney Gentle were our cave guides. (They are actually stars - Emil has been on several international television shows and Lenney was featured in the New York Times). We don't mess around - New Mexico State University is getting the premier experience!

Here's a group photo inside the cave and a couple from Alex's waterproof camera! We were having a blast!

We're here! Can you Belize it?

2010-03-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

The New Mexico State University Tropical Marine Ecology class has arrived!! Belize Field School Coordinator Kimo Jolly, filmmaker Daniel Velazquez, and I were all at the airport to meet Dr. Michele Nishiguchi's class for a quick welcome.

Pictured below is one of the students, Stephanie, with a stuffed animal she hand-carried to Belize. The students packed up and carried 13 boxes of primary school library books - for primary schools in Cayo District, western Belize - and stuffed animals - for the Ministry of Human Development in Belize City.

Then we loaded up on the bus and were quickly on our way to the first stop: the Belize Zoo.

The Zoo is a really interesting and educational stop. Students get a chance to see here what they probably wouldn’t see in the wild, especially since this is a marine biology class! We were seeing jaguar, ocelot, kinkajou, tapir, scarlet macaw, peccary, howler monkeys, harpy eagle – you name it.

We drove on to Cayo District and San Jose Succtoz village and arrived at Trek Stop Eco lodge where plates of rice and beans, stewed chicken, coleslaw, and fried plantain were waiting. Delicious! Then a Welcome and orientation by the extraordinary Kimo Jolly, the coordinator of the program. A busy day is planned tomorrow - to ATM cave we go!! Stay tuned for more updates from me and the students...
Kristi Drexler, Director
Belize Field School Program, New Mexico State University

Succotz Learning Center and Library

2010-03-12T13:14:00.001-08:00

This week I visited San Jose Succotz Community Library. International Friends of Belize (www.friendsofbelize.org) funded a project there as well. This village is quaint, right next to the Mopan river, and within view of the famous Xunantunich Maya Ruin.

Ms. Olivia Pat is one of the most dedicated people I know in Belize. She runs the Center and volunteers her time along with other teachers to oversee this after-school center. The kids I saw using the learning center were using encyclopedias, story books, and scratch paper – more of which are needed here, especially current encyclopedias. This library is free and open to the public. Many students use these books to do school research if they can’t afford an internet café.

New Mexico State University students are helping by carrying 12 boxes of books to Belize next week (March 19). A few boxes will be donated to Ms. Olivia and some will go to other school libraries. Also, they are carrying dozens of small stuffed pillow like cats, butterflies, lady bugs, etc. - these were donated by the NMSU School of Social Work in Albuquerque to the Ministry of Human Development to help kids in Belize. So, bit-by-bit, student-by-student, we can help get the load to Belize!!

La Ruta Maya

2010-03-05T10:20:00.001-08:00

“Once you drink the water, you always come back” is a popular Belizean saying – it’s been true for me for 12 years! I ‘just reached’ Cayo a few days ago and am glad to be back. The Belize Field School staff and I can't wait for the New Mexico State University students and Professor Michele Nishiguchi to get here!!

Today was the start of the annual La Ruta Maya canoe race. My mission the past few days was to meet up with the Sacred Heart Junior College group to check up on a Ruta Maya Clean up activity that Int’l Friends of Belize funded. Check us out: www.friendsofbelize.org.

The event and the clean-up went really well this morning and there are more plans for on-going cleanup events with young enthusiastic people – I’m so encouraged by this. (They have 2 more clean-ups semi scheduled while I’m here including one with the NMSU students and one on Earth Day hopefully - so I’ll post more photos of those).

La Ruta is a great event - loads of people come out to watch, cheer, and of course hope for canoe wrecks/flips. Watching this morning brought me back to when Charlie Houghton, Robin Davis and I paddled the race in 1998 – the first Peace Corps team - what a trip that was!! No training, just pasta the night the before and wham we’re racing a canoe for 4 days – great memories! So glad to be back 'eena Belize'!