El Mirador y Flores

 December 10

Our last day in Guatemala centered around a trip to El Mirador, a massive and very early Mayan city near the Mexican border. First, however, we went for a two hour bird walk at Las Guacamayas, seeing several new bird species. Several of these were classic “tiny birds in dense foliage”, which are very satisfying to finally track down. 

One of the projects of the local WCS team is to support the breeding and survival of scarlet macaws. These birds are prevalent  in other Central American counties but not in Guatemala. At this time of year they are not nesting, although two were seen earlier this week scouting out the nesting site. As we approached the nesting site this  morning we saw two Collared Forest-Falcons, a major predator of baby macaws.  

After breakfast we boarded helicopters for a short flight to El Mirador. El Mirador is a huge site, five times the size of Tikal. The city was so large that it included a 23 km long causeway (50m wide and built 6m above the surrounding plain) to connect the central administrative area with outlying temples. it also includes the most massive Mayan structure (acropolis Danta) in the Americas: three platforms topped with ceremonial pyramids. The lowest platform is 310m x 590m and 10m high. The full structure is 72m high and the view from the top was spectacular. El Mirador was active between 600 BC and 150 AD; it was a massive center when Tikal was just a village. As with any city, feeding the population and finding enough water was a critical requirement, and it is hypothesized that the city collapsed when the natural resources had been over-exploited. 

The site is from the “pre-classical” period while most surviving written records (as at Tikal) are from the later classical period. There is much that we do not know about El Mirador. The site was discovered from the air in the 1930s and has been actively excavated since the 1980s. It remains quite remote with only a small portion excavated or restored. As with Tikal it is hard to imagine it as an open and cleared space rather than the current forest or jungle, and to realize that every part of the topography is hiding manmade features. 

In the late afternoon we helicoptered to Flores, a city on a small island in a lake fed by the San Pedro River. En route we were again able to see the effects of fire and illegal cattle ranching on the forest. Flores was the last Mayan holdout during Spanish conquest

as the lake served as a natural moat. Once the city fell, the Spanish built religious buildings on top of the Mayan pyramids. Today it is a quaint tourist focused area; most tourists coming to visit Tikal stay in Flores and drive over to the site (1.5 hours on paved roads) for the day. 

Pictured: Acropolis Danta from the air, long-billed gnatwren, collared forest-falcon, stucco frieze adorning water features at the administrative center 

Las Guacamayas

December 9

We began the day with a bird walk in Tikal before breakfast on a misty morning.  We drove south to the park exit and then to a local soccer field. We rode by helicopter to our next destination, Las Guacamayas research station in the Laguna del Tigre national park. The twenty minute helicopter ride took us over the “buffer zone” of the Tikal National Park—- the contrast between cattle ranches on one side and dense forest on the other was dramatic. Traveling by air also spared us a three hour bouncy car ride. 

Upon arrival at the research stations, we climbed into a skiff to travel upriver on the Rio San Pedro to Paso de Caballos. This village is larger in population and is contained within the national park. They have only recently adopted conservation protocols with the ministry of forests. Already their organized approach is having impact: during the most recent dry season there were many fires in this section of Guatemala, but none near this village or the concessions we saw north of Tikal. The importance of these conservation communities cannot be overstated, nor the role of WCS on the ground to support them. 

The research station over looks the San Pedro river and is really a lovely spot. Over lunch we learned about some of their work using camera traps to monitor mammal behaviors. Some of the video footage was surprising and amusing. We walked through the forest to an overlook, at one point surrounded by a large flock of mealy parrots on migration. Then after dinner we went back out on the river to look for owls and crocodiles. 

Pictures: Gray fox, black and white owl, sunset on the San Pedro River from our room

Tikal and Uaxactun

 December 8

Today was a full day of immersion into local and ancient culture.  A pre-breakfast bird walk started the day. We spent the morning and early afternoon at Uaxactun, a community about 23km from Tikal.  The village (currently about 800 people) has been in place for well over 100 years.  Starting in the early 1900s, Uaxactun (then called El Bambunal) was supplying sap from the Sapodilla tree to two large chewing gum companies in the US.  It was the basis for the local economy, supplemented by other forest -based products. An air strip was the primary access to the village until the 1980s when the airstrip was discontinued and a road established to Tikal. 

The community adopted a conservation mindset early on, and when the government started granting concessions of land to indigenous communities (in exchange for stewardship commitments), Uaxactun was one of the earliest communities to be registered and received the largest land grant (32,000 hectares within the Maya Biosphere Reserve). 

We were able to watch the sap be boiled down for shipment. We also visited the nursery where saplings are raised to reforest damaged areas, the processing plant for Xate (a forest plant that provides the dark greenery in many commercial bouquets), and the sawmill. There are 12 species of trees harvested, but only two are useful for export (forms of cedar and mahogany). This is precision forestry— they have a management plan where a given area is only forested every 40 years to allow for recovery, and the forestry only removes a single tree per hectare in a year!

The community elders recognize that additional revenue streams are needed to support the livelihood of the village and to cover the costs of protecting their land grant from poachers, fire, and encroachment from cattle farms. They are investing in tourism offerings, including building some modest tourist accommodations.  They certainly have the assets to offer a unique immersive experience, as well as options for birding or archaeological tours (see below). 

Perhaps the most surprising thing we learned today is that Uaxactun is the site of the first lowland Maya city to be excavated in Guatemala. The ruins were discovered in 1916 and excavated by a team from the university of Pennsylvania. Uaxactun established the convention for naming sites in other Maya cities (for example the astronomical set of buildings is always Group E).  There are seven different pyramid, palace or temple groupings on two hills on east and west sides of the village. The astronomical site included buildings aligned to sunrise on the equinoxes and solstices. 

After a wonderful lunch, we drove back to Tikal and walked up into the site itself. The sheer scale is overwhelming.  The site was discovered in 1848 but not excavated until 1936 as there was no access to the area.  Several pyramids and temples were restored at that time and are the core of the tourist experience. Many unexcavated areas still exist, and to walk to each building is a path of 17 km.  The national park was established in 1955.  We had special permits to allow us to stay in the park through (and after) sunset. 

Pictured: ornate hawk eagle, spider monkey on temple stairs at Tikal, iconic views of Tikal 

On to Guatemala

 December 7

We frequently write “today was a travel day”. Today really was— 11 hours door to door. An early morning 1.5 hour boat ride back to the mainland, then 1.5 hour drive to a local reserve. More on that later. After lunch  a 2 hour drive to the Guatemalan border and then 1.5 hours to the Tikal Park. Our lodge for the next two nights is inside the park.  After dinner we walked through a section of the park looking for frogs and other nocturnal creatures. We didn’t see a lot, but walking in the dark is always fun. 

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the hike through the local Belizean reserve to a beautiful cave. With hard hats and lights we went into the cave. Caves were viewed in Mayan times as portals to the underworld, and ceremonies included food offerings to appease the spirits on behalf of departed relatives. Our guides led us in a short ceremony (in the dark by the light of a natural incense wax collected during our walk up to the caves) thanking the spirits of the cave. One of the young men recited the prayer in the ancient Mayan language. Afterwards we had a lovely picnic lunch in the open portion of the cave. 

Both at lunch and at dinner we learned more about WCS terrestrial programs in this region. In Belize the efforts are largely to re-establish corridors of protected land to connect the large reserves in the north and south of the country. In Guatemala, the issue is illegal cattle ranching and its relationship to money laundering for drug cartels. It can be dangerous to be a conservation advocate in Guatemala and several other countries in the northern part of Central America. 

Pictured: small bat from the cave, cave scorpion spider, views inside the cave

Wind and waves

December 6

 Our original plan for today was to snorkel in the morning and meet with local fishermen in the afternoon. The last two days have been windy, and the ocean side of the reef has had impressive waves, but yesterday the stalwart boat captain was able to take us out to snorkel on sections of the reef. Today, however, the wind was fierce with overcast skies and periodic heavy rain.  The combination of wind and waves can reduce visibility in the water quite a lot, making snorkeling less productive. More importantly, it introduced safety hazards. As the captain said, getting off the boat into the water isn’t difficult, but trying to climb back in can be a real problem on a heaving sea! 

While all conservation efforts have some effect on the nearby communities, it is particularly true for coastal communities and their fishermen.  The policies are designed to ensure that their catch species will be sustained for future generations, but there are consequences to the current generation. This afternoon we were to meet with local fishermen to understand how the conservation policies (protected zones, size limits on catch, prohibited fishing methods like long lines) affected them. Unfortunately another consequence of the poor weather was that these local fishermen headed back to shore. 

For all of those reasons, today was a quiet day on shore, getting to know more about WCS global conservation programs and getting to know our fellow travelers better. 

The Wildlife Conservation Society has been in existence since 1895, initially as the New York Zoological Society.  They have had a time in conservation from the beginning, when Theodore Roosevelt brought bison to the Bronx Zoo to save them from extinction. WCS has the world’s largest network of urban wildlife parks, and for those of us that live in the NYC area or who have watched “The Zoo”, that is what we think when we hear “WCS”. 

WCS has the largest on-the-ground global field team of any conservation NGO. They currently operate in 57 countries and have a role in maintaining over 600 protected areas (both marine and terrestrial) around the world. As noted yesterday, they work in partnership with governments, private entities and local communities, driving policy based on deep field research. 

We were particularly fascinated by the work WCS is doing in Congo, in an area with few people and good concentrations of western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees and other species. The infrastructure for eco-tourism doesn’t exist yet. WCS works with local communities and local mining interests to enable the local economy while reducing damage to the environment or the animals within it. Tough, strategic work far from the public eye. 

The wind quieted down in the late afternoon and we were able to do a little birding. After dinner several of us went out on the eastern docks to look for fish in the lagoon—- several enormous tarpons, a scorpion fish and an eagle ray all put in appearances.  Of course the wind picked up again to make photography a challenge!

Pictured: an iguana from Middle Caye yesterday, yellow-throated warbler, scorpionfish, eagle ray, and a glimpse of todays weather.

A full day on the reef

 December 5

We spent about two hours this morning in a snorkeling expedition within the Glovers Reef coral atoll. We learned a bit more about the characteristics of a coral atoll — a circular or oval coral reef with an interior body of shallow water and an exterior of deep ocean. We snorkeled in three different areas of coral, separated by bands of sea grass. We saw many more fish today (both species and numbers) as well as rays, spiny lobsters,  and another nurse shark. 

After our snorkeling we visited the nearby WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) research station on Middle Caye. It is the only permanent marine research station in Belize. The island is owned by WCS. The Belize fisheries and coast guard agencies also have staff on the island, and day visitors or overnight researchers are welcome.  The current visiting researchers are from Cornell, working on acoustic technologies to monitor fish and fishing vessels. 

We learned about WCS work in Belize in a series of presentations throughout the day. They have made impressive strides in expanding the number and extent of protected land (both marine and forested) in Belize as well as creating cooperative relationships with government agencies and local communities. 

It has continued to be quite windy. During our dinner out on the dock tonight we had to keep a good hold on our napkins! 

Pictured: huge hermit crab in a queen conch shell, southern ray with his fishy companion, Yucatán vireo, Checkered Cowfish, and a Yellow-crowned Night-heron who insisted on being photographed.

One correction to last night’s posting— it was a striped parrotfish, not a princess.

Belizean Barrier Reef

December 4

Yesterday was a travel day, leaving pre-dawn to fly to Atlanta and then on to Belize City. In the afternoon (after a nap) we wandered a little bit in the vicinity of the hotel. We rewarded with a new warbler species and some old familiar birds from prior trips to Central America. Dinner was at a local resultant right on the water, where the conch fritters were amazing. We learned that the conch harvest is very tightly monitored to ensure sustainability.

This morning was also filled with travel but it a very different sort—- a short drive to a small airstrip, then a 30 minute flight to Dangriga, another short drive and then a 90 minute boat ride out to the Glovers Reef Marine Reserve and the Manta Island resort, our base for the next several days. Glovers Reef Marine Reserve covers the Glovers Atoll, one of three underwater coral reef atolls in the Belizean barrier reef. The reef itself, and its seven reserves, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We paused briefly on our way out at South Water Caye, another of the reserves and the location of a Smithsonian research station. The boat captain did a good job of minimizing the roughness of the ride. Earlier in the week there were small craft warnings posted. Today the winds were gusting to 25 mph, a challenge not only to the crossing (Manta Island is 35 miles offshore on the east side of the main reef) but to our first snorkeling outing this afternoon. 

Initially we had a tiring snorkeling session in an area of sea grass, trying to keep from being swept away by the current and the waves. We moved around the edge of the island to a less windy location and had much better luck — many fish of different species, and a resting nurse shark. The water is quite pleasant; we wore rashers to minimize sunburn and were plenty warm in the water for over an hour.  After dinner, the two of us went exploring to see hermit crabs as they emerge for the night. 

Several of the local WCS Belize team have joined us. Both the local team and our trip leaders have impressive resumes;  their past experiences with the Nature Conservancy, local conservation groups, the Peace Corps and work in Africa means that we learn a great deal from them just in casual conversations. Tomorrow we will visit the WCS research center on Middle Caye. 

Pictured: nurse shark, yellow-throated warbler,  Princess parrotfish, female magnolia warbler and a hermit crab 

Belize and Guatemala with the Wildlife Conservation Society

 We leave on December 3rd for an overnight in Belize City and then three days on Manta Caye, snorkeling in the Glover's Reef Marine Reserve and meeting with local fishermen and wildlife researchers in the area.  Then it's off to Guatemala, first to the area around Tikal and then time in the Maya Biosphere, again meeting with researchers and with local communities that are transforming their economies through eco-tourism. We will visit El Mirador as well as Tikal, and get an unusual view of the landscape by traveling by helicopter over the rougher terrain.  Everywhere we go will be rich with wildlife and discovery -- we'll post photos and reflections when we can!