I'm sitting on the porch at Chan Chich listening to an excited group of birders argue over which type of bird they just saw using words I've never heard befeore ("Was it a slatty-tailed or a violaceous trogun?" I feel like I've fallen into an avian Jabbberwocky). One older gentleman in particular is bragging up a storm - he just saw a jaguar on the road to the villege (note to self: tell Sam and Emma not to run that way in the morning ...), and when he ran out of juice with that story he started on about the harpy eagle he saw last week in Panama. Don't let their mild-mannered looks fool you ... these folks are as competitive as any sports fans I've ever met.
We spent the morning in groups doing a few things - visiting the school, touring the agricultural operations here and riding (as the group rode by the school Jake came running out and Emil hauled him up onto his horse for the rest of the ride!). Blair, Cat and Sam G. got a special treat - Emil took them out for a gallop around the mango groves. Video to come later.
The kids got Matt's patented Reader's Digest tour of: the coffee plants, the cacao grove (ask them about eating the gooey white goop in which the seeds grow inside the pods), the coffee roasting plant, the cacao processing (ask them what a roasted cacao seed tastes like), the mahogany timber mill, the furniture makers, the hot sauce kitchen ... I'm sure I'm missing something.
I brought the bulk of the group out to Chan Chich to relax and swim for the early afternoon and Matt gave Blair and Cat their private tour after riding - they got lucky and saw a wild peccary along the road, as well as 2 playful spider monkeys by the parking lot. Add to that the howler mom and baby thhey saw yesterday and they win the wildlife-spotting prize (though they were not in the group that saw the big ol' tarantula last night ...)
Speaking of cacao ... have I mentioned the chocolate treat Zander shared with me last night? Though they grow and process cacao here, they don't make chocolate from it (sadly). But one of the women in the village has been fooling with the roasted cacao, and last night Zander shared a bit with me. It was amaaaaaaazzzzzing ... and the girls are jealous and want to try to make it themselves. The woman in the village uses a Mayan metate (stone tray and smushing thingy - sorry for showing off my technical jargon) to grind it up, so we'll see how the girls make do.
The timing is working out - the kids are ready for the next leg, will sleep well tonight and likely in the van tomorrow as well as we make the long trek back down the bumpy dirt road, east on the western highway, return our vehicles, get a ride to the water taxi and take the boat the hour ride to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye for some sand and sun. A few pictures of the day below ...
We spent the morning in groups doing a few things - visiting the school, touring the agricultural operations here and riding (as the group rode by the school Jake came running out and Emil hauled him up onto his horse for the rest of the ride!). Blair, Cat and Sam G. got a special treat - Emil took them out for a gallop around the mango groves. Video to come later.
The kids got Matt's patented Reader's Digest tour of: the coffee plants, the cacao grove (ask them about eating the gooey white goop in which the seeds grow inside the pods), the coffee roasting plant, the cacao processing (ask them what a roasted cacao seed tastes like), the mahogany timber mill, the furniture makers, the hot sauce kitchen ... I'm sure I'm missing something.
I brought the bulk of the group out to Chan Chich to relax and swim for the early afternoon and Matt gave Blair and Cat their private tour after riding - they got lucky and saw a wild peccary along the road, as well as 2 playful spider monkeys by the parking lot. Add to that the howler mom and baby thhey saw yesterday and they win the wildlife-spotting prize (though they were not in the group that saw the big ol' tarantula last night ...)
The timing is working out - the kids are ready for the next leg, will sleep well tonight and likely in the van tomorrow as well as we make the long trek back down the bumpy dirt road, east on the western highway, return our vehicles, get a ride to the water taxi and take the boat the hour ride to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye for some sand and sun. A few pictures of the day below ...
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