JAMES: Lamanai or bust! This was our big adventure to the mainland that we had been looking forward to for days. We got up early to be at the dock for our pick up at 7 am. We got picked up by Seaduced and our guides Devon and Leon. We were in a large flat bottom, shallow draft boat for our trip.
The boat ride goes around the south end of the island and over the flats. We saw where lobster fishermen mend their traps and trap their prey, and about history, geography, biology and culture from Devon who was a remarkably articulate and informed young man.
The trip across took about 45 minutes. We reached the mainland and headed up the Northern River for another 15 minutes or so. Part way to Bomba Village, our stop for breakfast, we passed a Mennonite village. The Mennonites moved to Belize in the 50's from Mexico where they ran afoul of the government for refusing induction into the military. They found refuge and isolation in Belize and the government even made a deal with them that they don't have to pay income taxes! They are apparently very good farmers but also, at least here, very good boat builders as well. Thus the name of their village: Shipyard. I sensed some disdain for the Mennonites from our guides however. Many of the Mennonites have accumulated a lot of money due to their tax advantage. At one point our guide referred to them as "Moneynites". I am quite struck as I walk around San Pedro as to the incredible diversity of the people. There are Blacks, Indians, Hispanics and whites and clearly every mix possible. And everyone seems comfortable. Clearly it's what you grow up with here. One of the most poignant comments made by our guide today was, "It is not unusual in Belize to see a black and white couple together and when they have a baby, beautiful!" The Mennonites don't see it that way. They are a very strict and closed society where you only marry one of your own kind. They do not mingle with the rest of society. This clearly is a sore point with the rest of Belizean society.
Devon maneuvered the boat expertly through the narrow channel until eventually we came into a very wide part of the river and into Bomba Village. There are about 70 people in Bomba Village. We debarked and had the opportunity to eat a quick breakfast of chicken or ham on Johnny Cake, orange juice and banana bread. The locals have small shops where they sell wood carvings.
SUSAN: It looked to me as though the people that live in Bomba survive on the tourism that comes through the village. They make wood bowls and other utensils from rosewood. We were served breakfast sandwiches and orange juice. This is one of the little girls of the lady that served us breakfast. We were told to use the restroom before the next leg of the trip which would be a bus trip over the old Northern Highway to New River. We loaded ourselves into the school bus. We had plenty of room on the bus but it was mighty hot and it was a very bumpy ride. The road was full of major pot holes!
JAMES: At Bomba they then loaded us onto a school bus for the next leg of our journey to our jumping off point and final boat ride to Lamanai. It was a teeth-rattling journey. The road is composed of limestone chunks held together with dust. The previous year the road had flooded out four times and had still not been repaired. Our bus driver drove as only a local could: veering crazily from side to side alternately braking to a near standstill and accelerating to catch up time. We got absolutely pounded, rattled and generally beat up for about an hour. Our guide Leon gave a running commentary, describing flora and fauna and local customs the whole way. In all, we probably covered only 20-25 miles, but it felt like a lot more. Here's a quick taste of what it was like. Sadly you can't feel what we felt.
Finally, mercifully, we reached a paved road and shortly were at our final embarkation point. It is a government operated facility, a park. We went to the bathroom and got aboard. This guy was there to greet us. Crazy, huh?
Our guide at this point was Nathaniel. First we headed up river past John McAfee's (McAfee Anti-virus) original house. McAfee ran afoul of he Belize government when a friend of his was mysteriously murdered. McAfee ran off, one step ahead of the law and hid out for awhile before being extradited back to the US. Apparently he was a very eccentric and paranoid guy.
Just back down the river we passed an island with a lone resident spider monkey. He came down to the water to greet us but we were told that he will occasionally jump on board and go through people's stuff looking for food.
We then headed down river. Went past a sugar mill, rum factory and rehab house (!). If you can't appreciate the irony, you're not paying attention. The sugar mill is the shorter building on the left. The rum factory is the taller, cantilevered building. The rum came about originally when they were trying to find a use for the molasses that was left over from the sugar refining process.
Nathaniel was thorough, well-schooled and almost hyper-polite. We wound in and around the mangrove maze. There was an occasional fisherman and a few wading birds but not much else out there. We did stop once to look at an old rotten tree trunk. Nathaniel said that there were bats on the trunk. I couldn't see them, can you?
The mangroves are intensely thick and their roots intertwine making an almost impenetrable wall.
After about 40 minutes we finally arrived at the Lamanai landing. It is administered by a government agency so is clean and well maintained. There is a large museum with displays of artifacts and descriptions of the history and nature on the site. So far at least 700 different buildings have been discovered on a site that runs almost a mile down the New River. We ate a "typical" Belizean lunch of cooked chicken, rice and beans, fresh papaya, coleslaw and another veggie salad. We then started our trek to see the sites. On the way, Nathaniel showed us a Strangler Fig on a Ceiba tree. The Strangler Fig starts at the top of a host tree and sends it's roots down from there, almost completely consuming the host.
He also showed us giant fern trees, the Cojon Palm "horse balls" and others until we reached the first structure.
At this stop we go to see and hear a Howler Monkey with perhaps the most powerful and intimidating roar I've ever heard. The Howlers are territorial and it's their way of defending their turf. Sorry, I didn't get a recording. Google it. It would make a great ring tone.
Further on we climbed an immense pyramid. It was a very steep climb up the face aided by hanging onto a rope. The view from on top was spectacular, above the forest canopy. I would guess you could see at least 30 miles in every direction, including mountains to the south and west and a spectacular view of the New River.
The last big structure was the Jaguar Temple with matching jaguar faces on the front.
After our tour we were encouraged to visit the museum and check out the native craft stores. Then we reboarded our boat and started the long trip back. The return trip was uneventful except for the Mennonites who congregated by the river on Sunday afternoons. At one point we came whipping around a corner and into an opening where there were three Mennonite men and boys dressed in matching overalls, blue plaid shirts and straw hats. It looked like a rehearsal for "Oklahoma". Very disturbing visual... but in a good way.
At the tail end of our return leg, and after long ago having given up hope of seeing one, Nathaniel abruptly stopped the boat and pointed out a crocodile sleeping on a tree limb. Our trip to Lamanai, aka "submerged crocodile" in Mayan, was now complete.
The only downside was that now we had to get back on the bus for another bruising hour long ride back to Bomba. It was everything we feared... and so much more.
When we were a mere three miles from Bomba and the end of our bus trip, suddenly there was an ominous loud hissing noise, a flat tire. We all trooped off the bus while the driver, the guides and coincidentally, the driver's brother all tackled the problem. Apparently the brother lived close by and happened to be on the road riding his motorcycle. It was quite a production. They brought out a six foot piece of two inch pipe to provide extra torque on the lug nuts.
After about twenty minutes we were back on the road. We stopped briefly back in Bomba and then reboarded the boat for the trip back to Ambergris. It was a long, rough trip but the sun was going down and our guides were determined to get us back before dark. Take a boat going 35-40 mph and add a 35-40 mph headwind and it was like riding in a wind tunnel. You couldn't hear, it was hard to sit, and at one point I had to remove my sunglasses so as not to have them blow off my face. After absorbing the punishment for 45 minutes, we finally set foot on solid ground. I felt like I'd been in a blender on "liquify".
After cleaning up we had dinner at El Divino's with lots of ceviche, shrimp, mojitos and awesome Key Lime Pie and called it a night.