We got up to have an early breakfast so we could get on the road to Belmopan. Da Tatch was so close and yesterday's breakfast was good so we decided to go again. I had a fruit bowl that was to die for - there's nothing like really fresh tropical fruit! As a special treat, after breakfast we drove down into the village and stopped at a coffee shop that had ICED COFFEE! Oh my word - it was so good. I actually considered sticking around to get another one when the first one was finished.

On the road north, we noticed again the amount of construction going on, mostly in the Maya Beach area. There's a development being built that is just insane - they even made a whole series of channels so every house could have a boat and get right out to the ocean.

We made it to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in about an hour. It's one of the first places that started saving important jaguar territory before it was all destroyed by citrus growers or developers. You turn off the "highway" and pay your entrance fee at a little shop but then have to drive 6+ miles down a bumpy, rutted dirt road (which was pretty familiar) to get to the actual visitor center. There are miles of trails and people actually camp up there (couldn't pay me enough to sleep in a tent in the jungle!) but we just wanted to do a little bird watching and of course keep our eyes open for a jaguar!

We slathered on the sunscreen and bug spray and headed out on the trail to a small waterfall. We hadn't gone too far before we saw a huge black bird with a red throat about the size of a turkey - a crested guan we later found out. There were some crazy sounds and we kept stopping to listen and watch for any interesting creatures. We made it to the small waterfall and I waded in to cool off. Back on the trail, we heard some sort of grunt or growl and although we heard it a few times, nothing ever showed itself so we really don't know what it was.

When we got back to the Visitor Center, we had some water and a snack but headed back out on a different trail. We saw some interesting birds on that trail - especially the boat-billed heron. There was a whole family of them (about 7) in a tree and we got a great view of them. Very cool. Later we heard a snapping sound and a loud hum and saw a little white/yellow/black bird that was making the noises. He'd hop from one branch to another and make a loud SNAP sound and then when he flew, he sounded like a huge hummingbird. We found out he was a white-collared manakin and that was his dance to woo the girls. Toward the end of the trail, we were wondering what these big mounds were with holes on top. I figured they were anthills or termite mounds and as we were discussing it, I walked over one and saw a big hairy tarantula back poking out! ARGH. I actually think they were in fact ant mounds and the tarantula was just visiting for a snack. It did kind of freak us out though.

Totally drained, hungry and thirsty, we finished our last hike (about 4 hours total) and headed back down the road. On the way out we did see a troop of coatamundis cross the road but no jaguars. We did some shopping in the little co-op shop at the end of the road - the money goes right back to the local women crafters so I was happy to spend my souvenir money there!

We stopped on the road for snacks and drinks but decided to wait until we got to Belmopan to eat. The directions we were given from the hotel owner were fantastic and we got right to the hotel on the first try! Belmopan is actually the capital of Belize but there doesn't seem to be much going on. Our hotel is actually in a decent residential area but again, it's on a bumpy dirt road. We are about a quarter mile from the "center" of the town (hospital, banks, etc) but here we are on a dirt road.

The owners, Omar and Ellen, are extremely nice and it sort of feels like we're house guests. There are 3 rooms but a big kitchen and lounge area that we all share. They live in the house on the other side of the pool. They gave us some ideas for a quick, easy dinner and when they mentioned pizza, we were all over it. Pasquale's was about a mile away and it was actually really good pizza! Back in the room, we turned on the AC but after about a half hour, the room was still 82 degrees. I was just about to call Omar and he showed up - he was coming up to lock up for the evening anyway. He moved us into one of the other rooms that had a working AC unit to sleep for the night and promised to have someone come fix the unit in our room the next day.