Placencia
Before leaving the reserve, we hike one of the many trails that run through the site.
1 h 30 steep climb to reach two waterfalls in a beautiful environment
In the early afternoon we arrive at the edge of the Caribbean sea.
Small village south of the Stann Creek District, "Placencia" was created at the beginning of the 17th century by English settlers who had named it "Placentia", which means "Pleasant Place".
Its long white sand beach of 30 kilometers along the peninsula and its lagoon, make it a small paradise in the process of becoming the number one destination of Belize.
We stay there three days ... enough time for the thousands of mosquitoes to devour our athlete bodies!!
Here live "The Garifunas": a cross-breed between escaped African slaves and Caribbean natives, blending certain African traditions with Caribbean culture.
As the massacres and deportations progressed, the Garifunas were gradually stationed in Saint Vincent and Dominica.
During the eighteenth century, the Garifunas lived under the tutelage of France and Great Britain. In 1795 they attacked the British, then masters of Saint Vincent.
The war lasted eighteen months but in 1796 the Black Caribbean was defeated. British authorities then decided to deport them.
They founded several villages, like Livingston in 1806 on the Atlantic coast of Guatemala.
Cockscomb Basin Sanctuary
It is the only reserve in the world dedicated to jaguars, an endangered species that is not easy to observe.
Even if the king of the jungle does not show, many other animals populate the 518 km² of the sanctuary: howler monkeys, toucans, falcons, vultures, macaws, pumas, ocelots, peccaris or tapirs.
On the foothills of the Maya Mountains, the protected park also reveals sumptuous landscapes, dotted with waterfalls.
We take a guided tour in the evening to flush out the jaguar ... two hours of excursion through the forest in the dark.
As experimented travelers as we are, we didn’t have flashlights, fortunately the couple sharing the trick lend us one.
All this for : a possum ...but no jaguar
Altun / Belize City
The weather is gloomy today and we visit "Altun Ha" just before the rain.
It is a ceremonial center that stretches over 8 km² where one discovers two large plazas and buildings, like the Temple of the Sun, 16 meters high.
In this Mayan site from the classical era of 600 to 900, was found the largest jade sculpture in the Mayan world, the mask of the Sun God, "Kinich Ahau".
This priceless work of art is housed in the Belize Museum set in the former Belize City Prison.
Close to the sea, "Altun Ha" was the center of a cultural zone different from most other Mayan sites in Belize and Guatemala.
We go to "Belize City", which is not the capital city even if its name might confuse us.
Founded in 1638 by buccaneers and pirates on the former Mayan city of "Holzuz", Belize City is the largest city in the country with more than 80,000 inhabitants.
For a long time the city lived from the exploitation of mahogany and camppeach, from the trees cut by the thousands of African slaves bought by the English from the French and Portuguese slavers.
Devastated by cyclone "Hattie" on 31st October 1961, Belize City has very few truly interesting buildings.
* St. John’s Catedral: dating from 1812, it was built by slaves with bricks from England.
* Belize museum : housed in the former penitentiary dating from 1857, it traces the country’s African roots and tells us about slavery and triangular trade: Europeans exchange arms and ammunition in Africa for slaves, gold and spices. In the Caribbean, this time, they exchange African slaves for agricultural products such as sugar, rum, cotton, tobacco and coffee.
It also mentions fugitive slave communities.
We only stay one day as we don’t appreciate the atmosphere.
Crooked Trees
We leave the "Mennonites", direction "Crooked Tree".
"Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary" is located in the heart of a Creole community.
This 1,200 hectare nature reserve is a refuge for many species (howler monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, tortoises).
Bird watching is one of the main activities with more than 300 species such as egrets, kites, grebes, kingfisher… and the jaribu, the largest bird in Belize today in danger of extinction.
During our stay we do not see many birds as the best period extends from February to May, during the migration.
The setting is paradisiacal: lagoons, rivers, streams, marshes, savannah and forest. We stay 3 days to enjoy the calm and the beauty of the place.
Every night : "aperitif", ti punch with the local rum, in the company of "Corinne and Thierry" and "Marguerite and Julien" ... the bivouac becoming "Le coin des Français"
ROAD BOOK 071
MAVROS ODYSSEE