Deer and Turkeys and Scorpions Oh My

Arriving in Belize in August is an experience in itself.  Though I am no stranger to heat – having spent 3 years living in the Dubai desert – my experience in Belize has been a bit different.  Aside from two nights spent in air-conditioned luxury at the Chan Chich Lodge’s spectacular Villa, my time in Belize has been almost completely void of AC.  

The Villa, and yes that is an enclosed, private hot tub.

The Villa's private bar.

 In my experience thus far, air-conditioning is about as easy to come by in this part of Belize as soft-serve ice cream.  Both can be found, but require time, effort, and expense.  With some well-informed packing, drawing from my experiences living in the Middle East and traveling in East Africa a couple summers ago, I feel that I have come up with some workable strategies to beat the heat.  Admittedly my first sizeable purchase in Belize was a large fan, preceded by several Gatorades. 

We have a thermometer affixed to the well-shaded deck at the Casey Community School.  While school has been in session the past two weeks I have yet to see the temperature register below the mid-80s between our first recess at 9:45am and the end of the school day at 3pm.  Our classrooms have ceiling fans and lots of open windows.  My students seem to have no complaints about the heat, hustling out the door every time the recess bell is rung to play soccer (I refuse to call it football).  We have been selling a lot of bags of water and bottles of juice at our little school store though.  Despite being the only person at the school, student or teacher, that has spent any considerable time north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I really feel like I have acclimated rather quickly and well to the hot and humid jungle climate.  Handkerchiefs and fast drying clothes work wonders.

The thing about my new home in Belize’s jungle that I am not sure I will ever get used to is the unbelievable abundance of wild life.  Since passing the gate that marks the entrance into the Gallon Jug estate on August 9th I have had non-stop sensory overload of Belize’s stunning flora and fauna.

Admittedly, being a Minnesotan, I have been absolutely captivated by the oscillated turkeys and Yucatan white tail deer that are so prevalent here.   The oscillated turkey is arguably the most elusive of the turkey species and subspecies required for the fabled turkey hunting ‘world slam’, though you wouldn’t know it here.  I personally would describe the oscillated turkey as being 2/3 turkey and 1/3 peacock.  They have spectacular coloring that really isn’t done justice by photography. 

I’ve been told by guides at Chan Chich that it is not uncommon for visitors to inquire about turkey hunting.  One guest went as far as offering a substantial amount of money – think three zeros – to hunt and kill a turkey.  So far all offers have been denied.  I was assured that the lodge brings in a supply of Butterball turkeys for American Thanksgiving, so my hunting plans are on hold.

As for the deer, they are simply everywhere.  Before moving to Gallon Jug from Chan Chich we would do unofficial deer and turkey surveys during the 15-minute drive from the lodge to the school.  Typical sightings for deer were in the 30s, and these were mostly sitting in the shade along the road.  Now that I am living on the ‘farm’ full time I see considerably more.  The pasture between the loft and the school always has dozens of deer, and there are almost always deer hanging out in the shade of the playground equipment before the students arrive in the morning. 

Yucatan white tails look just like their midwestern cousins, but are considerably smaller.  To give an idea, in all the time I’ve been here I’ve observed one deer, a large buck, jump over a field fence.  Every other deer that I’ve seen cross a fence line has ducked under or snuck through the middle of the wires.

Embarrassed to say this is the best picture I have of deer close up.

Since I have arrived I can honestly say that I have been too busy with school preparations and schoolwork to take full advantage of the wildlife watching that is available here.  And quite frankly it is too hot right now. I’ve wandered the jungles enough to see an abundance of beautiful plants and birds and a few somewhat evil monkeys, but most of my nature watching has taken place while driving or walking from one place to another or while working on the computer and eating on the deck at the lodge where I’ve spent hours watching hummingbirds and spotted a fox.  

Evil Monkey

Probably the smartest thing that I packed for my Belizean adventure was a headlamp of the mining variety.  My brother Bobby picked it up for me at Scheels before I left.  My only requirement, it needed to be bright enough to spot a jaguar at the top of a tall tree at night.  Though I am yet to spot a jaguar or puma, my headlamp has not disappointed.  Several people had told me about the beautiful night sky in Gallon Jug.  It dawned on me after my first week that I’d yet to look at the stars, though I’d spent plenty of time outside after dark, which is to say after about 6:30pm.  I realized that all of my time outside at night had been spent using my headlamp to spot creepy-crawlies and other critters on the ground as I walked, mostly lizards, and toads - one of which was literally the size of a toaster.  I also had a streak of four straight evenings that I saw tarantulas.  I was very happy when that ended.

Well I realize that I have not gotten to the scorpions yet.  That will have to wait for the next post.   

Stay tuned.