John Edward Cooper’s Notes

[i] Meet in the Broadway Show Lounge 10 minutes before tour departure.

Cruise News, Friday 22nd January 2016








Woke up a bit before 6am,… and went for breakfast a little before the “opening time” of 6.30am. It was still dark outside; very warm, but with a strong wind. Returned to the cabin ca.7am, and Janet, who was by now dressed, went out for a short while.… At 8am we went down to the Broadway Show Lounge. When “Lamanai Temples and River Cruise” was called we proceeded with the others out and down to the large tender, which wasn’t from the ship but was provided by the Belize City port. One of the crew, a big black fellow, addressed us, humorously US-military style but with a Caribbean accent, with safety instructions. He was being entertaining in the vain hope of a tip, I think.




Friday 22 January 2016 08:09:40
Boarding the tender

The trip to Belize City took 25 minutes or so.


Friday 22 January 2016 08:38:28
Going ashore at Belize City


Friday 22 January 2016 08:38:42
Going ashore at Belize City

When we got ashore, we went in procession to a building with “rest rooms” available, at the end of which was a parking lot where coaches were waiting; people were counted off, so many to this coach, so many to that. Our guide was a short, stocky guy called Gus.

LAMANAI TEMPLES & RIVER CRUISE
You'll go back to the days of the Mayans on this tour, on a cruise along the New River. You'll be on the water for about two hours, making plenty of photo stops along the way. The river is teeming with wildlife, and if you point your camera towards the banks you could come away with snaps of howler monkeys, iguanas and crocodiles. Then there's the jacana, nicknamed the 'Jesus bird'. Reason being, it looks like it's walking on water when it wades across floating vegetation. The river empties into a lagoon, where you'll catch sight of the Lamanai ruins. You'll get to explore the site's museum, which houses ancient artefacts, before walking through the jungle paths to see some of the temples and monuments the Mayans left behind. You'll also have the chance to scale one of the pyramid-shaped temples — it towers 100 feet above the ruins and the lagoon. Just so you know— The minimum age for this tour is 4 years old.

Because Belize was once British Honduras, I was surprised to board the coach on the right side, and that it drove on the right. As we went along, Gus explained that the change was made from left to right in anticipation of the Pam-American Highway coming through, but funds for the highway were diverted to relief work following a disastrous hurricane, and the highway bypassed Belize. From Belize City the coach went 50 miles in a north-north-westerly direction, much of it through flat, swampy terrain, in places forested.



Gus told us that people weren’t bothered about being referred to by their physical characteristics, so that e.g. if you called out to an ugly girl “Hey, ugly girl!” it wouldn’t cause offence. His parents used to call him “fat boy”. He reckoned that he was a mestizo of native Mayan and Spanish, hence his short stature and dark skin. He spoke about the Mayan calendars, solar and lunar, long and short, and passed round a book folded in the manner of a Mayan codex, which contained explanations of the calendars, the glyphs used in Mayan writing, the symbols used for the vigesimal number-system, etc. We’d have liked to have bought one, but they were only offered as part of a sale of silver jewellery engraved or stamped with a significant date (e.g. date of birth) using Mayan glyphs. Not many of the pre-Columbian Mayan codices have survived, but there are three — one in Dresden, one in Paris, and one in Madrid. He told us about human sacrifices, and that a ritual game like football was played after which (according to some) the winners (others said “the losers”) were sacrificed at the high temple. That’s why, before the high temple, there was a “ball court”. We arrived at a “touristy” place with stalls selling souvenirs and refreshments, and we availed ourselves of the “rest rooms” that it provided. After a pause there, we were led through a forested area to a riverbank, where some of our number boarded one of the boats, and the rest (including Janet and me) joined another party in a second boat.


Friday 22 January 2016 10:35:42
Awaiting departure on the New River

The river was mostly quite wide, meandering through mangrove swamp and other flat terrain. The journey to Lamanai was some 20 miles down river, perhaps more because of all the twists and turns. The boats were very fast, so banking this way and that rapidly round a succession of bends was initially a bit alarming. When the driver spotted anything of interest, he stopped to point them out.


Friday 22 January 2016 10:37:50
On the New River


Friday 22 January 2016 10:38:46
Termites’ nest


Friday 22 January 2016 10:38:46 (detail)
Termites’ nest


Friday 22 January 2016 10:48:08
Crocodile


Friday 22 January 2016 10:48:08 (detail)
Crocodile


Friday 22 January 2016 10:54:48
Two Roseate Spoonbills


Friday 22 January 2016 10:55:46
Roseate Spoonbill


Friday 22 January 2016 11:00:00
Small turtle


Friday 22 January 2016 11:00:00 (detail)
Small turtle


Friday 22 January 2016 11:12:06
Mennonite settlement


Friday 22 January 2016 11:40:14
Transporting logwood

When the river widened out into a lagoon, we stopped at a landing stage on the right side and went ashore. The driver had pointed out an “Amish” settlement on the way (they were some sort of traditional and conservative Mennonites, anyway), and indeed, there was a small group of them wearing wide-brimmed straw hats near the Lamanai archaeological site. I thought it might be impolite to photograph them, though, remembering the scene in the movie Witness, when they were gawped and pointed at by ignorant and rude tourists.


Friday 22 January 2016 11:50:42
Going ashore


Friday 22 January 2016 11:50:42 (detail 1)
Going ashore


Friday 22 January 2016 11:50:42 (detail 2)
Going ashore


Friday 22 January 2016 11:52:14
Cormorants


Friday 22 January 2016 11:52:14 (detail)
Cormorants

The divided party reunited, and Gus led the way to the “Museum, Gift Shops and Restrooms”, where we were given 10 minutes or so. Janet and I did nothing beyond using the “rest rooms”, though.


Friday 22 January 2016 11:53:02
“Welcome to Lamanai (‘submerged crocodile’)”


Friday 22 January 2016 11:53:02 (detail 1)
“Welcome to Lamanai (‘submerged crocodile’)”


Friday 22 January 2016 11:53:02 (detail 2)
Entering the Lamanai archaeological site

There was a plan of the site, and we gathered round Gus, where he told us something about the site and the places on it that we’d be visiting.


Friday 22 January 2016 12:06:58
Explanations from Gus with reference to a plan of the site


Friday 22 January 2016 12:06:58 (detail 1)
Gus our guide


Friday 22 January 2016 12:06:58 (detail 2)
Plan of the Lamanai archaeological site


Friday 22 January 2016 12:06:58 (detail 3)
Plan of the Lamanai archaeological site

First, we went to the “Jaguar Temple”, so called because of the design of the “masks” at the front on either end of the base.


Friday 22 January 2016 12:14:16
“Jaguar Temple”


Friday 22 January 2016 12:12:22
Jaguar Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:13:18
Jaguar Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:17:58
Jaguar Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:20:50
Jaguar Temple

Then Gus led the way along a path into the jungle. He warned us not to leave the path because of the risk of poisonous snakes. At one point he stopped and plucked some leaves from a relatively low shrub among the tall canopy trees, and passed them round. They looked like bay leaves, and when crushed were strongly aromatic. It was “allspice”, he told us, also known as “pimento” (though not the sweet red pepper of that name). The allspice with which we were familiar is the dried unripe berries of this shrub. There was quite a downpour of rain when we were under the trees. Janet had an umbrella. I didn’t do anything, apart from covering my camera with my Tetley’s hat. I didn’t get very wet, and the weather was so hot that any wetness quickly evaporated when the brief shower stopped.


Friday 22 January 2016 12:21:36
Proceeding to the Ball Court


Friday 22 January 2016 12:22:18
Proceeding to the Ball Court


Friday 22 January 2016 12:22:28
Proceeding to the Ball Court

I did leave the main path for two or three paces to look at the original wall of the site.


Friday 22 January 2016 12:24:46
“To original wall of complex”


Friday 22 January 2016 12:25:54
The original wall of the Lamanai complex

Next stop: the “Ball Court”—


Friday 22 January 2016 12:30:52
“Ball Court”


Friday 22 January 2016 12:31:10
The Ball Court


Friday 22 January 2016 12:34:52
The Ball Court

—then the “High Temple”. Access to the upper levels was by flights of wooden steps around the left side, though one still had to climb the original steep stone steps to get to the very top. Being up there gave me the willies somewhat because space was limited and it was a bare platform with no bounding wall to hold on to. Getting down also presented a problem; part of the way I went down on my bum, and part by stepping down sideways so I could hold on to the steps above.


Friday 22 January 2016 12:41:12
“High Temple”


Friday 22 January 2016 12:36:18
The High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:36:44
The High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:37:50
The High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:42:38
The High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:42:46
The High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:43:28
To the top of the High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:44:22
To the top of the High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:47:02
Views from the top of the High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:49:38
Views from the top of the High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:52:24
Views from the top of the High Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 12:53:12
The top of the High Temple

Finally, we went to the “Mask Temple”.


Friday 22 January 2016 13:12:16
“Mask Temple”


Friday 22 January 2016 13:12:44
The Mask Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 13:16:32
The Mask Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 13:17:16
The Mask Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 13:17:36
The Mask Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 13:18:32
The Mask Temple


Friday 22 January 2016 13:18:40
The Mask Temple

From time to time we’d heard strange groaning/roaring sounds, and Gus pointed out the source: Howler Monkeys in the treetops.


Friday 22 January 2016 13:20:06
Howler Monkeys


Friday 22 January 2016 13:20:06 (detail 1)
Howler Monkey


Friday 22 January 2016 13:20:06 (detail 2)
Howler Monkey


Friday 22 January 2016 13:21:34
Howler Monkey

On the way back to the boats, Gus stopped and picked up some nuts from the ground, which he called “cohunes”. He showed how they should be broken with a stone, with knees together to one side to prevent injury to the “cojones”. From the broken shell he bit off some of the white flesh. I held out my hand and he gave me some to try. As he’d already said, it was a bit like coconut.


Friday 22 January 2016 14:09:44
Going back on the New River


Friday 22 January 2016 14:14:56
Going back on the New River


Friday 22 January 2016 14:17:14
Going back on the New River

The boats took us back to the starting point, where lunch of jerk chicken with rice and beans was provided in an open-sided, covered area with long tables and benches. I could quite happily subsist on a Caribbean style diet, I think. There were also bottles of still, brightly coloured “fruit” drinks, excessively sweet; I had “strawberry”. Then we boarded the coach and retraced our route back to Belize City. In the port-side shopping centre, before we went to board the tender, we enquired in a couple of shops whether we could get US dollars using our debit card, but they wouldn’t oblige.


Friday 22 January 2016 16:53:36
About to board the tender…


Friday 22 January 2016 16:53:48
…back to the ship

And so we got back to the ship ca.5.30pm. After a visit to the cabin, we went along to the Lido Pool Bar. I had two pints of Strongbow cider and Janet three Fanta Zero (17:40:44, 17:43:15, 18:03:01; 18:31:17). Perhaps yesterday I passed a woman who looked for all the world like Trudi Millard, and today at a nearby table I realised that it was indeed she because she was with Peter. So we made ourselves known to them, and either we moved to sit with them, or they moved to sit with us (the latter, I think). We chatted about our travels, etc. So we were later than planned — perhaps 6.30pm — going into the Lido Restaurant for dinner. I decided as yesterday to have a glass of house red wine (18:42:37). We had a rapid turn around the promenade deck before returning to the cabin.… We headed for the Broadway Show Lounge just after 8pm. There were front-row seats available to the right of the semicircular stage. I had a Campari and soda; Janet, again not risking a Fanta Zero from that location, had a Diet Coke (20:14:08); and after the show started I had a second Campari and soda (20:37:35). Despite having seen this show before we thought it was excellent.

Man in the Mirror
A homage to the incomparable Michael
Jackson, with some of his finest routines,
recreated with verve and panache, and you will
be astonished and delighted to see the man
himself singing and dancing along with the
show team. Yes, really!

When all the men kept grabbing their crotches in Jackson-style it made me laugh out loud.… We both went to bed ca.10.45pm.

[Saturday 23 January 2016]