The Belize Blog - Lamanai Outpost

We had a bi-modal transit from Belize City to Lamanai Outpost Lodge in the Orange Walk district, first a van to the banks of New River, then a fast boat ride down the river (fast, except multiple stops to sight birds!).  The fellow who piloted the boat somehow knew when to shunt left at this meander, right at that mangrove, without the aid of street signs or anything! 

 

What's more, he was quite a good bird spotter, like most of the Lamanai staff we met, whether they were official guides, office workers, or servers in the lodge restaurant. 

Lamanai sits on a large lagoon of the New River, a short walk or boat ride from the Lamanai Mayan site and just downriver from Shipyard, a Mennonite community. 





The Outpost Lodge is a compact site with about 15 "cabanas" that are quite large and comfortable, no AC but good ventilation with fans and airflow through windows and thatched roofs.  The dining room and group tours offered opportunities to meet other guests, including an older couple who, apparently, are largely responsible for the Webb telescope!

We had great little and big tours led by a great guide for our entire stay, Eduardo, who was a wealth of knowledge about local flora and fauna, the Lamanai archeological record, and the local community where he grew up and lives.  Amazing bird sightings, of course!

On a night walk, Eduardo spotted for us a cane toad (the largest indigenous toad, which produces a toxin that's fatal to just about any predator that tries to eat it), a roosting White-eyed vireo, fire ants ("don't stand on them!"), a pond turtle, and a very cute porcupine.

Mexican arboreal pygmy porcupine       
 

Roosting White-eyed vireo


 

 

 

 

The nearly 1000-acre Lamanai Mayan site reveals a culture that traded across the Yucatan peninsula and perhaps beyond and excelled in architecture and stone construction.  What was also notable - here and later on at el Pilar, near Table Rock - was the many public "squares" that were part of the urban design, like the one in front of the towering structure, below.

 A "newer" part of the Lamanai site reveals part of the region's colonial history: crumbling stone Catholic church structures and an old sugar mill.  Sugar was one of the main industries Europeans had banked on throughout Central America and the Caribbean, especially because sugar was key to making rum!  In the photo below, right, a fig tree is slowly consuming an the mill... some sort of lesson there, eh?


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eduardo took us to his nearby village, where we met his wife and young son (already a pretty darn knowledgeable birder!, see below) and were taught how to grind corn on an old basalt "maleta" and then make tortillas with the resulting dough.

Teacher

 

Student

Finally, the lodge offered a sundown pontoon boat cruise on the lagoon, which we enjoyed so much we did it twice!  

 

Intrepid travelers with super-guide Eduardo







 

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 7, 2025 at 7:16 PM

    Great photos! Belize is on my bucket list.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 8, 2025 at 8:50 AM

    Happy to discuss it with you if I knew who this was?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Betty AnneApril 8, 2025 at 9:11 AM

    Kate has to paint photo #12 - beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 8, 2025 at 11:58 AM

    Aaron and Kate this trip of yours looks wonderful and you look soooo happy! Norman

    ReplyDelete

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