We woke this morning just off the cost of the beautiful Placencia Village. Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is where our venturing begins. This sanctuary was established as a forest preserve more than 30 years ago, in 1984, achieving jaguar preserve status only two short years later. It now supports a thriving population of not only the jaguar but also that of pumas, ocelots, jaguarundis, and margays.
Our explorers had a wealth of adventuring options at their disposal throughout the day. These included tracking through the basin’s extensive trail complex, river tubing, and surveying some of the sanctuary’s 300 bird species.
We re-boarded National Geographic Quest to recharge before a tour later that afternoon along the Monkey River. This river happens to be among the finite few in Belize that do not possess mangrove trees along the river banks. However, what was lost in the way the ubiquitous mangroves was ultimately made up many, many times over in countless other varieties of wildlife inhabiting this area.
Today marks another un-Belizeable day of adventure and sighting on a journey that does not cease to astound.
