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Storks, Old World and New

I must admit that, until recently, I did not have much time for birds in my life - I would even go as far as to say that I was antipathetical towards them. Perhaps it was the result of spending most of my time in urban environments, where the main avian representatives were those aerial rodents known as pigeons. I have recently however - perhaps following on from a trip to the Galapagos Islands - come to include birds among those features of the world that I try to mentally catalogue and assimilate into my schema.

This year - within the span of two months - I have had the chance to observe two different species of storks - one in Israel and one in Belize - and my life is richer for it.  CIMG5156-2Israel is on the flight path of millions of birds migrating between Africa and Europe via the the Syrian-African rift valley. Israel's wetlands - which have, over the last few years, been enhanced by the partial re-flooding of the Hula valley in the north - often provide a birdwatcher's spectacular.  The white storks seen in the Hula in April were some of the many hundreds of thousands that flock there twice yearly.

On vacation in Belize, Central America, two months earlier, we had been taken to see the nesting site of a Jabiru stork. In contrast to the modest 3-4 feet height of the Old World white stork, the male Jabiru may stand as tall as 5 feet, and have a wingspan of 4 feet. The Jabiru is a resident in the Americas, from Mexico to Argentina. It lives in large groups near rivers and ponds, and eats prodigious quantities of fish, mollusks, and amphibians, and occasionally small mammals. A breeding pair will return several years to the same nest. We were told that they typically have two eggs, but often raise just one of the chicks; so we felt particularly privileged to see three little ones alongside the male bird who was on duty at the nest while his mate was off getting food. (To put the size of the Jabiru in perspective, the photo was taken with an 18x optical zoom, at a distance of about half a mile.)

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May 24, 2009 in Travel | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Notes from Belize

Belize is a country of barely 400,000 inhabitants; it is situated in Central America, bordering the Carribean on its east, squeezed between Guatamala to the west and south and Mexico to its north. In its colonial days, Belize was known as British Honduras, which makes it the only English speaking country in Central America. It was colonized by Britain for its timber, and it is still a source of many tropical woods including mahogany. In spite of its poverty, Belize has quite a strong conservation ethic; so, for example, for every mahogany tree harvested, the law requires that four new ones are planted. 

The ethnic mix of the population is very varied; there are Mayan indians - descendants of one of the great pre-Columbian civilizations of central america; there are mestizos - people of mixed hispanic and indian descent, and Afro-Carribbeans, the descendants of slaves. In addition, nearly 10% of the population are Mennenites, a religious sect originating in 19th century Germany and related to the Amish. These latter arrived in the then British Honduras in the 1950's by way of Mexico and Canada, to where they had migrated from Germany. They were granted large tracts of land for farming in Belize. Like the Amish, the Mennenites do not believe in televisions and computers for their personal use; however - unlike the Amish - they do use technology for farming, in a big way. The areas which are farmed by this community provide a startling contrast to the distinctly third world-like small-holdings you see elsewhere in Belize. In fact, the Mennenites produce 70-80% of the food consumed in the country. To complete the mix, there are now whole communities of Taiwanese living here. Because the US does not officially recognize the Taiwan republic of China, it is not possible fot Taiwanese to obtain a US visa. Belize is quite generous with its citizenship qualifications - come and live here for 5 years bringing a relatively modest income with you, and you are rewarded with Belizean citizenship. Then, in common with most of the Carribean nationals, it is a relatively easy step to get a US visa. Many of the Taiwanese made this move so that their children could obtain a US education; the children typically remain in the US after attending university, while many of the older generation stay behind in Belize. All the various ethinicities and communities in Belize seem to coexist very harmoniously. 

From the tourist point of view, the main attraction of Belize is the barrier reef which runs parallel to the coast; it is the second longest barrier reef in the world, after the Austraian one. So Belize is a mecca for people who like to dive or snorkel. There are actually very few beaches on the mainland coast, which is largely mangrove swamp. So most of the action takes place on the many offshore islands that lie between the reef and the mainland. These vary from privately owned islands or exclusive golfing resorts to the more accessible - but expensive - island of San Pedro, and the decidedly laidback and more economical Caye Caulker.

The interior of the country itself also holds many attractions. Like most of tropical central america, it is a country of many lakes and rivers. The rainy season does last for nearly nine months of the year, but don't think monsoons; during the season, it will rain most days, but not all day, and not enough to prevent you enjoying yourself. Scan0001

You can go caving, floating on rubber tubes on underground rivers, or "ziplining" - flying at speed between the jungle treetops, suspended from a cable. 

  

May 24, 2009 in Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Natural Break

Apologies to all my faithful readers. I have just returned from vacationing in Mexico's Chiapas (center of the 1994 "Zapatista" rebellion against the federal government). News from the wide world filters through very sketchily there, but it was once (1500 years ago) the center of the pre-Colombian world. Major Mayan cities like Palenque and Yaxchilan rivaled each other in splendor, ostentatious worship of their divinities and fought it out for influence and power while Europe wallowed in the dark ages . Cimg01221

Today there is a lot of jungle and poverty, with just some of the former glories having had their jungle covering removed.

February 23, 2006 in Travel | Permalink | Comments (1)