Thursday, August 6

Tales of a ‘Peanut Headed Moth’

 Another gorgeous day in Belize – our group awoke after a rain filled night – but one that was almost an enjoyable temperature to sleep in. We first gathered at the Nuuk Cheil Cottages for a brain storming session about project based learning (PBL). During this session we all shared various projects that we currently utilize within our classes and discussed possible improvements and/or concerns we had with them – very valuable feedback!

After another great lunch – our friend and guide Juan arrived back to take us into the local Jaguar Reserve – Cockscomb National Reserve – an extremely large preserve which was put into place to help protect numerous big cats including the Puma and Jaguar.

After a few quick group shots we began our hike – along the way Juan (who continues to amaze us with his endless knowledge of the local landscape / wildlife) began pointing out interesting points – including a termite colony where he informed us that the termites were edible! And yes many of enjoyed an appetizer of termite before our tubing adventure…. surprisingly they taste like pine needles smell!!! The most impressive was the discovery of a large cat imprint in some soft mud!! WOW – not sure if it was a jaguar but impressive that such a beautiful animal may have stood at that very spot.

Arriving at the river entrance – we admired the beautiful scenery and jumped at the opportunity to cool off and jump into the gorgeous water – refreshing! We sat in our tubes and began our journey down stream…. GORGEOUS! Lush foliage – jungle all around us – each of us hoping to catch a glimpse of a jaguar drinking or lounging in the tree – no luck! Nevertheless, we floated down stream for 45 minutes and were treated to some beautiful surroundings!

After our tubing adventure was complete Juan led us to another beautiful scene – a waterfall deep within the jungle – and it was spectacular! We all swam under the cool falling water and beyond – we finally felt refreshed and certainly did not want to leave; however, with the sun going down, it was time to leave.

  On the hike out Juan’s keen eye found another amazing sight – a peanut headed moth – literally this little guy (although dead) actually has a head shaped exactly like a peanut – and one amazing adaptation that would make Darwin marvel – on the back of the wings were eyes! These eyes look very similar to an owls – and Juan informed us that when a predator came close this moth would fan its wings out and show these ‘eyes’ imitating an owl – and hopefully avoiding becoming someone else's lunch!!

Again – just awesome! Thanks to Juan for being a great guide on our adventure!