Toucans

I left Belize City on a shuttle bound for Flores and after a pleasant four hour trip (including a stop over at the border, where the customs officer asked me if I spoke Spanish to which I proudly replied, “si,” and several other stops to rescue other travelers stranded by their malfunctioning shuttles), I found myself again in Flores, where Steven and I had spent a few enjoyable days.

My fist stop was an internet café, where I planned to quickly email Kevin, to let him know I had arrived, before heading over to my favorite restaurant for a lunch of stuffed avocado and an ice cold lemonade. Just as I had completed my email and pressed send, I heard a familiar voice and turned to see the smiling faces of my brother and his friend, Rachel, who had just happened to stop in to that particular internet café.

Kevin and Rachel had rented a tiny Daihatsu econo-car from a rental company in Guatemala City, which had allowed them to cover a great distance in just a few days. When we met up, they had just returned from a morning at Tikal and were planning to meet up with me and then head on to Yaxha, another, less visited, Mayan ruin site, nearer to the Belize Border. Again, I was treated to transportation in a private vehicle, with the luxury of leg room in a back seat all my own and the ability to stop roadside for some great shots of the countryside.

After a pleasant afternoon ride, we arrived at a hacienda close to the park where we had a simple dinner before settling in for the night.

The next morning we rose early to watch the sun rise over the lake and then headed into the park. Because we were so early, we found ourselves the sole visitors of the park and were able to watch the ongoing preservation efforts at almost all of the temples. While Kevin and Rachel had enjoyed their visit to Tikal, Kevin was still lamenting the fact that they had been unable to see any toucans, whereas on my visit, I had seen many. So that morning, we set out in search of toucans.

After a few hours without any animal sightings, Kevin’s hope began to wane and he despaired of ever seeing toucans, although by then he had seen his share of Mayan ruins. Not wanting my brother to be disappointed, I scoured the trees, hoping to catch site of the elusive birds. Finally, I spotted two parrots high in the tree tops and we stopped and watched them for a few minutes until they flew off. Encouraged by the site of any birds at all, I continued to scan the treetops.

On our way down towards the lake we heard noises in the trees and spotted a group of monkeys that we also stopped to watch as the swung off, branch by branch, deeper into the forest. Thinking unconsciously that it would be nice if God would give Kevin some toucans, before chastising myself for such a trivial request, I was elated when on our way out of the park, we spotted a pair of small, very toucan-like birds directly in our line of sight in a tree just above the path. Although they were not of the same type of toucan that we are accustomed to seeing on the cereal box, they looked similar and I suggested to Kevin that his day should be complete because we had succeeded in finding toucans. He responded with an enthusiastic “yeah!” although I could sense his doubt that these birds were, in fact, real toucans.

As we made our way out of the park, we came across another walkway that led to a group of temples we had yet to see. Although I was somewhat temple-out, I agreed to follow Kevin and Rachel down the path for one last look. While Kevin enthusiastically bounded up the many steps to another temple top, Rachel and I opted for the more level route and walked off in search of the origin of some strange bird calls that we heard in the distance. Much to my surprise and delight, when we grew closer to the calls, we encountered a large group of real live toucans. I turned to call for Kevin and saw him come running up just in time to get a good look (and a few photos) before, wary of our presence, they disappeared deeper into the forest.