Day 2 – Biodiversity and Conservation
A wet but joyful hello from the banks of the Macal river. Yes, for those of you who didn’t know, Eco Kids camp is held yearly at Chaa Creek’s Macal river camp. I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry, the kids are never allowed down by the river; all water activities are done in a supervised private pool. The camp provides the perfect environment for children to immerse themselves in nature. If you ask any camper, being surrounded by a variety of plants and animals is definitely the best part of camp. Our second day consisted of learning about all the chirping birdies, bright yellow flowers and creepy crawlers that live around us A.K.A Biodiversity.
Waking up to relaxing rain drops on the roof of our cabins, our 6 O’clock morning muster was surprisingly energetic. It was obvious that rain could NOT and would NOT stop us from enjoying the best week of the year. With everyone weathering the storm under our thatched dining hall, our staple camp songs were now in order. With hungry monsters in our bellies, we sang “I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry hungry hungry!” at the top of our lungs in hopes of it reaching into the kitchen.
As luck would have it, fry jacks and eggs started exiting the kitchen, immediately catching everyone’s eyes. After a hefty breakfast, we immediately went into arts and crafts. Our target creation today was our jungle note books, it’ll be the most important and useful tool for the rest of camp. Why? You may ask? Well at the end of camp, there’s this EPIC Jeopardy competition with questions from throughout the entire week. Questions taken from all the tours and adventures we go on. By the way, our jungle note books (Which are made from recycled materials), was a great example of conservation and perfect for note taking.
Speaking of adventures, WE WENT BIRD WATCHING TODAY! It was perfecting timing too considering the rain had just stopped, which meant all the cute little birdies were now beginning to fly. This took us all the way up the howler trail, leading to a hike ending at Chaa Creek’s Natural History museum and butterfly farm. Splitting into 2 groups, each took turns visiting both sites learning about how butterflies are nursed and our local Belizean history.
Now hungry, but educated, 28 energetic Eco campers marched down into Mariposa restaurant (Chaa Creeks Restaurant) for bacon beef burgers. Yum Yum! Of course, how can we forget to mention the DEL-LI-CIOUS coconut cake we had for dessert. You’d imagine a noisy restaurant filled with hungry kids, right? Nope! Not at all. One wouldn’t even realize the restaurant was filled with campers. With lunch out of the way, tiny belly’s satisfied and energy levels back up, we headed off to the pool!
Swim tests, pool games and a great time were all in order. Of course, safety was top priority, but having fun was number 2 on the priority list. Finishing up with a quick hike on the foot hills beside the Macal River, the kids ended off the day with a visit from a family of howler monkey’s swinging from tree branches above our heads. If you haven’t heard a howler monkey before, I suggest you google the sound to experience what it was like here at camp.
The sun had now set on Day 2, but the fun had not finished. Is it really camp without a camp fire? Of course not! We HAD to have a camp fire! Naturally, camp songs began flowing, combined with a clear night and bright stars, there was no better way to end the day.
Stay tuned for day 3 as we explore the Ancient Maya, hike up to Chaa Creek’s archeological site, and go horseback riding through jungle trails.