Tag Belize

Tag Belize

The Belizean Adventure

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Belize is a small country on the east coast Central America just south of Mexico, their main asset apart from the beautiful people are its varied ecosystems. The second largest coral reef in the world lies off its coast. The interior of the country is 75% untouched with wetlands, savannah and tropical forests that are home to a vast array of wildlife including 603 species of birds, the Keel-Billed Toucan being the national bird and 5 species of big cat including the Jaguar.

We wanted to introduce this jewel and immersive our guests into this unique environment while raising money for our causes. The country’s environment is under threat from a number of sources including climate change, rising seas and human destruction of ancient forest partly due to extensive beef farming. We believe the Belize story needs telling, so as a first step we organized a six day, immersive eco tour and raised $24,000 for our causes on the ground. Hopefully this will go some way to showing the participants and locals, there is more prosperity in protecting the jungle rather than cutting it down. Obviously this is a beginning, but “Great oaks from little acorns grow”.

  • DAY 1 - ARRIVAL

    On arrival in Belize City, we transferred to the small town of San Ignacio and your first accommodation – Sweet Songs Jungle Lodge. Sitting on the banks of the Macal River, the lodge is surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and is the perfect place to settle in, acclimatize and explore.

  • DAY 2 - ON YOUR BIKE

    Rise early and kayak downstream on the Macaw river and stop for a traditional Belize BBQ lunch After lunch pick up your bike and cycle up to visit a Cocoa Farm and the local women owned potteries

    That afternoon, we arrived at the beautiful and secluded Eco Lodge, MET. we had some delicious homestyle cooking before spending the night in a native-style thatched cabana lit with gas lamps.

  • DAY 3 - EXPLORE

    Today we did a horse back ride through lush foliage and rainforest habitats to a hidden riverine valley. Spotted the native birds and wildlife: howler monkeys, jaguars, puma, tapir and many more beautiful species call this valley a home. That evening we enjoyed a presentation from the students from Virginia Tech on the work the are doing Belize with the Jaguars.

  • DAY 4 - ON YOUR BIKE...AGAIN

    After breakfast, we jumped back on the bikes and journeyed up the Mountain Pine Ridge. Explored the area including the 1000ft falls. We finished the ride by the Blue pools and took a refreshing dip in the network of lagoons, while keeping an eye out for unfriendly wildlife.

    That afternoon, we arrived at Francis Ford Coppola’s Blancaneaux Lodge. After a rest and a session in the Waterfall Spa, we shared some sundowners from the top of the Pine Ridge, looking out for eagles, birds and other wildlife. That evening, dinner was served with delights from the private organic garden.

  • DAY 5 - INTO THE JUNGLE, CONNECTING WITH NATURE

    The drive started early and took us deep into the Chiquibul National Park. First we took a boat ride up the Macal river, keeping an eye for the majestic scarlet macaw. After lunch, we traveled to Caracol – the most jaw-dropping of all ancient Maya archaeological sites.

  • DAY 6 - DEPARTURE

    After a leisurely morning enjoying the lodge, we departed by private plane from Blancaneaux air strip to Belize City and the International Airport for flights home.

The trip was fantastic, many memories were created and many new friendships forged. The $24,000 we raised will be put to good use by our partners in Belize.

This experience can be replicated or modified, if you work for a corporate or any organization looking for a team building exercise, or a bunch of friends looking for a unique vacation, please contact us. 

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Belize Film Project

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Belize is a country we are passionate about.  It is one of the world’s best kept secrets and it is under threat.  Our goal is to create a mission critical movie that highlights the beauty and the dangers to this unique environment.  The movie will be shown worldwide used to educate enlighten and motivate people to get involved and join in protecting this wonderful place for future generations to enjoy. The movie will also be edited and broken down in to “shorts” that will be a help in to educating the younger generation of Belizean’s about the beauty on their doorstep and how it can lead to their future prosperity if it is protected.

We are partnering with National Geographic and a world renowned production company based in the UK to make this film a reality. NTOTA has pledged $100,000 to make this film into a reality, however we are $200,000 short of our $400,000 budget.

We are looking for corporate sponsors, or and a couple of private donors to step up and help us close the gap. Contact us directly if you think you can help, mark@ntota.org.

Below is brief description and introduction to the film.

Belize – a tropical paradise in peril. We follow Belize’s eco-heroes on their quest to save their country’s extraordinary wildlife and precious ecosystems.  In Central America, between Guatemala, Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, lies one of the most biodiverse places on earth: Belize. Wild worlds dominate the land and the sea. Belize has the largest unbroken coral reef complex in the Western hemisphere and a vast expanse of jungle covers over 60% of the land. In fact, in 1996 the Belize Barrier Reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Being part of the tri-national Maya Forest bioregion, Belize is a central component of the second largest forest system on Earth and hidden amongst the trees lie ancient Mayan temples and countless rare and wonderful animal species. Among them the mighty jaguar, choruses of howler monkeys performing a collective jungle concert, and the highest density of scarlet macaws found anywhere on earth – hundreds of them form flocks of dancing vibrant colors. It is a birdwatchers’s exotic paradise.

But, in around forty years the forest will be gone, the corals will be dead and the ecosystem destroyed. Belize could be but a legend. The country is heavily exploited, with illegal logging, over-fishing, wildlife poaching and coastal development destroying the ecosystems at a staggering rate.

Yet, all is not lost. True eco-heroes exist here in Belize, and are working tirelessly to save their country. Fearless scientists, conservationists and locals have joined forces to save species, ecosytems and heritage, with a chance to set the example for the rest of the world. Through the film, we follow the adventures of selected personalities that have made it their life’s mission to protect Belize’s natural treasures: missionary Belizean fishermen that change their traditional fishing habits to help battle the lionfish invasion; ground-breaking jaguar research in the field to ensure that humans and jaguars can peacefully live side-by-side, with never-before-seen footage of jaguars in Mayan caves. And, we will visit a camp in the middle of the jungle where a group of young Belizeans live for many months to guard the precious scarlet macaw nests in mating season and protect them from poachers.

Human stories full of passion and excitement are intertwined with wildlife sequences, combining blue-chip natural history with character-led human storytelling. Breathtaking landscapes and heartwarming animal stories remind the audience of the great loss Belize, and the world, would be facing if these heroes do not continue to fight.

This film serves as an eye-opener to the realities and importance of wildlife conservation: daily struggles, critical missions and then the unforgettable accomplishments: Jaguar hunters that become conservationists, fishermen learning revolutionary fishing techniques, and successfully protected scarlet macaw chicks hatching.

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