Our alarm woke us up early to meet our group once again to try the outing to Monkey River. I peeped outside to see the most glorious morning since we’ve been here. I dressed quickly and grabbed my camera, heading for the beach. The sunrise was spectacular. The wind was non-existent (which is almost unheard of) and the water was one solid sheet of glass. I yelled for Christian to come out to the beach to see it. We stood for a while on the beach awed by the sight and wished we could take the kayaks out on the smooth water. But Monkey River promised to be a trip worth taking, so we hurriedly ate and started the walk to town. We were in a small boat with 2 other families (both from Canada, as at least half the tourists are here), and a local guide named Brent. Our boat skimmed over a sea of glass for a wonderful half hour ride to the mouth of Monkey River. We stopped at the small village by the same name and ordered lunch from a local restaurant to have on the return trip. We began our slow cruise down the river. On the river we saw birds of different shapes, size, and colors; huge orange or green iguana; large turtle; and even several crocodiles! The ride through the mangroves, palms, cane, and countless other greenery as our knowledgeable guide spouted off facts about every plant and animal in sight, was beautiful. But I kept having the feeling I was at Disney on the jungle boat ride. I literally kept reminding myself this was real, but there didn’t seem to be a spot in my brain for this to be reality. I had not grown up in a tropical paradise like our guide, but in a world where something this perfect and beautiful only exists as a fantasy created by Walt Disney. I always thought Disney exaggerated the majesty of such scenes now I see that in actuality they couldn’t possibly make it as breathtaking as the real thing. As much as were oohing and ahhing at everything Brent pointed out, the real stars of the expedition were still up ahead. We pulled up into a grove of mangroves and found a sandy spot where Brent skillfully pulled the boat ashore. We all got out of the boat and waited on the narrow trail leading into the jungle. Brent actually told us to wait there while he went on ahead to check it out! What?! And then he joked that he left the keys in the boat so if he didn’t return we should try to find our way home. Not funny Brent! Since we did not seem enough like clueless tourists about to venture into the jungle. We started applying sunscreen and bug spray, because I’m sure that’s what all great jungle explorers do. Christian and I may have been feeling a little smug because at least we had on hiking pants and appropriate footwear and not shorts and flip-flops like some of our group. Brent returned and motioned for us all to follow him. We could already faintly hear the ferocious sounding screams of howler monkeys in the distance. Brent led us through the jungle at a pace that said he may have forgotten we were soft tourists and not his childhood friends out on a day of exploring in the jungle. One older lady in our group who became afraid the sucking mud would break her flip-flop actually stopped about halfway in and said she would just wait for our return. This is where the Disney similarities ended. We left an elderly member of our group in the middle of an unfamiliar jungle without hesitation (this included her husband and daughter who were a little irritated that she had the camera and chose not to go on). The screams of the howler monkeys were almost deafening at times. Brent explained that there were 2 families of monkeys arguing over territory. Howler monkeys rarely get physical, but the loudest howling monkey wins, so they increase their volume as the conflict escalates. We finally got close enough to actually see some of the monkeys in the trees above us, we even saw a large female with a baby with her. (This is also a departure from the strict safety standards on which Disney insists – they would never let you come within feet of large angry monkeys in the wild – which turned out to be totally awesome). We moved around a small group of trees for a little while trying to catch sight of the different monkeys making the unbelievably loud commotion. Brent finally told us it was time to go, we were reluctant to say the least. He now actually expressed concern for the elderly lady he had so readily left behind 30 minutes before. So after following him through another muddy trek, we returned to find the stranded member of our group waiting patiently. She was actually a good sport about the whole thing with her only comment to Brent being that she should have asked him if snakes were common in this jungle because she had been hyper aware the entire time thinking she might encounter a snake. I must say she is the most adventurous woman her age I’ve ever met. We returned to the boat and began our trip back to the mouth of the river. We saw more wildlife on the way out, with Brent tirelessly spouting out information on everything we passed. When we made it back to Monkey River Village, we docked at the small restaurant where we had placed our lunch order a few hours earlier. We were treated to a traditional Belizean lunch of fish and beans and rice. This was one of the first times we had been served beans and rice, the different dish of rice and beans was actually much more commonplace. Rice and beans somewhat resembles jambalaya, and the dish of beans and rice is a more similar to red beans and rice. After lunch we began the trip back to Placencia. Along the coastline we slowed to watch for the playful manatee that live here. They are mammals that breathe air so they have to surface now and then to take a breath while grazing on the sea grass beneath. We caught several quick glimpses of them, but catching them in a picture was a challenge. We saw them poke up their heads, even saw a mother and baby come up, but by the time I could get my camera up all I got was their butts. In the picture it may as well be the Loch Ness monster as the back-end of a manatee. But I know what it is, so I guess that’s what matters. We returned to town around mid afternoon. We again “ran errands”, visiting the market, the pharmacy, and the laundry service where we had dropped off some clothes this morning. For $5 USD it was much easier to have our clothes washed and dried by a local laundress that deal with it all ourselves. We stopped in at John the Bakerman’s store and ordered a loaf of Banana Bread, and we returned to the cottage to rest on the front porch, me in the hammock and Christian in the lounge chair. We are getting so comfortable here and I love it more everyday, but tomorrow brings the arrival of Kim and Mike and a whole new set of adventures.