On Sunday we took a trip to Barton Creek Cave, which is the largest river cave in Belize. The cave contains a wealth of information in understanding caves in Mayan culture. We split into two groups. While the first group was canoeing through the cave, the other group enjoyed swimming and cliff jumping at the mouth of the cave. We saw different stalactites and stalagmite formations within the cave, along with broken pottery and a skull from one of the Mayan human sacrifices. On our way back to Lover Dover we drove through a Mennonite community and saw the land they farm on.

We began Monday morning with a lecture from Dean Reeder and he gave us a tour of the ruins at Lover Dover. After lunch our group set out with Dean Reeder and Dr. Porter to do a species survey in a nearby creek of Lower dover. We caught different species of fish such as central tetras, blue eyed Cichlid, and a juvenile blue catfish! In the evening we enjoyed a lecture from Virginia Tech Students who study the habits of jaguars and other species of cats that are native to Belize.

By: Armand Lapiana and Arianna Tirone

What an action-packed day we had today! Late last night, some of the girls saw this tarantula on their way into their cabana (pictured below!). This morning, we had another early start with breakfast at 7am and departure for the cave at 7:45am. We knew we could not bring cameras into the caves with us, so all of the cave pictures on this blog post will be taken from Google. We all got equipped with helmets, headlamps, and close-toed shoes before heading into the cave. We were split into 3 groups with different guides and then we were off! We walked on a long trail to get to the cave, which consisted of a few river/stream crossings, so we were already wet when we came upon the cave. Once we got to the cave, we pretty much had to jump in the water to get inside. The mouth of the cave is a surreal sight – it looks like something straight out of National Geographic or Planet Earth (fun fact: National Geographic did actually go to this cave). The first 30 minutes of exploration was a mixture of wading in the water and walking on rocks or mineral deposits to get to the main attraction. We arrived at a small rock that we ended up using as a stepping block to climb up into the main chamber of the cave. The main chamber is where all of the valuable Mayan artifacts were found, which indicate that Mayan rituals were held in caves back in the ancient times. There were lots of pottery remnants, and even some human remains. Altogether, that part took about an hour and a half of the tour, then it was another 30 minutes back to the mouth of the cave and out to the trails. We had a yummy lunch at the cave site and then headed back for some free time at Lower Dover Field Station. Just after we arrived back, the Dean of Duquesne’s Bayer School, Dr. Philip Reeder arrived to LDFS! A big welcome to Dean Reeder from the Maymester students. Some students also helped out with field and lab work in the evening with Dr. Porter and Dr. Seaman. – Rory and Angie

Today we woke up to another yummy breakfast at 7 am. We had a break before a unique lecture. Five people from Hopkins, Belize came to talk to us about their culture and spiritual ceremonies. As a fun bonus after the lecture, we had the opportunity to partake in traditional drumming. Drumming and dancing were definitely not our strong suits, but we tried! Afterwards, we watched a performance from our visitors and were amazed by their talent after we struggled to do it ourselves. Shortly after, the lunch bell rang, and we had more delicious burritos. We then got ourselves ready for the jungle to do some field work. We placed an audio trap and some camera traps in trees to see if we could capture evidence of wildlife at the field station. We can’t wait to look back this week and see what we find. We also caught insects and a spider to add to the new Lower Dover collection that we are creating in our amazing lab. To cool off after this, some of us went to the swimming hole. Then, we enjoyed buying snacks at the market in Unitedville, playing volleyball, and lounging in the hammocks in our free time before dinner. Dinner consisted of something extra special tonight: PIZZA! We spent the rest of the relaxed night hanging out and preparing for our adventure tomorrow. -Carlie Oddo and Kelly Maffei 🙂

The day started off with sausage, bacon, watermelon, and French toast at 7 am. Our classes were very interesting today where we learned that rice and beans is a completely different meal than beans and rice! Then we had a couple hours of free time until lunch. The seasoned chicken was delicious, as expected, with rice, carrots, and broccoli as well. Then we all jumped in the vans for our tour of the Ajaw Chocolate Cacao Farm. There we learned how the cacao beans were taken out of the seeds, ground up, added water, honey, pepper, and all mixed together. They also gave us coconuts, sugar cane, and craboo. They were all delicious! Once we got back, some student went to the Belize River to swim while others stayed back at Lower Dover Field Station to play volleyball. When the dinner bell rang, we were given shepherds pie, beets, pickled cucumbers, sorrel cobbler, and rice soup. Those of us who mistakenly forgot to turn our fans off before we left for the farm had to wash dishes.

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In our culture class this morning, Dr. Selcer discussed the origin of Belizean cuisine. It was super interesting to learn about the coexistence of the food of the old world, (before Columbus arrived), and the new world, (what the Spanish introduced). In our second class, Dr. Porter showed us some of the traps and mechanisms that we’ll be using to trap and identify the species on the trails of Lower Dover. After lunch, we set out into the jungle to put these to use, and get a feel for what the rest of the course in biodiversity will entail. We worked up a sweat and identified a couple species along the trail, carrying butterfly nets, field guides and specimen jars the whole way. Afterwards, most of us cooled off by swimming in Little Barton Creek right next to Duquesne’s lab. To kill time while the cooks, Gloria, Sandra and Mr. Bill, were cooking dinner, we played a couple games of volleyball with Peter and Alonso, our drivers for the month. Finally, the dinner bell rang after we all worked up quite the appetite, and we sat down to eat before going outside to talk about Maya mythology and scary stories around a bonfire. Overall, a relaxed, but enjoyable day! -Mia Lucarelli and Louise Ferris

Today we woke up bright and early at 7am for breakfast with a long day ahead of us! Morning breakfast was incredible consisting of eggs, pineapple, watermelon, beans with coconut milk, and fresh tortillas. A few cups of coffee later, and we were ready for our morning lectures. We further explored the cultural diversity of Belize and biodiversity of its inhabitants. With a quick lunch break (of delicious tostados) we were on the road to our next adventure, Xunantunich, the Maya ruins. A guided tour lead us around these beautiful structures, learning all about Maya history… And the best part? We got to climb to the top of the second tallest structure in Belize, with views of Guatemala from the top. Everyone put aside their fear of heights and the scorching heat, and embraced the full experience. After this, we went for a short swim in a local river and stopped in San Ignacio for the perfect ending to every day… ICE CREAM! We really can’t wait for our next adventure! (: -Jade Kerr and Kelly Shannon

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Waking up to the sound of a rooster is a much different way to wake up compared to the alarm on a phone. Six people to a room is a pretty difficult arrangement to get used to, especially when it’s 90+ degrees! Breakfast at 7:30 sharp consisted of eggs, watermelon, cantaloupe, and sausage. After a short break, we met back in the dining hall for our first lectures. Here we discussed the variety of both cultural and biological diversity which we would hopefully encounter during our time here. Classes were hot, but once they were over we had some free time. Some people went swimming and others laid under the sun. Around noon, we regathered for a delicious lunch of tacos/burritos with the freshest home grown ingredients Maddie (LDFS owner) could have. Once we were fed and re-energized, we were ready for our first tour of the ruins which are located here on site of Lower Dover Field Station. These beautiful, ancient ruins gave us an opportunity to truly appreciate the value of the grounds past and the future which it holds as a biodiversity hotspot. We continued on our tour of the jungle trails and learned about the many indigenous species of plant and wild life which reside here. After a long hike, we made it to a freshwater river which we could swim and snorkel in. Around 6:30 we met back up for dinner where we had cabbage soup, chicken, rice, and salad. It was a cool night compared to a very hot, but fun, day. We look forward to another adventure tomorrow!<3 – Isabelle Gidwitz & Sara Bennett

At 4:30 a.m., each student trickled his or her way to gate D78 for the adventure of his or her life. By the time 6:54 a.m. rolled around, everyone was settled into the plane and ready to take off. After a strenuous delay in Atlanta, the crew jumped in a bus and headed towards the colorful Lower Dover Field Station. On the way, we saw the mountain range that looks like a sleeping giant. At our arrival, we met our wonderful hosts Bill and Maddie, as well as all of the animals on the property (goats, chickens, turkeys, etc.) Our professors debriefed us on our month-long journey and the classes we would be taking. We were able to explore the grounds, venture into the swimming hole, and drink straight from coconuts. We had such a great first day and we can’t wait to see what’s in store! -Chelsea and Razi

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Coming soon….