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People Who Love Belize

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve

One of the days in Belize we ventured through a canal that splits Belize from Mexico.  We went through a maze of Mangroves, ran into a few manatees, and ended up at an old Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve site.  It was a small island in what seemed to be the middle of no where.   Obviously the only way there was by boat, and yet they had things on the island that you wouldn't expect.  There were wild cats and dogs that just roamed the island.  They were friendly, but not loyal whatsoever.  From what I remember, the island was used mainly for surveying and collecting data.  It was a perfect place for that because there was no civilization anywhere nearby.  The atmosphere was very natural and untouched by man. 

There were a few buildings on the island.  One of them was a small visitor/information center.  There was a sign in book for visitors to sign.  It showed how few people got the opportunity to visit the island.  I saw a few signatures from the US, but they really only got a few hundred visitors a year.  The rest of the visitor center just had so interesting artwork, museum type preserved artifacts, information posters, and some models/maps.  There was kind of a Mayan theme to the whole place, representing a bit of the history and culture of the area. 

It was really interesting to see how simple people lived here.  They had work out stations outside, but it was nothing like the bowflex's that we have in the states.  One of the setups was a bench, made by hand with 3 planks of wood and some nails, and a big barbel made out of a metal pole with hardened concrete on both ends.  Those two things and a spotter, and they have their very own free weight bench press. 
As always, here are some pictures.




















4 comments:

  1. wow, glad to see there are still places that have avoided the tainting touch of tourism

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  2. you got me curious about the simplistic work-out equipment but didn't take any pictures of them? for shame! (:

    awesome pictures. (:

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  3. Nice pictures. Wish I could travel there! Maybe someday I'll get the opportunity. Zomg manatee! Also, cool looking dog.

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  4. I love that this place is retained most of its natural beauty! Thank you for the pictures and most of all the great story, reading the second installment now.

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