Gone were the long lines where customs officers went through each and every passenger's luggage at a snail's pace. Instead, there were several lines for passengers having "items to declare" and a single line for those with no declarations. We went to the latter (fully expecting to be redirected to the other area) and, after a few seconds of polite questions from the officer on duty, were allowed into Belize.

Mangrove swamp area just to the north of Belize City

Belize River from about 1500 ft, heading west.

Felipe Moh was waiting for us at the airstrip in the lodge bus. We had a pleasant twenty minute ride to Chan Chich under an overcast sky with occasional drizzle. Vilma checked us in and walked us across the main plaza to cabana #8, where our luggage had already been taken.

[Photo: The Main Plaza at Chan Chich is surrounded by grassy hillocks that actually are unexcavated ruins.]

The intermittent drizzle continued and we were content to sit on the veranda, renewing our acquaintance with the birds that hang around the main plaza.

Supper began at 1800 hrs (instead of the 1900 listed in the information packet) and provided another pleasant surprise. On our previous visit the dining arrangements were not particularly memorable; one had a choice from only two different dishes (i.e., beef or chicken). Now, however, a genuine chef has been added to the staff and each meal may be selected from a real menu containing eight to ten different entrees and an equal number of appetizers. Experimenting with the menu, the chef even provided a number of "specials" on several nights of our stay. All in all, the dining at Chan Chich is now far better than almost anything else we have experienced in Belize.

After supper we did an independent nightwalk beginning at about 1930 hrs. The route we took (from the main plaza down to and slightly beyond the suspension bridge) became our standard for almost every night of the stay. At the "frog crossing" pool, we found a number of different species of hylid frogs chorusing. These small (ca. 1"), butterscotch-colored frogs consisted mostly of the Hourglass Tree Frog (Hyla ebraccata) and the Small-headed Tree Frog (Hyla microcephala). There appear to be at least three different species that are superficially similar and at least a half-dozen different calls coming from this one site.

We sighted our first Red-eyed Treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas) of the trip at this shallow pond and the short calls of this species seemed to constitute about 30% of the total calls heard. This frog is particularly frustrating to search for since its calls are abundant but tracing the call to the individual frog is difficult. Often the call source can be localized down to a one cubic meter space with the singer nowhere to be seen!

On the opposite (north) side of the paved road from the pond, there is less water standing and, consequently, fewer frogs to be seen. We did manage to detect a large frog from its bright red eyeshine. This led me to misidentify it as a Smokey Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus), a much larger frog that has a similar eyeshine. Upon consulting the literature, however, I was reminded that L. pentadactylus does not occur in Belize. What we had seen was merely a large (probably female) Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Rana berlandieri) that happened to be a similar dark mahogany color. Campbell (1998, Amphibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatan, and Belize) states that the taxonomic status of these frogs is questionable and that the Peten populations may deserve full species status. Frog calls diminished markedly as we departed the "frog crossing" area.

At the new (now all metal) suspension bridge, we managed to eyeshine a small (ca. 3') Morelet's Crocodile (Crocodylus moreleti) clinging to the edge of the stream. We had noticed on the way in that the water was very high and rushing due to recent rains. It was also stained a very deep brown from having flowed through the accumulated leaf litter.

We shortly shined a medium-sized mammal moving along the tree line at the eastern end of the bridge. We didn't get a real good look at it but later experiences demonstrated that it was our first Ocelot (Felis pardalis)!

The return trip was uneventful until we were into the main plaza area again. The only toads seen were several Gulf Coast Toads (Bufo valliceps), probably a different race from the ones in our backyard and not as large (unless all we were seeing were the smaller males).

Just as we were turning down the walk to our cabana, I noticed a fairly large snake crawling into a hibiscus bush between the two adjacent cabanas. Expecting Bothrops, I immediately saw that it was instead a large Neotropical Rat Snake (Elaphe flavirufa). My first experience with this species, I grabbed it by the rear quarter and it promptly turned and nipped me lightly on the hand. Most of the literature on Belize herps is extremely vague concerning the distribution of this reptile; I was not expecting to find this species here at all. My initial impression of E. flavirufa could be summed up as a cross between a Glossy Snake  (Arizona elegans) and a Miami-phase Cornsnake. Even though about four feet in length, this specimen retained much of the reddish coloration I had associated with juveniles; most adults pictured in the literature are not this colorful. I stuffed the snake into a small cloth bag I had brought for this express purpose, saving it temporarily to photograph on digital video tape before releasing.

[Photo:  E. flavirufa, dorsum]

[Photo:  E. flavirufa, venter]

[Photo:  E. flavirufa, head, anterior]

[Photo:  E. flavirufa, head, lateral]

I later questioned Gilberto (the senior guide at the lodge) and famous Norman (the bartender) about the history of this species at Chan Chich. Neither had ever seen this snake in Belize before. I at first thought that this specimen might represent a District record, but a glance at the lodge's copy of Stafford and Meyer's Reptiles of Belize (2000) showed records for both Orange Walk and Corozal Districts.