Spiders are pretty common in Belize. And there are a lot of different species to be found. Some of them are pretty crazy (golden-silk), whereas others are fairly plain and simple (wolf spiders). I had the opportunity to see a few cool spiders during our adventure to Belize and I photographed several of them. Not all my shots worked out, but I’m doing my best to display my collection of photos.

I’m having a little bit of difficulty identifying all of the different species. It seems as though all the information about Belize, available at Liz’s and my fingertips falls short when it comes to some very specific biological facts. I’ll have to dig deeper and see what I come up with.

Golden-silk spider (Nephila clavipes)

This girl was all over the Mayan ruin of Caracol. I got a bunch of shots of the spiders from different angles including one with the mated male and female pair. Note that the female is about 6 times larger than the male (whom really is barely noticeable by comparison). There are many spider species that exhibit sexual dimorphism (males and females vary in their sizes). It’s not hard to figure out who the boss is on one of these webs, no?

Big Momma's House

Golden-silk spiders are known for a beautifully shimmering web that is 100 times the tensile strength of steel. It’s a prime candidate for materials development just as soon as we can figure out how to mass produce it and work it into a (non-sticky) usable weave. Fishermen ball up the webs and toss them into the water where they unfold and become a net for catching baitfish! Judging by the size of these spiders, I’d guess they could eat a few of the minnows and sardines Liz and I saw in the ocean. In sunlight, it glows as if made of gold – which theoretically helps to attract and ensnare bees. In the shade, it helps to blend the web with the surrounding foliage, catching unfortunate bugs.

They are poisonous, though it is not much more potent than a bad bee sting. The neurotoxin is similar to the Black Widow’s but much less dangerous. Scars do sometimes form after the bite heels, but the pain and suffering seldom lasts longer than a day.

Mexican red rump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans)

This is arguably the coolest find on the trip with regards to bugs and spiders, etc. This may be a rare, Mexican red rump tarantula. I can only guess based on the little bits of scarlet hair I see in the photo. Coaxing this guy out of his hole in the pitch black of night wasn’t one of my highest priorities. And the “thing” that crawled on my leg while we were looking at him made me scream like a girl and water the plants a little. So I’ll likely never know.

Tarantula’s aren’t poisonous, but their size and hairy features make them scary enough for some great horror movie fun. They burrow holes that are protected in the day by a web. At night the sense the vibrations of an intruding insect and pounce on them for a tasty meal. The fuzz on their abdomens is a great defense against predators such as small mammals or even humans. The hairs are hazardous to the skin, or mucous membranes and eyes causing irritation, itching and discomfort. I’ve seen video of a bald tarantula. Looks a bit like you’re uncle Joe.

Wolf spiders (Family Lycosidae)

This big spider spent the entire day hanging out on the chair at the main dining table. Jenn and Chris of Table Rock said they noticed him when they were having their morning staff meeting. Apparently, he was curious about the goings on at his home.

Wolf spiders aren’t poisonous to humans but they are hairy scary. This one was quite large, at least three inches. He was creepy and motionless for the entire day as Jenn and Chris of Table Rock conducted their staff meeting at the grand dining room table. Wolfe spiders don’t spin webs, rather they hunt their prey like a panther or other mobile predator. They can jump and seize a small insect effectively. I’d imagine this little guy probably helped himself to a delicious (and unfortunate) giant grasshopper at some point before moving on to another place to call home.

I would just like to point out two of the most inconvenient parts of our trip.

#1. The Car Rental (Dun Dun Dun!) We knew from the beginning with the car rentals giving us problems and canceling the week before to saying that all car rentals in Belize were sold out of the “high clearance” vehicles when we needed them that it could possibly be a problem when we arrived. When we hopped in the taxi cab in Belize City Wednesday morning at the swing bridge we told the taxi cab driver to, “Please take us to the International Airport. We need to be dropped off at Belize Car Rentals.” The taxi cab driver took us to the airport directly (with a very interesting story) and dropped us off where all the car rentals are. Now this could be partly our fault and/or partly the cabbies fault. We walked around and could not find “Belize Car Rentals.” Courtney runs into Crystal Car Rental and for thought that was who we booked through. (this is our fault, we forgot to write/print out our confirmation and address) and we just assumed Crystal Car Rental was the one. After being there for a few minutes they say we do not have a reservation with them and that they are unsure of where Belize Car Rental is. Then, after some more convo, we learn that Belize car rental is located about half a mile from all the rest of the car rental places, but still at the International airport. They then proceed to call Belize Car Rental to come pick us up. We waited there for about 30 minutes for the ride and I sat there giving Courtney the “Stank eye.” Not because I was mad at him but more frustrated at the situation and that the cab didn’t take us to where we asked him to. And the fact that all this time was draining out. After almost giving in to Crystal Rentals sweet talk and renting a car with them, the Belize Car Rental driver showed up and was actually VERY nice. We went back, signed away on the vehicle and we were on our way about 45 minutes later. The car at first was the biggest “hoop-tie” car with over 115,000 miles on it. But it got us through our trip and since it was already quite the beater, we didn’t feel bad taking it on the “worst road in Belize.” The pot hole haven road.

#2. The Time Share. We got conned into going to a timeshare after Courtney pulled a “1 week vacation for you and 5 other friends” from a white envelope if promising to give 90 minutes of his time to a time share salesperson. After biking there and paying the toll for the bridge in San Pedro (yes, Beware! a toll to go North of San Pedro, we did not know this!) we spent about 45 minutes before I started giving Courtney the stank eye and attitude for wasting our time on our trip.We talked about it briefly when the salesperson walked away that Courtney wouldn’t even get the timeshare and the person probably won’t let him walk away or give him the prize unless he purchased a timeshare and this could definitely last longer than the 90 minutes he was obliged for. I then turned and stripped down to my bathing suit and jumped in the pool while the sales person walked off with Courtney.After I jumped in the pool and waded around (jump, psh- it was a measley 3 foot deep bath tub) Courtney returned about 10 minutes later after using me as an excuse as the decision maker and that I obviously wasn’t interested (which is totally cool, I just wanted to enjoy our Sunday morning!) we then proceeded to move along to pick up groceries and head off for snorkeling.

I was more so just frustrated because these two time sucks were a waste of our time. They con you into doing timeshares so easily so BEWARE! And as I said in previous posts, time is money. Both these things were a waste of time that could have been avoided if approached correctly.

Hey Everyone! We will be working on detailed posts on all the information/details of the trips starting tonight. I spent all yesterday going through some photos and didn’t get very far. I only got through one day! We have so much to share!

Sorry for the delay! We needed a day to relax/recover!

That’s right, Courtney went to ATM alone today. Poor guy. I woke up in the middle of the night at about 2 a.m. sick. I was awake and sick until it was time to leave to meet up with Mayawalk tours, at which point, I made the decision to stay here at Table Rock Jungle Lodge and rest up. Courtney and I have had this rule since we met each other and started skiing/snowboarding together. If one person gets hurt or sick while on the mountain, as much as we are compassionate for one another, the other person still must continue to enjoy their ski day as it was paid for. Unless it’s a serious injury or something, there is no point in ruining the other persons plans/experience as well. This rule holds true to this trip, and after he asked me If I was sure I didn’t want him to stay with me today, I sent him on his way to go see ATM.

Right now, I am extremely dehydrated, but I got some more sleep since Courtney left. I am feeling better but my stomache is still not 100% right. But hey, I am just glad I get to spend more time here at Table Rock Jungle Lodge, which is fantastic and interesting and seems to always have new things to discover here.

I will venture out of the room soon and see if I can hold down some food and replenish my liquids. If I am feeling up to it I would like to learn more about this place, since we’ve really only had about 1.5 to 2 hours of light here both Wednesday night and Thursday night.

Tonight, to Belize City, we can expect no internet at our hotel. So until we have our lay-over in Atlanta where we have internet access, Adios!

Some animal planet fans may lose their lunch over the experience we had today. Since midnight, we’ve had close encounters with a number of different critters. Per our last post, we had a freaky encounter with a black scorpion. At about 12:30 a.m. (after going to bed at about 8:45 p.m.), Liz got up to go to the bathroom. She asked for some light, so I grabbed my headlamp. While she was in the restroom, I felt something crawl across my leg. Shining the light on the area I spy this little pincher-equipped critter crawling across the foot of the bed. I got freaked, Liz freaked, and long story short… the critter died. He ended up a glaze across the bedroom floor.

Shoe meets Scorpion

Today, we took the road to Caracol. Not a good road. Not really a road at all. More like a rocky clearing where the international pothole society decided to hold a permanent gathering. These are some of the deepest and most prolific potholes I have ever ever seen. In the hoopty, this is a sobering experience. In the hoopty, low on gas, it was a terrifying experience!

Once at Caracol, we saw amazing sites! We saw several Yukatan Black Howler Monkey’s and a White-nosed Coati. The Howler Monkeys, we heard for several minutes prior to our actual encounter. Once we got to the location, we found a half-dozen crawling through the trees. Just as curious about us as we are about them, they approached without fear. We got great views (and some great photos) as they danced around in the trees above us.

The Coati, we got to spot from a distance crawling along a Mayan structure. It’s a really neat looking animal that seems to be a cross between a weasel and a cat. They have a long, pointed snout like a weasel, and a long tail that sticks straight up when they walk, just like a typical house cat! I got several photos of the Coati from a distance with my telephoto lens that I’ll post once we get a better internet signal.

Liz is headed off to bed, exhausted from a night of terrified sleeplessness, preparing for a busy and exciting day tomorrow. I’ll join her shortly and commence the scorpion search. Tomorrow we head to Actun Tunichil Muchnal for our final adventure before heading to Belize City….

Hmmm. Based on our cab ride from the water port to the airport, I’d guess that our final adventure could very well be Belize City itself. Our cabbie told us stuff I never thought I’d hear. And I dare not repeat. But don’t worry, Lizzy got it on tape. Stay tuned for the video…