Bladen Natural Reserve

Cheers from Bladen! (Picture: Erik Hammar)

Well, as something different, last week me and one of my colleagues (a just arrived swedish boy called Erik Hammar) went to the Bladen Natural Reserve to join for a couple of days the rangers in their activities. Ah! It made me remember of the good all times in Madagascar: hiking the savannah getting in the mud to our ankles, crazy jungle with mysterious footprints in the ground, dinners made of rice around a fire, swims in crystalline rivers, river crossing in the straightforward style... not to mention the numerous jungle parasites! This time, a mountain of ticks.

Just as a little background, Bladen is supposed to be the most pristine forest in a country full of pristine forests, and it enjoys the highest protection level in Belize: natural reserve, which means that no activity is allowed and nobody can enter there without a special permit. The reason we were here is that Ya'axché co-manages this protected area with the forest department of Belice, and our rangers patrol the area. We were there to give them a hand (even though I think we gave them a little extra work).

Welcome to Bladen.

The savannah, and the forest in the distant mountains.

Erik crossing the rivers the malagasy way. Well, this time, the belizean way.