At the Edge of the Rainforest

Edge of Rainforest © 2008 Bo Mackison

Twenty miles south of Belize City, Belize, there exist ancient rain forests. At the edge of the forest, there are well spread out fir trees. A bit of the rain forest – think, tangled, jungly – is farther ahead, mounding in the distance, beckoning explorers to discover its mysteries.

The sun shone brightly as we entered the rain forest, but deeper within, it was quite dark in places, and the plants and trees were dripping from recent, steady rainfall. We were on a thick, muddy, and very narrow road where ruts were easily 6 inches deep and travel offered its own set of adventures.

With over 12 feet of annual rainfall, the highlands of the rain forest mountains provide the watershed to the lowlands through rivers and run-offs. Animals also frequent these water areas including jaguars, peccaries (wild boars) and ocelots. Other rain forest creatures are iguanas, black howler monkeys and 500 species of birds including the cinnamon hummingbirds and toucans. Many of the rain forest inhabitants are endangered.