A couple of our group has come in, and we thought they would enjoy going to the National Park. It’s a ways away, so not something that we generally do with the workshop, but still, it’s fun and a beautiful feature of this part of Belize. In fact, one of the people had it on her “to do” list.
We piled into what we affectionately call The Jungle Bus, recently freshened up for our workshop. You’ll meet it in a later blog. We stopped at a main junction called, of all things, The Dump. It is actually very clean, so I’m not sure of the origin of the name. I couldn’t resist doing a photo of the gas station building. If you look carefully, you’ll see the thatched roof of a traditionally-built house out behind.
After lunch at the park headquarters, we walked the path down to Rio Blanco. Our guide, Geronimo, pointed out various plants and bromeliads and was very informative.
One of the things to do at the falls is jump off the cliff. This is something I always did growing up, whether off a pier on the Maine Coast or into a quarry where you knew for sure it was deep and clear. I couldn’t resist doing it here, although I must admit, since it had been a few years since the last time I did something like this, I started off with a lower “launch pad.” It was a hoot, and Arnie photographed us going off the higher cliff.
There were quiet pools above the falls. It was so refreshing and at the same time, a bit mysterious as one looked across them into the deep dark of the jungle.
I found shells on the rocks. After all, this part of the world used to be part of the sea which accounts for all the limestone we saw.
I love photographing water, but I am always challenging myself to make it different.
Last year, I did a shot I called Liquid Silver. This year, I was struck with the triangles I found that echoed one another.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the area, its beauty, and its tranquility.
We stopped at some other falls on the way back, but we wanted to return to the Lodge before the rest of our group arrived. After everyone checked in, we did our preliminary welcome over the daily special of Barrell (rum) and juice, then broke for a delicious dinner and good conversation.
Everyone was tired, so after a brief review of good practices, we all headed off to our respective cabanas. I can’t speak for the others, but I zonked right away. If the Howler Monkeys were doing their thing, I never heard it!
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