The Owl Cafe

Tokyo is pretty famous for its cafe culture in a WIDE array of niches from maids to robots to anime to a wide range of animals. Being pretty nerdy and about to embark on a long bird watching tour at the time, our natural fit was an owl cafe in the heart of Akihabara.

We booked months in advance as spaces fill up quickly (even months in advance there were hardly any spots left) and were very pleased with our experience. The place was run by a married couple that clearly loved their 40+ birds. Entries were timed, everyone was quiet and respectful, and they had a system for rotating through the various owls to stop them from getting overstimulated.

 

From the owl "menu" I couldn't pass on "Mr President" the Malay Eagle Owl and his magnificent eyebrows. For the larger birds the owners not only provide a glove to keep the talons out of your hand, but a nice rest to lean on so you can admire the bird without worrying about spooking it. The two of us hung out agreeably for most of our visit but I was still somewhat startled when our time was up and he flapped back to his perch in the corner.

 

Kathryn was more interested in mixing things up, so after a bit of time with Gorilla, a spectacled owl (we have an affinity for these birds, having seen them in both Costa Rica and Belize) she swapped out for Potsticker, a tropical screech owl, who was undoubtedly a lighter bird to carry.

 

Senso-ji

Dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest established Buddist temple in Tokyo and the most widely visited religious site in the world. According to legend, two fishermen found a golden statue of Kannon in the Sumida River in 628 with the first temple being established under to Tokugawa shogunate in 645. 

Several sets of gates, surrounding market stalls, gardens, and the pagoda have been added over time, each being repeatedly rebuilt after destruction by fire and earthquakes. Most recently devastated in 1945 by Allied firebombing, reconstruction of the main hall began in 1951 and became a symbol of post-war rebirth and peace to the Japanese.

 

In the current configuration, visitors enter through the Kaminari-mon (thunder gate), proceed some 200m along the Nakamise-Dori shopping area, and through the Hozomon (treasure house) gate to the main hall. O-mikuji stalls are common where, for a small donation, visitors consult the oracle by shaking labelled sticks from metal containers and reading the corresponding printed fortune.

The grandeur, vivid use of colour, powerful statues, and ornate detailing make Senso-Ji an awe-inspiring place to visit. There are numerous smaller shrines, statues and memorials to various historic figures, songs, animals, and religions dotting the area. We visited both first thing in the morning and before close at night and at any time the site is bustling and captivating.

Tokyo Tower

Completed in 1958, Tokyo Tower is a communications and observation tower. Reaching 330m in height, it was the largest structure in the city until the completion of the 634m Skytree in 2012. Inspired by the Eiffel tower, it has a similar lattice design and its bright white/orange paint scheme keeps it in compliance with air safety regulations.

The look-out decks at 150m and 250m both offer impressive views of the city, but the extra few yen for the ticket to the higher point is absolutely worth it. From here, the view is completely unobstructed while the space is also small enough that you can walk around it quickly and really get a feel for every direction.

We were incredibly fortunate with both the weather and air quality at the time of our visit and could see all the way to the snowy peak of Mount Fuji. The audio guides provided give insightful facts about the city in every direction, but are cheeky enough to mention how many times parts of the city have been destroyed by giant monsters.

Maritime Oddies of Chuo City

Chuo is one of the five special wards of Tokyo, with a resident population of 170,000 that swells to 650,000 due to the influx of daytime workers. With its proximity to the ocean and canals in use since the 1650s, Chuo has a rich maritime history, which helps contextualize our handful of unusual discoveries along the Takeshiba pier.

 The Passenger Ship Terminal is a departure point for Izu and Ogasaware islands, with an overarching nautical theme, including this mast and rigging surrounded by walkways and elevated trains. A variety of sparrows and crows made for good nature sightings in the area as we warmed up for our day's walk.

 

Maintaining tidal and rainfall water levels steady since 1970, the Hama-rikyu drainage pump station is one of 4 key water management facilities and also totally looks like something out of Dune.

For those of you wondering what a Japanese nightclub owned by Jules Verne would have looked like (you know who you are) we have great news! The 'Hotaluna' is the second of three vessels designed by anime creator Leiji Matsumoto (note to my mum - he ALSO created "Albator" which I used to watch on the French channel in the 1980s - small world) which can carry up to 120 passengers for cruises around Tokyo harbour.

Hol Chan

 Hol Chan, Mayan for “little channel,” covers 19km2 of coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forest near San Pedro. Established during the 1990s during a time of increasing tourism and declining fishing industry, the area covers 4 zones which have differing biomes and permitted activities.

Generations of fisherman cleaning their gear while returning to port has created an unexpected gathering place of sharks and stingrays, known locally as Shark Ray Alley, where local tour guides feed the animals as tourists watch from nearby.

Hol Chan Cut is open to the sea beyond the reef, enabling marine creatures to travel between the interior and exterior of the reef. This concentrates wildlife with 160 species of fish, 40 types of coral, and 3 species of sea turtle in addition to numerous rays, lobsters, eels, and anenomes.

San Pedro

Ambergris Caye is the largest island in Belize, running 40m long but only 1.6km wide. Inhabited by the Maya in pre-Columbian times, the island was also popular with 17th century whalers, gradually turning to tourism in the early 1970s. Modern ‘San Pedranos’ are of Mexican descent with some Creole influences and it is said that you are not a true San Pedrano if you don’t know how to fish.

There are a number of settlements and resorts scattered around, but San Pedro Town is the only sizable town with an estimated population of 20,000. The majority of the island is set aside for national parks, further limiting the availability of real estate. The restricted space make car culture non-feasible, with that void being filled by golf carts. Access to the island is easily achieved either by domestic flights or a ferry service from Belize City.

Many of the roads are gravel and in perpetual need of re-grading, so a conventional golf cart won’t do the trick, these are some serious vehicles for a wide-range of conditions.

Steven arranged to borrow a golf cart from a friend in his condo complex and showed us a great time by shuttling us throughout San Pedro. As a trio we fit quickly and easily into our borrowed vehicle to zip from attraction to attraction.

 

 Between the Iguana Sanctuary, feeding tarpon in the marina, Garifuna culture, animal shelter, and the myriad number of restaurants, bars, distilleries, and shops in town we always had somewhere to be going and something different to enjoy.

Mexico Rock

The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300km section of the 900km long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest coral reef system in the world, which Charles Darwin described as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies” in 1842. With only 10% of the reef properly researched, it is already a recorded home to 100 species of coral and 500 species of fish and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Mexico Rocks is a shallow complex of some 100 clustered patch reefs along a limestone ridge. Popular with both snorkelers and SCUBA divers it was recommended for preservation in 1978 and officially recognized in 2015.

Belize was the first country in the world to completely ban bottom trawling in 2010 and in 2015 banned offshore drilling within 1k of the reef. Despite these measures it suffers the same risks as all reefs and an estimated 40% has already been damaged by human impact.

In addition to environmental damage, much of the reef is also suffering from invasive Lionfish. With a voracious appetite, venomous spines, and no natural predators, these fish are taking a significant toll on local species. Fortunately the people of Belize are actively taking steps to curtail their numbers with bounties for local fisherman and eager offers to take tourists spear fishing with civeche for dinner.

Tarpon Feeding

Steven took us to special places in Belize, both in San Pedro and Caye Caulker, where you can buy a bag of sardines and hand feed the local tarpon. Growing 4-8 feet long and weighing 60 to 280lbs, you have to be a little extra cautious in this process, just keep your palms flat as they really burst to the surface with force.

These fish are interesting for a number of reasons. Their modified swim bladders allow them to breathe air, surviving in oxygen-poor waters of brackish marshes but also leaving them tethered to the surface to breathe.

This flexibility around air also lets them take large gulps for short bursts of energy such as lunging for sardines, and this same jumping makes them popular game fish, although they are typically released afterwards as their flavour is not great.

We had our insta360 camera and an underwater housing along on this trip as well to share this tarpons-eye view of their feeding group under our boat.

Secret Beach

Given how widely advertized it is right from the airport, Secret Beach is certainly more of a “wink” secret than an unknown gem. In fact, it is possibly the most visited area of Ambergris Caye and perhaps all of Belize.

Until very recently, all development on Ambergris Caye was along the (eastern) reef side as the fishing, diving, and trade winds that brought people to the island were all there. 

However, in the last decade developers have built a road through the mangrove lagoons that form the centre of the island, making the (western) leeward side more accessible. Currently there are a number of scattered residences being built up along this road, but whether they are foolhardy or ahead of the curve remains to be seen.

 Once on site at Secret Beach there are a number of venues to choose from but the general theme of the spot is consistent: swim, eat/drink, sunscreen, repeat.

We took an afternoon trip by golf cart across the island and down to the crystal waters for a mellow afternoon of floating and eating nachos in a semi-submerged palapa. Despite my best efforts I am not really a natural-born loafer so after half an hour relaxed in the sun I was ready to be off on our next adventure.

Fortunately, the drive to and from the beach was a big enough part of the outing to fill out the day and provide some fun stops and detours to along the way.

Cockscomb Basin

Established in 1986 and deriving its name from the nearby mountain ridge which (to some) resembles a roosters comb, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is 400 square kilometers of rainforest. One of its key reasons for creation was to preserve jaguar habitat, and it remains on of the premiere sites for these cats in the world.

With only a single morning of hiking near the entrance, it is unsurprising that this is as close to a jaguar as we got.

The park consists of two water basins (west and east) with access and trails getting more difficult the further west you venture. Wildlife highlights in our self-guided hike include coati, aracari, toucans and guans. There were also some tracks we believed to have been recently made by a tapir, but that was as close as we came to sighting one.

One guaranteed sighting in the park is this crashed plane, which occurred as a result of an attempted landing on an access road during a thunderstorm in the early 1980s. A researcher used this plane for tracking jaguars via radio collars to learn more about their behaviour before the park was formed, and it remained an artifact of his efforts when the park opened.

Fortunately, none of the pilot, photographer and researcher on board at the time were seriously injured in the crash.

Hopkins

Tucked between the Cockscomb mountains and the Caribbean Sea, Hopkins is the Belizean cultural center of the Garifuna population, hosting its own community holiday and drum ceremonies. In 1942 the nearby village of Newton was devastated by a hurricane and Hopkins was built to replace and rehouse its residents.

Hopkins itself was a pleasant place to spend a little time with some very enjoyable food but not more than a few days of activities. The north end of the town (Baila) was  quite touristy while the south end (False Sittee) was a sprawl of enormous fenced houses, typically with multiple boat launches tucked underneath.

 

The Garifuna are a people of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry that began on Saint Vincent. Much of the populace were transplanted to Central America in 1796 after a series of conflicts with the English known as the Carib Wars. The Garifuna language is an offshoot of Arawak with numerous European influences and in 2001 was declared, along with their music and dances, to be a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible History of Humanity” by UNESCO.

 

The Garifuna have their own flag are very proud of their culture, in a manner which reminded us of the Metis in Manitoba. We experienced several instances of Garifuna music and culture in our visit, including a very memorable music performance in Hopkins with a band that would randomly increase in size as additional members arrived.

 

Kathryn was of course dancing in the thick of it and having a grand time.

 

Caves Branch Night Walk

 Night walks looking for wildlife can be a mixed bag. Sometimes you have incredible encounters with all sorts of creatures of the night and other times you walk for hours, lose out on sleep, and see a handful of bugs or sleeping birds bums overhead.

Caves Branch was a mixed bag with a few highlights below but not as rich an outing as we'd hoped for. Still this helmeted iguana is undeniably a neat little character, and the only one of his species on this particular trip. He was also content to stay still and cling to his branch, so we had a good opportunity for pictures.

Cuban tree frogs were quite common in Belize - Steven routinely catches them on his condo grounds - but this one looks a little more naturally posed on the side of a tree than it does in a bathroom sink.

We also had a valuable lesson in learning how large a spider has to get before we do request housekeeping to extract it (they had a good net and this was clearly not their first time with the ask). While the macro perspective does undeniably make this Tiger Bromeliad Spider look a little larger and more dangerous than you'd want to share a room with, it was still a comfortable hand span across and a little more than we wanted to have crawling about overhead as we napped.

Caves Branch Birding

We stayed for two nights in the rain forest at Caves Branch on our way from the central highlands of Belize to the coast. Having gorged on Mayan history for a week it was a fresh change of scenery and photography challenges. Forests can be particularly difficult areas to spot and identify birds, so we arrange for a full day guided tour with Ishmael, a local guide with the perfect combination of enthusiasm and patience to help us get the most out of our time.

There were plenty of interesting birds right on the grounds and we spent the morning just on the trails and pathways around the lodge, picking up local characters like this hooded warbler, which was boldly flapping around the breakfast tables while my camera struggled a little with morning humidity.

I am always a big advocate for getting local guides because they not only know the birds by appearance but they often know the habits and haunts of individuals that you would never notice in a million years on your own. A prime example of this local knowledge is the bard owl that was tucked between some coconuts in the top of a palm tree. He looks obvious in the photo below but was anything but, especially given the thousands of trees to choose from.

Local guides are also great for finding species you didn't know you were looking for and would struggle to identify without them, such as this Morelet's Seedeater. Of course even the best guide can't guarantee that you'll get more than a fleeting look or be able to fumble through with your own gear - of the 68 species we saw on our outing, I would say I have "okay" pictures of maybe a third of the species and "good" pictures of half of those, but that's all part of the fun and challenge of a day like that.

Caracol

Originally thought to be a fringe player in the Classic Period of Mayan history, the city is now known to have been one of the key political centres. Located on the Vaca Plateau at an elevation of 500m in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, the modern name means “snail shell” on account of the winding access road to the site. The ancient Maya would have known it as Uxwitza meaning “Three Water Hill.”

Although famous for its altars and stellae, Caracol’s biggest draw is Caana, the “Sky Palace,” which remains the tallest structure in Belize at 43m. Designed with Mayan cosmology and numerology throughout, Caana has two sequential stairways to a top platform, which is itself topped by a trio of pyramids. The other major highlight is the celestial observatory, which still has the original wooden timber supports

Caana is a stunning structure to behold, but its tiered pyramid design doesn’t do it favors to the conventional camera lens. What looks imposing to the eye invariably comes out as squat and unassuming in pixels. If we’d had our drone with us we might have done it justice, but for now we just recommend everyone go see it for themselves.

Once covering 200km2 with a suspected population of 180,000, it covers an area larger than modern Belize City with double the number of inhabitants. Occupied as early as 1,200BC, Caracol flourished as Tikal’s main competitor, but ultimately collapsed with all the other Mayan city states around 950AD. Rediscovered by a woodcutter in 1938, the ruins were surveyed in the 1950s but major excavation didn’t occur until the 1980s.

 

The Road to Caracol

Our original plan to was take every 2nd or 3rd day easy, but unfortunately there was too much to see and do in Belize so every day became an expedition. Case in point, I had barely heard of the ruins of Caracol before leaving, but having gotten a taste for Mayan cities this one sounded too tantalizing to miss.

It was also one of the most remote sites we visited, being far from town and close to the Guatemalan border. There have historically been problems with bandits in the forests as well (Belize recommends visiting the site as part of a daily convoy, but we did just fine with a local guide) so we opted to go with an organized tour for this one - fortunately there were only three of us booked so we had a small and personal tour to the site. But getting there took time...

On the way, we really lucked out with a close encounter with some King Vultures. Normally they are circling FAR up in the air, and we were incredibly fortunate to see a cluster of them practically at eye level and very close to the road.

Belize (like the Yucatan) is crisscrossed with limestone caverns and waterways of various sizes. The Rio Frio cave was an enormous, but also highly accessible cave on the way out. Its also not incredibly deep, so we could enjoy the strange formations and stream running through it, without spending too long (or worry about getting too lost)

We also visited the Big Rock waterfall, which was as scenic as it was freezing cold. Despite an opportunity to swim none of us were quite hot enough to want to brave the chilly water, though there were a group of cliff jumpers a little further up that were the right combination of brave and foolhardy to be enjoying the waters themselves.

Xunantunich

Xunantunich means “Maiden of the Rock” in Mayan and refers to a ghostly woman with fiery glowing eyes that has been reported ascending the stairs of El Castillo since 1892. As an indicator of how long the site has been abandoned and how completely the Mayan empire collapsed, the settlements original name is lost to time.

Strategically located on a limestone ridge overlooking the Mopan River, local Maya established control of the valley but were themselves vassals of the city state of Calakmul. Construction began as early as 200AD, halted following an unknown violent event in 750AD and then took off again by 800AD, ultimately outliving many of its rivals but still collapsing by 1,000AD and lying dormant until its rediscovery in the 1890s.

The core of the site is dominated by the pyramid known as “El Castillo” which, at 40m in height, is the 2nd tallest structure in Belize. Magnificent stucco friezes depicting the birth of a god and the tree of life are still visible near the top, with portions having been reconstructed for the benefit of tourists.

This focal point is in turn surrounded by 2.6km2 of plazas, temples, palaces and ball courts. As with most Mayan ruins, the remains of the city extend far beyond what has been excavated, offering only a hint to what the original city would have looked like.

The view from the top of El Castillo is stunning. At the peak of Mayan civilization it would have offered an unrestricted view to Tikal and Cahel Pech when all the rainforest now between the sites was developed farmland and city.

Access across the Mopan river requires a simple cable ferry, which is free to take but gives local guides an opportunity to pitch their value to you while entering the site (protip: they are worth it, if Edward is there, he is fantastic). The operators were also more than happy to sit back and let Kathryn take a turn on the crank to put her captaining skills to use in another country and kind of boat.

Actun Tunichil Muknal

The rain god Chaahk was a powerful and fickle power to the Mayan people, especially in times of drought, and human blood was a potent source of nourishment for the gods. The limestone caves across Belize were sacred places for him, as the rivers flowing from them were seen as his influence extending from the underworld of Xibalba.

Actun Tunichil Muknal, meaning “Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre” contains both artifacts and human remains from the Classic Mayan period. For hundreds of years, priests came to this cave to conduct bloodletting rituals and human sacrifices.

Many of the stone formations within were shaped to produce musical instruments, altars, or to cast shadow silhouettes of faces and animals on the cave walls.

Entering the cave today involves a 3km scramble underground along a meandering river to the site. The final cave opens up like a natural cathedral that contains 14 skeletal remains, all assumed to be high-status individuals sacrificed in times of war or drought. Frequent flooding over time has calcified their bones, fusing them to the ground and leaving them with a sparking and otherworldly finish.

Experiencing this site was an intensely spiritual experience that left a mark on us - truth be told I think we are still processing it and likely will be for years to come. Though the priests who worshipped these gods are long gone, they were human beings similar to ourselves but utterly different in circumstance. The undeniable power of the place, combined with the things that happened there, are haunting.

Please note: All these photos were shared afterwards by our guide Basilio from a collection built up by local guides. After a number of mishaps with clumsy tourists, photography is no longer permitted in the caves.