NDR - Baboon Sanctuary question

[Downing]

My wife and I are planning our trip to Belize set in late July. We'd like to check out the Howler Monkeys while we're there, as well as a couple of other mainland activities, before boating off to Turneffe Island Resort for a week.

Here's my question: when's the best time of day to visit the Sanctuary? I'm guessing early morning or early evening. It's going to be hotter than Hades that time of year, so I assume the monkeys will be all be napping mid-day. That's what I'd do if I were a monkey.

Any Howler Monkey info will be much appreciated.

 

[hopefulist]

The howlers are more active in the morning and evening; we stayed in a cabin at the Nature Resort in the Community Baboon Sanctuary last summer and could hear them roaring at each other at those times. The locals bribe them to come out during the day with bananas, too, so you'd likely see some at other times. You'll need a car as the area is barely served by public transportation.

A weather note, weather it's as hot as you describe or not varies from year to year. We've visited twice for 3-4 weeks each time, July/August 2003 and August 2009. Last year it was not that hot and even in 2003 the night time rains cooled things down. The hottest months in Belize are usually April and May. Have a great trip and please post a travelogue for us!

 

[hopefulist]

By "need a car" I mean either a rental or a driver - let me know if you'd like some recommendations. Our photos and travelogues are here in case you're interested.

 

[Downing]

Thanks for the response and the photos, much appreciated.

I considered spending a night at the Sanctuary but that's probably best for another trip. We'll have a driver. Hopefully, I can talk him or her into letting us hang out there into the evening; otherwise, I guess we'll just have to bring plenty of bananas! :banana::banana::banana:

P.S. Hey, I just noticed you're a fellow Oregonian. How about sending some of that central Oregon sunshine to Portland!

 

[Ralph Capeling]

If you want to see howler monkeys, you may want to consider going to Placencia. The Monkey River tour is a great way to see them plus huge iguanas, turtles, crocodiles and birds. You take a 30 minute boat ride from Placencia through the mangroves and that is a fun ride and sometimes you see manatees (or at least manatee noses when they come up to breathe). There are lots of other attractions in and near Placencia. You can check out our website at splashbelize.com

 

[Downing]

Hey, Ralph, thanks for that.

But we'll be staying in beautiful, ahem, Belize City for two days before leaving for TIR, so we won't have time to make it to Palencia. In addition to the Baboon Sanctuary, we're going to do the cave tubing thing and a trip to Lamanai before we go.

But there's always next time...

 

[hopefulist]

You should see plenty of howler monkeys at Lamanai, too. I grew up in the valley and went to college in Portland and thought I was used to the rain. I've lived in the rain shadow of the Cascades for more than 20 years and 350 sunny days a year is pretty addictive! We've had gorgeous sunshine every day for more than a month, though the wind about blew my house down 2 days ago. Happy trails!