San Ignacio, Belize

San Ignacio is a very laid back and tourist friendly town near the Guatemalan border. Being in the Western Highlands of Belize it is positively cool after the heat at sea level.
We went on a day tour into the Mountain Pine Ridge conservation area and enjoyed it in a very 6 and 11 year old way. We spent the longest time watching a huge colony of leaf cutter ants who had been working so long they had carved a trail in the grass. When the guide thumped the side of their nest with a stick, huge soldier ants as big as a bee came rushing out to investigate. Apparently they can draw blod with their bite.
We also explored a cave (with bats), saw tapir hoof prints and climbed waterfalls. This did raise some concern in some members of the party about the lack of helicopter rescue services, but only Ciaran fell in the river, and that was only at the top of the waterfall.
Today we went to a an iguana breeding station where we were able to hold the green iguanas and spot other spiny tailed iguanas and basilisk lizards (these are otherwise known as Jesus lizards for their ability to run on water). Not surprisingly this appealed to the smaller members of the tour party but was generally held to be a winner by all concerned.
Unfortunately the lovely iguana photos are not uploading on any of the computers we have found - will try to add them later.