Q & A

July 22, 2008

Are there any showers at the places you will be staying? Halee, 8th grade, Cleveland County

The showers at Pook's Hill are "wide open spaces." Basically, water pours from the wall from a faucet. The water may or may not be hot. The "shower" area joins with the section of the bathroom that contains the toilet. The bathroom does not have a door separating it from the rest of the room.

Is there any danger where you will be staying? Vanessa, 8th grade, Cleveland County

There are several dangerous things we may encounter. Some mosquitos in the jungle can transmit Malaria or Botfly larvae to humans. Blood-sucking Conenose bugs can be found in caves and have been shown to carry Chagas disease. Our biggest concern here in the rainforest are snakes. During Tuesday's nocturnal walk we saw one of the most venomous snakes in Belize, a pit viper called the Fer-de-Lance.

How close did you get to the Fer-de-Lance before you saw it? Was it camouflaged? What did you notice that allowed you to identify it? Was it on the path? Brenna and Dax, 5th and Kindergarten, Wake County

Luckily the Fer-de-Lance was not on the path we were hiking. We were about eight feet away from it. The snake was in an area of leaves, so it was somewhat difficult to see. The markings on the snake indicated what kind it was. The Fer-de-Lance is a brown colored snake with darker brown and tan colored areas throughout its body.

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