Army Ants

Today was unexpectedly productive and challenging. I'll leave it to others to describe our encounters in Arenal, Guatemala.
On the way home to San Ignacio from the Guatemala border we stopped, on Ray's insistence, at a place called Black Rock Lodge. It's gorgeous. Look it up on the web. It was only about a half dozen miles off Western Highway, the main road that runs from Belize City thru Belmopan and San Ignacio to the Guatemala border in Benque. That half dozen miles was actually about 30 minutes of washboard rock. Once we arrived, the beauty of the sheer cliffs on either side of the Macal River was spectacular. Ray led most of us down to a sandy spot on the bank of the river where he and I swam while the others got their feet wet and watched.
On the path back to the palapa where dinner was being prepared we noticed a stream of black ants about 2 inches wide moving its way up the hillside. As the sun set we sat too, at a string of picnic table made from mahogany. We had a delicious dinner of glazed chicken, carrots and okra, and fried plantain coquettes. Pineapple juice by the pitcher served as our liquid refreshment.
As we were finishing our chocolate cake dessert, Giovanni, the manager, came up to us with some urgency and asked to talk to Ray. The upshot was that the ants had made their way all the way to the palapa and we had to go. Now. We gathered our stuff and discovered that the ants had invaded our towels and swimsuits. We paid the bills and hopped over multiple streams off and on the path as we made our way back to our cars.
Belize never ceases to amaze...
- dan