Kern, Michael D.

English

Biodiversity Informatics

42 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 KERNShopping in Guatemala is a treat, with shops loaded with handcrafted cultural artifacts.IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 43TRAVELOGUEThis past December, I had the opportunity to travel toGuatemala with members of the Project Heloderma teamthat included Brad Lock of Zoo Atlanta and John Binns andDesire Wong from the International Reptile ConservationFoundation. The purpose of the trip was simple, team up withour partner Zootropic and consummate a land deal in theMotagua Valley. This land would be used to establish a reserve,breeding facility, and research and education center to help pro-tect the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridumcharlesbogerti), the Guatemalan Black Iguana (Ctenosaurapalearis), and the unique ecosystem in which they live.The trip was short, lasting only one week. The primaryfocus was the land transaction, but we also visited a few of themany Guatemalan tourist sites. Specifically, we flew intoGuatemala City and toured for a day. In the evening, we visitedour host, Zootropic’s headquarter building, and conducted theland transfer ceremony. The next day, we headed into theMotagua Valley, where we visited the land just purchased andgot a first-hand look at the rare ecosystem that supports theseamazing creatures. We also reviewed the development plans forestablishing the breeding, research, and education complex to beestablished on the property. After that trip, we wound down byT R A V E L O G U EThe Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti) makes its home on the steep mountainsides bordering the Motagua Valley.The Guatemalan Black Iguana (Ctenosaura palearis) also occurs in andaround the Motagua Valley. Both the Beaded Lizard and the BlackIguana will benefit from the newly established reserve.Surprising Guatemala: A Journey with a CauseMichael D. KernPalo Alto, CaliforniaPhotographs by the author except where noted.spending a few days in Antigua Guatemala, the country’s ancientcapital city. Finally, we traveled back to Guatemala City to catchour flights home.Although this was my first trip to Central America, I havetraveled and worked in over 30 countries around the world andpretty much thought I knew what to expect from a developingcountry, namely, amazing natural beauty under siege frombustling cities living on a decaying infrastructure. So, I set myexpectations accordingly…. Boy, was I ever wrong.First of all, unlike journeying to many expedition destina-tions, traveling to Guatemala from the United States is quiteeasy. Instead of having to travel through the International DateLine on a journey of consecutive daylong plane flights, this wasa mere five-hour flight from Los Angeles, resulting in a ratherpleasant overnight journey. We left LA in the evening andarrived at dawn the following day in Guatemala City. For BradLock, the trip was even easier, a three-hour flight within thesame time zone. Although we battled long lines at the airport,once inside the plane, all was good — and the flight was short,sweet, and uneventful. We arrived in Guatemala City and were greeted at thenewly renovated airport by members of the Zootropic team whowould serve as our hosts during this visit. We checked into thecharming Hotel Otelito, which was once a private mansion. It’smodern, open, and intimate design could easily have been fea-tured in the pages of Architectural Digest. We freshened up andstarted our tour. In the old town center, we visited one of thelargest markets I have seen. During all of my travels, I havelearned that the best place to determine how culturally differentyou are from the country you are visiting is in the markets andthe churches. I already had been pleasantly surprised by the easy44 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 KERNAerial view of Guatemala City.JOHN BINNSOne of the many exotic vendor stands in the central market inGuatemala City.IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 45TRAVELOGUEtrip and the quality of our hotel, but this market made me droolat what I saw. The colors — no, I should say THE COLORSwere out of this world. The labyrinthine corridors of thisindoor/outdoor market presented us with a wealth of culturalartifacts including textiles, clothes, and statues along with fruits,vegetables, meat, fish, shoes, and wedding dresses. The people,a mix of Indian and European descent, were happy, warm, andresponded to our amazement with laughter — without a doubta unique and unforgettable sensory experience.Next, we visited the Zootropic facility where many of theindigenous reptiles used to support the research and educationalprograms are kept. This was like a private tour through an amaz-ing zoo. A diversity of indigenous snakes, lizards, and arachnidswas on display. We were able to take pictures of some of themost beautiful vipers in the world, including Bothriechis aurifer,B. bicolor, and B. schlegeli — and, of course, several of the fewcaptive Guatemalan Beaded Lizards in the world were there too.These rare animals are slated to become genetic founders at theproposed breeding facility. During our visit, we learned from theZootropic field personnel about the different species and theirnative habitats.That evening, we walked the few blocks from our hotel tothe Zootropic office. The meeting between the Paiz family whosold the land, Zootropic, Zoo Atlanta, and IRCF personnel wasquite interesting. Mr. Paiz talked about the history of the landand the hopes of his family to establish a foothold for conserva-tion in this unique area. We learned how, over time, the area hadchanged and about the current challenges facing the people andanimals that live there. Clearly, life in this region is out-of-bal-ance, with humans rapidly converting all available area intofarmland. The meeting was rather emotional, mainly becauseeveryone felt strongly that this transaction was the first majorsalvo in the battle to protect this critically endangered area andits native species. Everyone shared perspectives over a few glassesof Guatemala’s famous Ron Botran, which happens to be pro-duced by the family of Zootropic’s president, Rodrigo Botran.After the meeting, we returned to our hotel exhausted, content,The Palm Pit Viper (Bothriechis aurifer) is an attractive but venomouspitviper found in Guatemala and Mexico.Project Heloderma Team Members from Zootropic, Zoo Atlanta, and the IRCF presenting a check for the land. From left: Daniel Ariano,Zootropic, Brad Lock, Zoo Atlanta, Mr. Paiz, previous landowner, John Binns, IRCF, and Rodrigo Botran, Zootropic.and anxiously awaiting tomorrow’s journey into the MotaguaValley, the remarkable area we had been working to protect forthe past two years.The trip from Guatemala City to the Motagua Valley in thedepartment (state) of Zacapa took a few hours by car, and thenanother hour or so before we reached the property itself. By thistime, we were off the paved roads and traveling by car“upstream” in a dry riverbed. You can read all you want aboutwhy this area is unique, but being there helped me understandits singular place in our world. Where to begin? First of all, theMotagua Valley is located at the foot of the Sierra de las Minas,which rise to 3,000 m above sea level. These mountains create anatural barrier to the moisture that originates over the Atlantic,resulting in the uniquely xeric region.The area also is interesting from a geological perspective,since the Motagua Valley sits over the junction of the Caribbeanand North American plates, an area rich in earthquakes and vol-canoes attributable to the intense geological pressure caused by thetwo plates grinding against one another. The region also producessome of the best translucent blue jade in the world, which wasmined by Mayans at the peak of their reign over Middle America.The Motagua Valley contains two unique habitat zones, asubtropical thornscrub and a subtropical dry forest. The dryforests are of the greatest interest to Project Heloderma, becausethat’s where the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard resides at elevationsof 300–800 m. Not so coincidently, this is exactly the terrainand elevation where the purchased property lies. To find the site,Zootropic had conducted a number of studies to determine theland best suited for this purpose using a method called “Multi-Criteria Evaluation.” Simply stated, this process examines theintersection of appropriate vegetation, temperature, slope, andelevations within a region to determine the potential distribu-tion of a given species. The data for this study are generated bythe conditions at sites where animals were actually sighted. Theteam is excited about this property specifically because it is inthe center of the largest contiguous geographic area that matchesthe unique requirements of the Beaded Lizard. This means thatthe reserve potentially can expand. Already, discussions are46 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 KERNThe Motagua River cuts through the Motagua Valley, providing a raresource of moisture.The Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti) isamazingly agile and can easily climb trees in search of food or safety.The Motagua Valley is rapidly being converted into farmland, which reduces the native habitat needed for the survival of many critically endan-gered indigenous species.IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 47TRAVELOGUEunderway with neighboring landowners who are consideringthat sale of adjacent lands to Project Heloderma.For me, the most unique aspect of the land is the admixtureof thornscrub and dry forest in a single area. I was used to seeingareas of thornscrub and I was used to seeing dry forests, but neverin the same place. The difference is subtle but noticeable. I mean,how often can you find cactus in the middle of a forest?When we finally arrived at the property, we were greeted bymembers of the Zootropic field team, who happened to havewith them a recently captured juvenile Ctenosaura palearis thatthey were measuring. We also brought with us one ofZootropic’s breeding Beaded Lizards, so we could take photo-graphs of the rare species in its natural habitat. After a few hoursof hiking and photography, we returned to the property gate totalk about the future plans for the site.We then headed into El Arenal, one of the major villages inthe area. Here we met with Gilberto Salazar, who is ZootropicBiologist Daniel Ariano’s field assistant and the village liaison toProject Heloderma. While in the village, we talked to many localThe thornscrub terrain of the Motagua Valley.John Binns and Desiree Wong survey the newly acquired land in theMotagua Valley.Removing the mystery and fear surrounding the Beaded Lizard andeducating local villagers on the value of conservation of endangeredspecies is a critical component of Project Heloderma.Antigua is considered to be one of the best-preserved colonial cities inSpanish America. UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site.people about why we were there, and, since we had a BeadedLizard with us, conducted some impromptu educational sessionswith both the young and old, helping them understand thevalue and unique qualities of the creature and the land sur-rounding them. Through these educational sessions, the projectseeks to dispel old fears and habits that more often than not,resulted in the killing of any lizard found by residents. Especiallyby working with the children, the project hopes to create a moreconservation-friendly generation. These ongoing educationalefforts appear to be working. Recently, a villager happened tocatch a Beaded Lizard and was offered a large amount of moneyto sell it into the illegal exotic pet trade, but he instead offeredthe animal to Zootropic to help establish the necessary stockrequired for the breeding facility being constructed on therecently purchased land.With the business of the trip complete and less than twodays before we returned stateside, we headed to AntiguaGuatemala (i.e., “Old Guatemala,” often just called Antigua),the country’s erstwhile colonial capitol. Considered by many tobe the best-preserved colonial city in Spanish America, it is awell-kept secret in the international tourist world. Simply put,Antigua is beautiful, and the Spanish influence can be seeneverywhere. At an elevation of 1,500 m, it lies in the shadow ofthree majestic and active volcanoes that provide a unique andunmistakable landscape. Antigua also is a cultural shopper’sMecca well known for its crafts. Store after store present waresranging from silver and jade jewelry, wooden sculptures, tradi-tional costumes, textiles, and weavings to crafts made from ter-racotta, ceramics, and/or wrought iron. If you’re not interestedin shopping, simply stroll down the cobblestone streets andamong the pastel buildings. Visit one of the many churches orsit in the town square and watch the people go about their dailyroutines. A number of great restaurants grace the town, and thehotels fit right into the architectural/historical landscape. A vis-itor really feels like he’s in an old Spanish colony.Antigua was the last of many pleasant surprises on this trip.After two days of enjoying the slow pace of colonial Guatemala,we returned to Guatemala City and caught our flights home.What a magical week it had been. After all, this was supposed tobe a working trip and we were going to a developing country thatwas bursting at its seams. I couldn’t have been more wrong — andthe most amazing thing? We hadn’t even visited many of the mostfamous tourist sites that the country has to offer, notably theMayan ruins at Tikal or Quetzaltenango, beautiful Lake Atitlán,or the tropical rainforests in the northern lowlands. Certainly, Iwill return to Guatemala to see how the reserve matures and thebreeding programs develop, but also to renew friendships madeand to see the many wonders of this beautiful country.48 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2008 KERNThe beautiful Spanish colonial city of Antigua is surrounded by three active volcanoes.

Surprising Guatemala: A Journey with a Cause

The University of Kansas: Journals@KU

https://journals.ku.edu/iguana/article/download/17751/16011

Surprising Guatemala: A Journey with a Cause

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Biodiversity Informatics

The University of Kansas: Journals@KU