Just outside Orange Walk sits Lamani Eco Tours. When we arrived at Orchid Bay Resort we booked a river fishing tour through Lamani Eco Tours. This would be an all-day trip, meaning an early morning for us the next day.
5 am came earlier than I had hoped. After a restless night of sleep, I woke up to my annoying alarm going off. We had wanted to catch the sunrise from the pier. I change into my clothes and grab my camera and I head out to enjoy how beautiful our location is. Raymond and I stay out for over an hour. Enjoying the view and the sounds of the water as well as the birds off in the distance. I didn’t want to leave but we need to eat as we are to meet a group in the parking area for 8. Our tour starts at 9:30.
The drive from Orchid Bay was a little rough. The roads in the area are being worked on to make it easier to drive. However, it was not finished when we were there. We stopped with another tour group in Orange Walk for Tacos and they were so delicious. Followed up with a refreshing bottle of Horchata. We arrived with 5 minutes to spare at Lamani Eco Tours.
Once out of our vehicle. We were introduced to Trevor our tour guide for the day. We paid for the tour. This tour would be the most expensive part of our excursions as it was $150US per person. Keep in mind though it was for a full day with a meal. We then boarded the boat that we were to spend the next couple of hours on. We were excited to get out there on the water.
One thing to note. I do not do well in boats. I struggled to get into the boat all while my Dad was laughing to kill himself. Instead of helping he was having too much fun at his clumsy daughter trying to board a boat. Lucky for me we had a really helpful guide and he helped me situate myself. This tour was for my dad and to see him already in his glee was worth my pride taking a hit. I mean what Newfoundlander can’t get into a boat?
Once all aboard we set out on the most fun boat ride I have ever been on. there were twists and turns through the rivers. It was maybe one of the craziest boat runs I have ever been on. I mean how do they remember the way around these rivers? about 5 minutes into the boat run Trevor slows the boat down to a crawl to show us some turtles sunbathing on some trees that had fallen into the river. I’m a pretty easygoing person so for me this was one of the highlights of the tour.
We take off again looping around twists and turns on the water. It reminded me of something out of a movie and we were on a highspeed boat chase. I honestly was loving it. Another 3 minutes into speeding through the river. he stops again and loops back to show us a crocodile also sunbathing on a river bank. My dad and Amelia were like no way that is real. It was. Also, I have to admit they are beautiful creatures. I wouldn’t want to come across one in the wild but they are beautiful to look at.
Not 20 feet up the river around the bend was a group of kids swimming in the river. Dad goes to Trevor “Are you going to warn those kids about the croc being around?” Trevor laughs at him. He then explained that that crocodile was a very unexpected thing for us to see as they do not like humans and shy away from them as much as possible. You have a better chance of getting bit by a snake than attacked by a crocodile. Because we were the first group on the river we had lucked into it still being out in the open.
We finally hit open water where Trevor sets Raymond and my dad up with some rods to see if they can catch some Tarpin. Amelia and I were there just enjoying the wind in our hair and the beautiful day on the water. Unfortunately, they had no luck with the big fish. So we moved on to another area to try for some smaller fish. Trevor was an amazing guide full of information and he made us feel very at ease.
I am not a big fishing person but when asked I took the rod to have a try. At this point not one of us except Trevor had caught a fish. We noticed he was placing the top of his rod in the water and asked him why? He advised this is the way to catch this type of fish. There was no bait used just a hook and spinner.
I followed his instruction and to my surprise, within seconds I caught a fish, and then another. Dad took the rod back and attempted to catch a fish. He caught several small ones that we had to put back. He did end up catching a few others. Raymond also caught some fish as well. Amelia had tried a few times casting out in the water but the reels they used were causing her to struggle. So she decided she was enjoying her day in the boat and left the fishing to everyone else.
Later in the afternoon, we pull into a little cove area and Trevor sets us up with some food. A meal of Rice and beans, Stewed chicken, and fried plantain. It was delicious one of the best rice and beans I have ever eaten. We fill our stomachs with all the amazing food. Once done we Moved on to more fishing. The weather is beautiful with blue skies and big white fluffy clouds. We soon moved to more open water again where they tried for some Tarpin again. Sadly we did not catch any on this trip.
Some dark clouds started to roll in and we decided it was time to head back. The rain came down at one point but it made for an even more fun day. The rain was cool and it was hot out. We had so much fun on the water all day. I was exhausted when we arrived back at our resort. We settled in and went to the restaurant for supper. Once done we went back and enjoyed the evening with some drinks on the landing. Where I saw a wild fox roaming the grounds. I didn’t have my camera for that one.
Would I recommend Lamani Eco Tours? The answer is yes, If you want a fun full day out on the water defiantly look them up. http://lamanaiecotoursltd.com/ You won’t be disappointed. I know we were not.
