Jungle Art

Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize - Many travelers traipse through this tiny town on the Guatemalan border, 62 miles from the Mayan ruins at Tikal and 83 miles from the capital at Belize City. But few travelers stop here; and even fewer turn off the main road onto the innocuous dirt track heading north out of town. Which makes it the perfect place for the Poustinia Land Art Park, a secret sculpture garden. A maze of trails winds through the lush rainforest, which is studded with sculptures both fanciful and frightening.

Okay, so it's not exactly a secret (after all, it is in the Lonely Planet). But no agency offers tours and no shuttle bus runs to this site. In fact, when I visited today, I had the entire 60 acres to myself, except for the caretaker and his two dogs.

Most of the artwork incorporates the nature around it -- or maybe it has been incorporated by the nature around it. Ferns and vines sprout from the otherwise industrial pieces, which are allowed to fade and corrode as nature takes its course. Wind, rain, sun, plants, bugs, birds... they are all part of the art.

I spent several hours wandering around the grounds -- so long that the caretaker came to find me to make sure I was not lost (which I was not -- don't worry, Mom). Here are some of the highlights:

This is the "Guardian" who stands sentinel at unexpected locations around the grounds. It's definitely unnerving to see him out of the corner of your eye, especially when you think you are alone!

An untitled work by Belizean artist Michael Gordon. This is one of my favorites:

Here is a detail of the side of the car:

This one was not labeled, but it is a palm tree made out of old tires, reclaimed by the real palm trees.

Another one that was not labeled. A replica of a Mayan sculpture, reflected in the pond. The site is actually dotted with unexcavated Mayan mounds, as you will see later.

This spider is by Don Small, an artist from Barbados. What you can't see is the web, made from galvanized wire, strung between the trees.

By the way, the tarantula I saw at Tikal was not quite this big.

No Sacar, No Muerte. This one is called Rocky's Tomb. It is actually an old Mayan tomb that was long ago scavenged by tomb raiders. The artist closed up the tomb with limestone from around the area and built this sculpture to protect it.

Norwegian artist Kjetil Berge collected bottles and other colorful debris from dump sites and then used it to build "The Tower" in a clearing in the jungle.