Belize day 8 (Lindie Dollery):

Today was unbelizeable!  The other students and I started the day with breakfast at Caliente restaurant in San Pedro Belize at 7 am.  Since we didn’t want to be late for snorkeling, we all had the same breakfast which consisted of eggs, bacon, tortillas, and salsa.  The bacon was my favorite part of course and it was amazing.  Once we were finished eating breakfast, all of the students and supervisors that were going to get in the water on the expedition were fitted for flippers and given snorkel masks. 

This snorkeling trip was the highlight of the trip for me and took place at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.  The first location was one of the most restricted parts of the reserve and we were instructed not to step on the coral.  After I had first jumped in, I put on my snorkeling gear and looked into the water.  The first thing I saw was some sort of fish less than a foot away from me!  We traveled around the coral reef in two groups.  The first consisted of 6 people plus the tour guide and the second consisted of 8 people.  I was in the second group.  Our snorkeling guide directed us around the Hol Chan Cut.  Because the “cut” is protected, the populations of different fish are plentiful and we were able to see big schools of fish including snapper.  Most of the time, the fish would just swim underneath or around you.  There were also lots of jellyfish that do not sting people.  We were able to touch these and play with them.  They felt really squishy.  The snorkeling lasted around an hour until we were on the boat once again and headed to the second spot of the trip.

Shark Ray Alley was the second sport on our snorkeling trip and has previously been voted as one of the seven best animal dives in the Caribbean Sea.  This dive site was previously used by fishermen to throw out the left over parts of the fish that they had caught and cleaned.  After years of this, Shark Ray Alley was born.  The Nurse sharks and stingrays circle the boats in anticipation of food.  Even though these animals are looking for food, they were very docile and careful with the snorkelers.  The dive instructor would even grab a stingray and bring it to the surface so that we would be able to touch and feel it.  Stingrays apparently feel really soft and squishy.  We were also able to pet one of the smaller nurse sharks.  Nurse shark’s skin felt similar to sandpaper.  There were also other schools of fish at this location that would swim among us and were all around us. 

The dive instructors were incredibly knowledgeable about the marine life that we saw as well as the different corrals that we passed by.  The skill that it takes to memorize all of this information and be able to tell you what they eat and which animals and plants are safe is impressive.  When we left Shark Ray Alley, we traveled the 15 minutes back to San Pedro and had made it back by 11 am.

When we arrived back at the Spindrift Hotel, we were tired and ready for lunch and a nap, but had to wait until noon for lunch.  We all went back to our rooms and took a shower and then waited for lunch.  Lunch at Caliente was once again amazing and I personally had the Shrimp Tacos.  They were amazing and definitely the right choice of food.  After lunch, we went on another stroll through the town and found a spot on the beach that was full of vendors.  One lady was selling bracelets and jewelry and was the highlight of the shopping.  She travels to different places to get beads for her to design jewelry with.  The turquoise came from Arizona and the pearls came from a freshwater clam farm in Belmopan.  The vendor made some of the girl’s bracelets and adjusted other ones to fit better.  Her prices were still low too.  There were also seashell salsa bowls.  The vendors would have a conch shell and then cut it to make it into a little bowl.  I thought this was cool and had never seen anything like it

When we were once again back at the hotel, 4 other girls and I decided to go back out in the ocean.  This time, the 4 other girls were kayaking while I was paddle boarding.  The area were we started this trip at was right in front of the hotel and there were boat docks all around us.  While we were out, the boats continued going out to a tourist destination or coming in from one.  We saw fishermen and other boats passing by us.  For the girls in the kayak, it wasn’t a problem.  I on the other hand, was standing on a board similar to a surfboard with only a paddle.  It was definitely a test of my balance when the wakes from the boats came towards me.  I am proud to say I only fell down four times in the one hour that we were out in the water.  While we were out there, we were only a short distance from the shore, but we still saw a Spotted Eagle Ray or 2 and possibly a shark.  I am thankful that I did not fall on top of the shark. 

Once we were done paddle boarding and kayaking, we had a 2-hour break until dinner and decided on a short nap before we began our homework for the night.  When it was time for dinner, we sat down and ate the delicious food.  After eating, we went back up to our rooms to work on homework and to get ready for presentations for Monday.  Tomorrow, we can have a lazy morning and then we are headed back to Belize City to prepare for another busy and fun week.