2003 Daily Journal

Day Six: Saturday, July 19, 2003
Beach/Barrier Reef/Mangrove Ecology

We awoke early this morning at Kitty's Place, a small comfortable beach house overlooking the Caribbean. We are staying in the tiny town of Placencia on the southern peninsula of Belize. We took a morning walk and saw coco plums, seed grapes, and a chachalaca.

After breakfast we gathered our snorkeling gear and boarded two boats that took us out to Moho Caye. We observed the rich abundant sea life of the Belizean Cayes. We were 12 miles from the second largest barrier reef in the world! We spotted trumpet fish, four-eyed butterfly fish, parrotfish, grunts and many more!

We then boated over to French Louie, another small caye, for a lunch of fresh snapper, beans and rice and tortillas. After lunch we heard a report from Katie Cartwright. We learned that coral is fragile because it requires specific temperatures and water depth. It has been damaged by hurricanes, sediment, people, pollution and a gradual rise in the water temperature. We headed back to Kitty's Place to continue our rigorous and demanding training schedule.

Question of the day: Have you seen any baby turtles? Answer

2003 Daily Journals
Day One: July 14
Day Two: July 15
Day Three: July 16
Day Four: July 17
Day Five: July 18
Day Six: July 19
Day Seven: July 20
Day Eight: July 21
Day Nine: July 22
Final journal: July 23

Previous Years' Journal Entries
Belize Institute 2004
Belize Institute 2005