2008 Daily Journal

Monday, July 28, 2008

Yesterday afternoon, after visiting the Mayan Center to purchase locally made crafts, we drove to Pelican Beach Resort and said goodbye to our drivers Mike and George. After an American lunch of burgers and fries and a few quick games of ping pong we boarded the Vitamin Sea for a 40 minute boat ride to South Water Caye island. When we arrived on the island, we were awe-struck by the amazing ambience and beauty that we would be staying in for the next three nights.

After settling into our cabins, we went to the beach were we met Richie, our guide who will be leading us on snorkeling trips and other island expeditions, and prepared to go snorkeling. We were amazed by the variety of fish, including barracuda and parrotfish, and different types of coral that we saw. At night, we went star gazing and found constellations such as Scorpio, the Big Dipper and Sagittarius. We also saw many shooting stars — it is a lot easier to see the stars in Belize because there is not any “light pollution.”

This morning we woke up when the sun rose and walked around the island. We collected pumice, an igneous rock that came from the volcanoes in Guatemala. We also cut open and sampled some coconuts. We saw birds that are exactly the same as birds we see on the North Carolina coast, such as Laughing Gulls, pelicans and Osprey.

Later in the day we boarded a water taxi which took us to the Smithsonian Marine Station at Carrie Bow, a small island ¼ of a mile south of South Water Caye. One of the station’s researchers, J. Antonio Baeza, gave us a tour of his saltwater lab and discussed his work on Peppermint Shrimp. We then met Martha Nichols, the station’s cook and a local artist. One interesting note about Carrie Bow was that it had no mosquitoes due to the original owner’s removal of the island’s mangroves. This may sound dreamy, but without the mangroves the island is eroding rapidly and is now only about one acre, about less than half its original size.

Before heading back to South Water Caye, we went snorkeling off our boat and saw rays, Silver Balls, Sea Rods, Tube Sponges and a school of Blue Tang.

After dinner we went snorkeling while shooting stars animated the night sky. With dive lights in hand We saw an array of nocturnal creatures including octopi, sea squid, lobster, a Spider Crab, conchs coming out of their shells, a garden of Donkey Dung Sea Cucumbers and a Stoplight Parrotfish wedged up against a rock, asleep.

July 28 Q & A

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