Snorkeling the Barrier Reef

Before deciding to embark on this trip, I knew abysmally little about Belize. So, to ground all of us, i present you with a few facts. Belize boasts a population of about 350,000 people and was British colony until it gained independence in 1981. The official language is English, but almost everyone speaks Spanish as well as Creole (an English derived dialect). Belizeans speak to us in English, but to each other in Creole. You can pick up a few words here and there, but it sounds fast-paced and is different enough that it is challenging to follow. Geographically, Belize is in Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Belize was the center of Mayan civilization, which was founded in 2000 BC, and you can still see the remains of pyramids and temples today. Their currency is the Belize dollar, but US dollars are widely accepted and often preferred. At this time, one US dollar is equivalent to two Belize dollars. Their rainy season is from June to November and after rains, you'll often see howler and spider monkeys emerge from the jungle. Fingers crossed that we see some during this trip.

One of the more interesting facts (to me) is that Belize is home to the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to snorkel and dive the reef for half a day. We were supposed to leave for our four hour snorkeling excursion at 8 am on Sunday. When we woke up, we were greeted by cloudy skies and pouring rain. It was the first day in at least a month that it has rained here, according to the locals. We rescheduled our trip for the afternoon and Lauren and I occupied ourselves by playing novice (at best) beach volleyball (stick to swimming, girls). 

Breakfast: yogurt, eggs, watermelon, papaya, banana bread and coffee

Later on we explored the area on bicycles in search of lunch. All of the roads are dirt and were flooded because of the rain. The roads are also speckled with severely deep potholes, so navigating our way to food was a fun challenge. We discovered a place called Loggerheads Pub & Grille a short distance from the resort and settled there. One key discovery: big Jenga is universally loved, and we played while waiting for our lunch.

Treehouse at the resort & banana tree

Journey to find lunch

Dodging mud and potholes

Big Jenga: a universal hit. Hard hats not included

We finally departed for snorkeling around 1:30 pm. A gentleman named Nowell and his grandson Allah picked us up and we rode 30 minutes to get to our first snorkeling spot. I was amazed at Nowell's sense of direction. He knew exactly where he was going, as if the Caribbean Sea was I-95. The ride to the reef was beautiful. At one point we were weaving in and out of mangrove trees in quiet coves. We saw a pelican fly above us, scoping for prey. It then dove downward abruptly, splashing in the water to catch its meal. 

Traveling to the reef 

Dogs barking at us from the dock

Cute snorkel mask marks

Finally, we arrived at our first stop. They provided us with scuba masks, snorkels and fins. Immediately upon jumping into the water, we were greeted by schools of fish and plant life. For the next three hours, we explored the reefs. The water was so clear that we could see all of the vibrant colors of ocean life. We saw angelfish, sea cucumbers, sea slugs (life goals), a barracuda (yikes), coral, jacks (larger, silver fish: at one point I thought a school of them was pursuing me and I quickly swam away in fear), urchins, sergeant majors, Christmas tree worms, lobsters, moray eels (one of my favorites), lionfish, and stingrays, to name a few. Norwell was adept at finding the ocean's hidden secrets and it was great to have him there to point out gems that would have otherwise escaped us. 

After four hours of snorkeling in two different locations, we headed back to dry land and got ready for a delicious dinner at the resort. Not too shabby for our first day in Belize.