After two nights on Tobacco Caye, we attached sails to the kayaks
and sailed several miles south to South Water Caye. Sailing the kayaks was
actually somewhat stressful, as it seemed like we were constantly on the
verge of tipping over. No one tipped, though, and we all made it in one
piece. After lunch on the beach, we checked into the International
Zoological Expedition (IZE) resort, which was a large step up from the
previous night's accomodations.
The whole group posing in front of the rigged-up kayaks
before setting off.
The grounds were nicely landscaped, although at night
this path was crawling with hermit crabs. Watch your step!
Our room had another ocean view, this time with
mangroves as well. The barrier reef is in the background.
There was no hammock on this balcony, but it was still a good spot
for relaxing.
The following morning we paddled out to a tiny
island named Carrie Bow Caye that was home to a Smithsonian research
station. They monitor the health of the reef, measure ocean
temperatures, and worry about global warming and fertilizer runoff from
shrimp farms on the coast.
On Carrie Bow Caye, with South Water Caye in the background
On the way back from Carrie Bow, we stopped for more
snorkeling.
That night, we went on a night snorkel trip and took
these pictures of the sunset while waiting for it to get dark. Night
snorkeling was awesome; we saw two
large octopus and a huge hermit crab living in a conch shell.
On the last day of the trip, we took a motor
boat back to the mainland, staying overnight in Hopkins. While waiting
to board the boat, we watched these pelicans dive for fish.
Marie
Sharp's hot sauce was on literally every
table in every resaurant we ate at in Belize.
Things that are better with hot sauce:
- rice & beans
- grilled chicken
- fresh snapper
- beef stew
- scrambled eggs
- fried spam
- ham & cheese sandwiches
- conch fritters
- hamburgers
- french fries
- shrimp
- fried rice
