Day 11 - Belize

This was our last full day in Belize.  So how do we go out with a bang?  We spent the whole day snorkeling at the barrier reef!  What an adventure!  The Belizean barrier reef is one of the longest in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  We can't list all of the animals we saw today, but here are a few: nurse shark, barracuda, spotted eagle ray, parrot fish, blue tang, balloon fish, puffer fish, lobster.  We ate lunch on a caye and watched pelicans dive for sardines.  Great day!

Look, Grandpa!  They put their boats in the water in Belize just like you do!

 

These two houses are the only ones on a tiny spit of land on a mangrove island.  The residents live here year-round.  You'd have to be extremely self-sufficient and resilient to do this.  It is 9 miles to the nearest town... by boat.

Joe: This is the cabin we should buy together!  Unfortunately, I later learned that it is a marine biology research center.

We helped pull in the anchor each time we changed locations.

This was one type of bird we didn't have to ask about.  Right before Mom snapped this picture, these cormorants were drying their wings just like they do on the buoys at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Playing music with our pop bottles at lunch.

View from the water of our lodging at Hopkins Village.

 

Evan asked for a demonstration of how to get into this nut, which was in season and EVERYWHERE since it grows wild in Belize.  A man used his machete to get to the edible part for him and then showed him how to drink the milk and eat the meat.  It was a lot like a coconut, but the husk is about 4-5 inches thick.  (The umbrella is his added touch from something else he had earlier in the week.)