Monthly Archives: August 2012

Bloggings, Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Scuba, Snorkeling, Videos, Youtubes

Belize-Snorkeling-Silk Cayes

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So today was our last full day in Belize and we went snorkeling again. When I woke up my sunburn on my arms felt better and it wasn’t really red but the back of my thighs hurt like crazy! It was such a weird sunburn, none of it is very red. Maybe the medication I’m taking for Malaria prevention is making me sensitive to sun.

We were able to eat breakfast because Splash Diving wasn’t picking us up until 8. They had even called to see if we wanted to cancel because it was going to be rainy off and on. I’m so glad we didn’t cancel. The guy who picked us up was really cool. We talked to him a bit and found out he used to live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

I thought the dive shop was a lot better looking than Avadon’s. It seemed newer and bigger. The boat we took today was much smaller though. The seats were a lot more comfortable though. The group we went with was also smaller, probably because of the weather. There were only 2 divers and 3 other snorkelers besides us. Everyone was from Spain also.

The weather was very stormy looking while we on the boat ride there. When we got to the island it was clearing up a little but still pretty overcast. This made me happy though because I didn’t know how much more sun I could take. The island was like nothing I’ve ever seen in real life. It was very small, like maybe 100 feet long…it was very picturesque. White sand, palm trees, a few picnic tables, one grill and one bathroom. That’s all.

We saw a lemon shark in the water off the shore immediately when we got off the boat. That was so cool. I love sharks but have only seen them on TV or in the aquarium. We got ready for our first snorkel of the day with our guide Brian. We saw a lot of sea life. Tons of different kinds of coral and fish, a lot more than the day before. We saw one sting ray that was pretty cool looking. It was light brown with black spots. We also saw little squid that looked like cuttlefish. We even saw jellyfish that didn’t sting and we could hold them in our hands.
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Then we got out and I was applying sunscreen like crazy. The sun was hurting me so I was also trying to stay covered up. While we were waiting for lunch to be made Don got in the water and tried to get a picture of the lemon shark that kept coming close to shore. He never got a good shot though, but all throughout lunch we could see the shark. That was very cool. Lunch was bbq chicken, cole slaw, augratin potatoes and watermelon. It was much better than the lunch Avadon served us the day before.

We saw a bunch of the cutest hermit crabs on the island. I love hermit crabs! We stayed on shore for about an hour and then we got back in for our second snorkel. We saw more fish, but the highlight of the snorkel was seeing a nurse shark. It was so fast so we chased it for awhile. Finally we got close and it turned around. It was coming right at me from about 8 feet below. I got a picture of it. I thought I was taking a video of it swimming below me. It would have been such a cool video…but I guess in the excitement of it all I didn’t hit the record button. So then we went back to shore so we could get back on the boat.

We took the boat out a little ways to where another boat was throwing bait into the sea to attract turtles, rays, and sharks. When I jumped in the water I couldn’t believe what I saw! A huge sea turtle right next to me and about 8 nurse sharks all around. I was so excited! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen or done. When I went to the other side of the boat I could see there were about 4 sea turtles, 6 rays and maybe about a dozen nurse sharks total. We took a bunch of videos and pictures. It was amazing. The rays were giant. They were mostly Spotted Eagle Rays, there was a gray one there also that I didn’t catch the name of. We swam right next to the turtles and over the sharks. One of the coolest days ever!

When we got back we prepared for our last dinner in Belize. We couldn’t decide where to go but eventually decided on Mangos. We walked the beach there. I got a cheeseburger, it was very good. Don got the fried chicken and rice. It was a much better experience than last time at Mangos because there were hardly any fries. I love the waitress at Mangos she was so nice and cool. We decided to walk the beach back, it was pitch black. So Don used his flashlight on his phone. I have to admit it was a bit scary not knowing where you were putting your feet. We saw a ton of crabs! It was pretty cool. And there were so many stars in the sky. I’m glad we took the beach walk back to the hotel even though I was a little scared. It was a good end to our vacation.

Bloggings, Snorkeling, Travel

Belize-Snorkeling South Water Caye

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This morning we got picked up at 7 by Avadon Divers.  We didn’t have time for breakfast. We met another young couple that was staying at our hotel, Andrea and Kyle from Michigan.  They went on this snorkeling excursion with us.

Once we got to the dive shop we filled out paperwork and got sized for fins.  We brought our own snorkels and masks.  When we finally got on the boat, it was awesome.  It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be.   It had an upper deck and a bathroom.  They set out some coffee and banana bread for breakfast.  When the boat started moving we stayed mostly on the bottom.  We went up top for a little while, but I really wanted to stay out of the sun.

The first snorkel site was really cool.  It was a small island that had a marine biologist resort there along with a couple of other resorts.  Our guides James and Giovanni did their best to point out the different sea life. We saw a couple Barracudas and many smaller fish.  It was really cool to see the coral because I’ve never really seen anything like that in the wild.
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The island looked so cool but after the first snorkel we got back on the boat for lunch.  They had made tuna, chicken and egg salad to choose from.  I had the chicken and the egg.  It was pretty good, although I have to say I was expecting a better lunch from some of the reviews I read.

For the next snorkel location we were in the middle of the sea and jumped off the boat.  The water was deep, probably around 15 feet, but you could still see the bottom perfectly.  There was so much coral and so many different types of fish.  We saw a sting ray!  And a lobster!
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During about half way through the snorkel I could feel the back of my arms getting burnt.  It was such an intense burning feeling, like nothing I’ve ever felt.  Pretty much every time I’ve gotten burnt I haven’t felt it until afterwards.  This was like my skin was frying. It was pretty bad, some of the worst skin pain I’ve ever felt.  It made the snorkeling not so great but I didn’t want it to ruin my trip so I tried to ignore it.

We got back on the boat and James cut up a variety of fruits for us.  My arms felt like they were on fire.  I’ve really never felt anything like it.  If any sunlight touched me I felt like I was burning, like a vampire.  I sat with my towel draped around me.  It was so uncomfortable. Sometimes it felt like I was getting an Indian Burn over and over.

Once I got off the boat the sun was so intense I just wanted to hide from it.  We took a picture with the guides and got in the van to go back to the hotel.  By now I am feeling the burn on the back of my arms and the back up my legs right below my butt.

After getting cleaned up we biked to the grocery store to look for aloe.  There was none.  So we biked to Singing Sands Inn because Don said their gift shop had a lot of stuff.  Luckily they had a bottle of aloe.  We also bought tshirts from our hotel that we could wear the next day because we booked another snorkeling trip.

We ate dinner at the hotel.  I had a spicy chicken sandwich, which I didn’t really like at all.  Luckily Don shared half of his pork sandwich with me.  What a nice husband.  My sunburn just felt weird…and wasn’t very red when I went to bed.  I really lathered on the aloe.

Bloggings, Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Belize-Monkey River

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We woke up this morning and had time to eat breakfast. Don had the Bacon Egg Burger that I had a few days ago and I just had a bagel. Then we had to walk to meet our guide at 745. We met him about 10 minutes away at a dock on the lagoon side. His name was Evaristo.

It took about an hour to reach Monkey River Town. On the way Evar pointed out many different types of birds. He was an expert at spotting them out. He was also an expert boater. We raced through the mangroves at high speeds. Sometimes we had to turn off the engine of the boat to hear if another boat was coming towards us through the mangroves. It was a little scary for me at first but he maneuvered the boat so freely.
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Once we got to Monkey River Evar told us to go to Alice’s Restaurant and place our order otherwise it would not be ready for later. The village looked very small. The restaurant looked like someone’s house. We told the lady there that we were with Evar and wanted to place our lunch order she said “okay, I have rice beans with chicken and plantain.” And so that is what we ordered haha.

Then we got back into the boat to go down Monkey River slowly to try to see some wildlife. The first monkeys we saw were in a tree by an abandoned house. They were kind of far but you could see them. We saw several types of birds and their weird nests that they make. Then we saw a big iguana up high in a tree. How Evar spotted it, I have no idea. The guy was good. He pointed out a small crocodile just chilling in front of some tall grass. It was probably about 4 feet long.
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Then we got off the boat for a walk in the jungle. We layered on the bug spray! Almost immediately we saw a big land crab. It was walking around a tree.
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I was being careful where I stepped because who knows what is on the ground in the jungle. Evar warned us watch out for ants because they could be crawling on you and you might not notice until it was too late. I saw a big black spider crawl over Evar’s shoe and I told him. The spider was just sitting in some plants and I was trying to show him but he couldn’t see it. Finally he saw it and told me it was small. It was not small! This is when he learned I was afraid of spiders. He told me I should be afraid of snakes instead.

Then we came upon a family of monkeys high in the trees. They were pretty easy to spot though. Evar said he was going to scare another tour group coming at us so he got out his machete and started banging it against a tree. When he did this the monkeys started howling and screaming. They were called howler monkeys. The howling they did was so loud and so intense. It was awesome. I think we got some good video of this.
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We saw a lot of cool plant life also. One of the coolest parts was the bamboo. At one point there was just bamboo towering over us.

Evar was always leading and at one point he started backing up and saying whoa whoa. He had walked into a big spider web with a big spider!! It was freaky. He said that this kind of spider makes a very strong web and he didn’t even break it.

Then we got back on the boat and continued down the river. We didn’t really get any bites in the jungle, which was cool. The rest of the trip we saw mostly birds.

Then we went back for lunch. I was so hungry and the food was really good.
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Then we got back on the boat to go back to Maya Beach. But first we were going to look for manatees. Evar knew right where to go. Right when he stopped the boat we saw a manatee pop his head up for a breath. Another tour boat pulled up for a look at the manatees but they didn’t stay long and I think they missed a lot. We stuck around and saw manatees poking their noses up for air. It was very cool.

When we got back to our dock we saw a giant iguana. We saw everything on the tour that was listed except for dolphins.

On our walk home we made a detour to go to the grocery store. I got a Dr Pepper and we got some sunblock. We walked the beach home. Don was hoping the fins we had lost had washed up. When we got back we showered and then decided to take the bikes to Bonefish Grille. It was about 1.5 miles away. The bikes were good. Riding on mine made me want to get a new bike.

The Bonefish Grille is in the Singing Sands Resort. Right when we got there I got bit by a mosquito. We got bit here more than we did in the jungle! The restaurant was very dark and made you feel like you were in the jungle. It was really cool looking.
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The waiter was really nice and we had some really good drinks. The restaurant was like an Asian Thai fusion. I had a spicy pork sandwich and Don had a Korean beef bbq sandwich. The food was really good and it was a really cool atmosphere. The only problem was there were a lot of mosquitoes and bugs that were biting us. The pool looked awesome and the resort itself looked really nice too. I picked up a brochure for the place and found out they have glass bottom kayaks!! That would be so cool. Then we came back and went to bed.
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