Day 7

January 5, 2019
It has been quite an eventful, fear-facing day for the Javelinas. After a quick breakfast at a quaint café, we made our way to the pier at a place on the island called The Split. There, we rented snorkeling equipment and climbed aboard a boat headed for the coral reef. Our feet dangled off the boat’s edge, being gently sprayed by the jade colored waters of the ocean, our backs feeling the sting of the sun. Soon we were in the water, buoyed by our life jackets, masks suctioned onto our faces, and snorkels secure. Even the 2 students who could not swim were braving the water. As I
gingerly peeked under the surface, all my anxieties about being in the water melted away. There, under the rippling waves, was a world teeming with life. The coral swayed with the tide, the fish flashed us their colored scales, gazing absently at us swimming past. We swam with nurse sharks and sting rays, both magnificent and powerful creatures who glided past us effortlessly. It was an inspiring reminder to take care of our oceans and the creatures in it. When we got back to land, we scarfed down our lunch and water. Our schedule afterwards was a loose time frame that we could fill with whatever we saw fit. Our adventures led us to the Koko Hotel, a beautiful resort, where we lounged for a short time. We also fed the giant tarpon fish, which blew us all away as they leapt out of the water to snatch the sardines from our hands. Finally, we ended the day kayaking/paddle boarding along the shore, gazing up at the clear, twinkling stars in the sky. As our time for leisure begins to close, I am struck by how much we have experienced in such a short amount of time and am filled with such a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to observe the culture surrounding us in Belize. I look forward to what’s ahead!
Gabriella Sanchez


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 13

Image
This morning our final day began by having breakfast at the Ramada Princess Hotel in Belize, City.  Afterwards, we took the hotel shuttle to Stella Maris to complete our final day with them.  Once we got there, the teachers and students greeted us at a school assembly they were having. There was a lot of singing, clapping, and smiling coming from the teachers and children.  It was great to see all the hugs the Students for Global Communication (SGC) were getting from everyone at this event.  After the school assembly, a few of the SGC students and I walked back upstairs to the resource room where we had sorted out school supplies from two large suit cases to donate to the teachers at Stella Maris school. The teachers quickly took the various materials as their need for basic school supplies became apparent. At the end of our morning we walked around the school saying our final farewells to children and teachers alike.  Many hugs and some tears were shed as we said goodbye.  The SGC st
Read more

Day 1

Image
December 30, 2018 The students for global communication rose from their beds before the sun. Everyone met at the airport at 4 AM, blinking sleepy eyes and dragging mountainous luggage behind them. The quick good-byes to friends and loved ones led to fast paced check ins and TSA scrutiny. 2 flights and a custom’s check later, we arrived in Belize City, Belize to the relieving warm weather and the smiling face of Rico our Belizean tour coordinator. We hastily piled into the shuttle and made our way to the Ramada Hotel, where we gratefully rested for an hour before lunch in the dining room downstairs. After our bellies were full, we loaded ourselves back into the shuttle and drove to Old Belize where we spent the rest of our afternoon basking in the sunlight at Kukumba Beach. We embarked on a relaxing train tour through a museum of Belizean history that began with the Mayans and ended with the Chiqleros. We all dipped our feet into the cool waters of the Caribbean Sea, but only
Read more

Day 3

Image
Day 3: January 1, 2019                The morning after we rang in the New Year on the beach in Placencia, our wonderful adventures continued. As we woke up and began packing our bags a knock on the door reminded us not to be late to our breakfast at the Cozy Corner. This beautiful restaurant laid right on the edge of the beach on the tiny village we stayed the night on. A large deck held many wooden tables, there was fresh fruit on our plates and waves crashing in the background of quiet conversation. We ate an amazing breakfast, including some of the best banana pancakes our professor and students have ever had. It was time to head to our next destination, Punta Gorda. The journey there was just as bumpy as the journey onto the peninsula but also just as breathtakingly beautiful. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel we were heading to the lunch spot our guides had chosen for us that day. On the short way over we were stopped in our tracks at the sight of about
Read more