First official day of the trip completed! After a slightly hectic beginning at the airport, including me losing my credit card (… sorry Dad…), we were all able to make it onto our three hour flight into Belize. Riding in two vans to get to the dock for our boat to Glover’s Reef Research Station, we stopped by a small supermarket to grab some snacks to bring onto the island. My haul included Doritos, plantain chips (even after a whole semester’s worth, I will never be sick of them), and some yummy Melacotón juice.

Afterwards, we made it to the dock where we had lunch and loaded up the boat. The boat ride was about 4 hours and a literal roller coaster. Once we broke the reef barrier and made it into the open ocean after an hour or so, the “small” swells (according to one of the crew) were big enough to make us catch some air – and it was SO. FUN.  Apparently the swells can get up to 20 feet and I am okay with not experiencing them. During this long boat ride, I was able to take a nap, see some beautiful ocean (sadly no sightings of Red Algae or tunicates but I am determined I will find them), learn about Belizean culture, and even learn some Kriol/English Creole (I’m totally going to be fluent at the end of the week just wait)!

When we made it to the Caye, we brought our stuff up into our bunks and had some free time before dinner. All of the commodities here are sustainable: composting toilets, rainwater showers, and open windows for natural air-conditioning. There are also SO many crabs. Hermit crabs and what I believe to be the Common Land Crab are literally everywhere. Someone mentioned that they are like the squirrels at Rice and I couldn’t describe it better. So many crab jumpscares. For dinner we ate delicious coconut rice and chicken, with the best mango I have ever had for dessert.

I am about to have the best sleep of my life – goodnight!!

-Sophia