We started of today with a trip to the forereef, the area right outside the reef crest where the reef slopes off to deeper waters with stronger waves! Even though I took a Dramamine, I was thoroughly nauseous by the end of our trip. The ship was rocking on large waves, and even after we got out and started snorkeling we were being carried up and down on the large swells. (Here is a pic of us trying to get off the boat!)

Me on the forereef!

Although I was nauseous, it was still a really cool experience to see the deep reef areas. At one point we were swimming in a cloud of comb jellies (don’t worry, they don’t sting!). I also got some good pictures of people diving down, although none of us could go as deep as our guide Adrian (he free dived about 100 feet while we were there!). Deep below, I was able to see the bipinnate sea plume definitively for the first time! This soft coral lives 12-50 meters deep, so this was the first time I was able to see it. I couldn’t snap a good picture, as the water was too cloudy and it was pretty far away.

I was happy to be back on solid ground this afternoon, even though we spent it picking up trash! There was a ton of shoes, plastic water bottles, and other unknown or random debris. We picked up a total of 65 kg of trash, but we barley made a dent in everything that washes up here. Because of the currents from the Gulf of Honduras Gyre, trash is regularly washed from Honduras and other areas onto the Middle Caye of Glovers Reef. We were able to see firsthand all of the single use plastics in the ocean, and it certainly made me want to do a better job not using these!

We also got to see a hermit crab change shells today! We had watched a video of this yesterday, so it was especially cool to witness it in person!

After dinner, we had a great conversation with one of our guides, Ruth. She told us all about the history, climate, culture and geography of the different areas of Belize. She also told us about Belize’s relationship to the neighboring countries of Mexico and Guatemala. From this conversation alone, it is clear that Belize is a very unique place with a ton of different cultures and peoples, in a very small place (about the size of Massachusetts!).

Excited for our last day on the reef tomorrow!

-Ava