As a thank you to Glover’s for hosting us, our last and final project looked into the composition of marine debris on middle caye of Glover’s Reef Atoll. I collected trash from the dock, and as I was collecting, I definitely felt like I was overheating. I am glad that most of the day we spent under the shade, where I got to cool down and “rest”. As the day went on, I felt much better, and got to enjoy the last glimpse of Belize until I don’t know when.

After lunch, I got to dissect a lionfish and we looked into the stomachs to see if fish were present. Unfortunately all the lionfish had nothing except of Liz’s group. I gave the last taxa presentation on Annelids, and after Herbe gave us a warm presentation on the history of Belize. After, we had our lionfish snack and OH MY GOD it was so good, like I could eat these invasive species everyday with some tortilla chips.

Aunt Annette and Jamelle, I will miss your cooking. I have enjoyed all the meals I have had here at Glover’s and if I had to choose a favorite meal, I do not think I could. Just the sheer power that the two of you have, making buns for our hotdogs and hamburgers, to meeting all of our needs, words cannot express my gratitude. You guys are one of the reasons that made all the bug bites worth it.

After dinner, we all met up at the dock to just wind down before our early morning back home. I am not looking forward to the three-hour boat ride. Anyways, we all just looked at stars, saw a couple of rays, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Also, I have been ruled the “quietest” of the 11 TFB’s so I guess that makes me cool? I wouldn’t say I’m like quiet, but compared to the group, I do agree with the status. I will miss all of the funny stories that the class has shared, but more importantly, I will miss all the days where we had slap each other on the back/head to kill sand flies. That is true friendship. Thank you Glover’s.

It is the second day of our journey and today we got to swim at Rio on the pools before making our way to Caracol.  We had a nice breakfast on our last hour at the resort, and that was our last glimpse of the world. Sad but exciting time. At Rio, we swam for about an hour and I did slip and fall. It was like the TV show wipeout where the contestants slip and you laugh, well you would’ve laughed at me as I fell. Goodtime.

As soon as we passed a Mayan bridge on our way to Caracol and into the Chiquibul region, epiphytes were everywhere. From long vines to large fan like plants on the sides of trees (bromeliads and large lianas), they covered the forest. At Caracol, many epiphytes were present as well. Figs were present, bromeliads were present, as well as orchids. The black orchid was spotted near a bridge by the front, in which that is the country’s national flower. Many great sightings but above all, the history was very fascinating.

At Carcaol, we were given a tour of the site by our driver, who was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Mayan ruins at Caracol. We climbed many buildings, one in which was for the king (people of high class). This building is the second tallest building in Belize, right behind a skyscraper in Belize City. We got to see a burial site in one of the ruins, and the system in which they bury people is very fascinating. Also, did not see bats in the burial site, in which the tour guide had warned us about, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to go inside.

At Las Cuevas Research Station, the scenery in second to none. It started raining as soon as we got here, but even that made the scenery better. Standing on the balcony and just taking everything in was a great introduction to Las Cuevas. Listening to the birds singing, to crickets chirping, Las Cuevas is the perfect place to start our journey tomorrow. Well that is it for today’s blog. See you tomorrow as our adventure is only getting started.

Picture: Rio on the pools