Tag Archives: Day 15

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Day 15: Not goodbye, see you later

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As the dock grew smaller and smaller as we made our way toward Belize city, I took in the view one last time and said my goodbyes to the sand flies. I took a picture of the amazing view for memories and wow I will miss waking up to this. WOW, my mother’s reaction to my legs were just jaw dropping. Literally. She looked, jaw dropped, and she just laughed.

Before heading out to the airport, I got a last quick taste of Belize with a soup sop juice I ordered at the hotel. We had so much down time at the airport that I just like looked around for stuff and mainly hung out with the gang for the last time. I slept most of the ride, and as soon as we landed, we all said bye to Brendan, Pierce, and Anna, which then lead to all goodbyes at Rice *cries*.

Nothing like getting back and going on a quick target run for ointment for the many bug bites accumulated during this trip to only have many people stare at you as you walk down the aisle. When I asked an employee for which ointment, he looked at me as if I had some virus and told me I should go see a doctor. Thriving right now guys.

Wow, it is really over. Goodbyes were said and now, all I can think about is the food, Brendan and Keegan lying to me all the time, and all the great stories Kaela shared with the group. Memories like this I will always remember and just keep with me. I hope you enjoyed my journey through Belize, and hey, I came out alive!

Left pic: View of morning sky from Glover’s. Right: Last taste of Belize from the soup sop juice.

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Day 15: I cannot Belize it’s over!

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My final walk, might I say jump, down the Middle Caye dock.

5/28/19: Our two-week journey has finally come to an end. Is it possible that it some ways it feels like it happened in a blink of an eye and it was a whole month? Regardless, I am going to miss Belize: the beautiful natural habitats, kind people, and of course, the delicious hot sauce.

It was a super long day for me. I started my morning at 4:45am and took a three-hour boat ride to Belize City. Then, boarded a flight that lasted two hours which put us in Houston around 5pm. Next, we drove through rush hour traffic back to Rice where I then got into my car and drove another 4 hours back to my home in Corpus Christi, Texas. So, it is safe to say I am pretty worn out.

However, on the car ride home, I could not help but reminisce on all the good times in Belize. The animals we saw, the crystal blue water, and our interesting tour guides. I think I want to go back to Belize one day as a tourist and even as a researcher. What will I be researching? Hopefully, I can figure that out soon.

Tonight, I plan to tend to shower (maybe even shower twice?) I will also tend to my bug bites with a concoction of Neosporin and anti-itch cream. Above all, I plan to sleep for at least 12 hours.

Wish me luck in Dreamland!

-Bella

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I don’t want to leave Belize

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Today I woke up early to finish some last minute packing and get ready to leave Glover’s. We said bye to the staff and the cooks even gave us some cinnamon bread for later. Then we headed out on the boat to visit the Smithsonian research center and mangroves.

At the Smithsonian, we met Clyde, the station manager, and one of the researchers staying at the station as well. She was studying hybrid elkhorn and staghorn corals and how they can withstand high temperatures. Then, Clyde gave us a tour of the station and showed us some the things the experiments the researchers had set up.

Then, we went to the Mangroves and got to snorkel around the roots of the trees and see all the algae and sponges that were growing in that environment. We didn’t see any seahorses or manatees but it was still a fun last snorkel.

We boarded the boat and finally got back the Belize city, where we had a fun last lunch at Calypso restaurant. Then we had to say goodbye to Rose and Jahvier, and head to the airport. Leaving Belize was so hard, and saying goodbye to everyone at the airport was even harder, but I’m so glad that so many people will be in Houston over the summer.

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Saying Goodbye to Our Second Home

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Day 15:  May 29th 2018, From Belize to Houston

Today we woke up, at an early breakfast, and said goodbye to our little paradise island.  It was so hard to say goodbye.  We boated out to Carrie Bow Cay which we toured the a small Smithsonian Research Station.  Researchers were currently there looking into the heat tolerance of Acropora cervivornis- Acropora palmata hybrids (Elkhorn and Staghorn coral hybrids).   I picked up my last hermit crab for the trip here, and let it grip and walk across my hands.  After we had toured, we found and invaded their hammocks as we took in our last day of beautiful views and hot sun.

After the tour, we set off to our last stop: the mangrove island of Twin Cay.  Here we snorkeled around the roots of the mangroves, observing sponges, starfish, Cassiopea jellyfish, and many small fish living amongst the roots.  Apparently, a manatee swam by our boat while we were snorkeling, but we didn’t end up seeing it.  Stinky and salty, we then boated back to the marina on the mainland where we changed and ate lunch. It was at this restaurant that we had our last meal together as a TFB family.

We then drove to the airport, went through security, explored the souvenir stores, and hopped on our plane to Houston.  We all stunk from the mangroves, so lets just say the people sitting next to us could tell that we hadn’t been in vacation.  Also, Claire’s dad was the pilot again, and he had traded flights so that we could fly us home! How fun! We got a nice shoutout which was pretty cool.

As for the actual flight, I spent the hours reflecting and thinking about our trip.  First of all, how did we do that much in just 2 weeks?  Also, how do you form a family like ours in just 2 weeks?  We learned so much.  We changed our definition of what it meant to be clean and privileged.  We also learned a lot about ourselves.  For example, I learned so much more about my research interests on this trip which should be a fun thing to explore this summer.  While I was thinking about all of this, I didn’t realize that I was blankly staring at the seat in front of me for about 3 hours. Really… I actually think that I scared the people around me.  Ah well, we’re all a little weirder after this trip, and the experience and people are worth any funky smell or awkward plane encounter.

Goodbye Belize! This won’t be the last I see of you!