We spent our final night on land at the Belize Zoo’s Tropical Education Center, an oasis featuring hot showers (!!!) and plenty of wildlife. On my last day searching for reptiles, I was able to spot several green iguanas (Iguana iguana) and a striped basilisk (Basiliscus basiliscus) wandering near our rooms. Both iguanas were a mottled green color, likely because they were hiding amongst shrubs and trees; iguanas can change their coloration based on health, temperature, and even mood.

From there, we began our amphibious transition at the Princess Marina in Belize City. We first sailed south over clear blue waters, protected from the open sea by Belize’s barrier reef. But the real journey began when we crossed the choppy waters of the reef crest to travel east towards Glover’s Reef Atoll. Who needs roller coasters when you have a boat in the middle of the Caribbean?

We took our first snorkel once we reached Middle Caye, the island where the research station is housed. I began looking for herbivorous fish (my taxon for the week) in the nearby patch reef and was able to find a blue tang surgeonfish (Acanthurus coeruleus) and a dusky damselfish (Stegastes fuscus). Both are common reef fish that feed on macroalgae growing on coral.

Now that our work for the day is done, I finally get to enjoy the ocean breeze from the comfort of a hammock under the stars. I don’t know what I was expecting here at Glover’s, but it sure wasn’t paradise.