This was the last day, and it was entirely a travel day. We got up at 5:30 AM, ate a quick breakfast, and loaded up our gear onto the boat. After saying our goodbyes to the island, and doing a quick double check to make sure we had everything, we set out for Belize City.  The ride on the way back from Glover’s felt smoother to me than the one going out, but maybe I was just more used to it. It took around two and a half hours and then we were back at the Princess Marina, ready to load up the bus to the airport.

Things went smoothly at the airport. customs and security went quickly and we had a bunch of time to kill so we got an early lunch. They had two different flights to Houston boarding right next to each other at around the same time, which was a little confusing, but everyone got on the plane safely. We landed back in Houston around 6:00 PM. Passport control went smoothly and we gathered at the other side to pick up all the bags. I had to hand in my gear in the airport, because I was hopping on another flight which was supposed to take off two hours later. I said my goodbyes and set out to recheck my bags.

I thought that my travel day would be uneventful from there, but boy was I wrong. I was headed back to DC, and bad weather in the region meant that my flight was delayed by an hour and a half. That wasn’t so bad, it just meant that I would be getting back even later. When we landed in DC, though, there was some issue and they had us sitting on the runway for nearly an hour because there was some issue at the gate we were meant to be deplaning at. It was awful. By the time I finally got home, it was past 3 AM. What a day. I took a shower (my first with hot water in a while) and collapsed into bed.

This Belize trip was an amazing experience. I have a lot to reflect on in the coming days. This is the last daily blog, but I’ll have one reflection blog to wrap up my overall thoughts on the trip. The dust hasn’t really settled yet, but it definitely taught me a lot both about the specifics of rainforest and reef ecosystems and also more broadly about how science is carried out in the field. It exceeded my expectations in some ways, surprised me in others, and overall was an incredible journey.