All posts by ic38

Final Blog: Forever a TFB

Wow. Even now, I truly cannot believe everything we got to experience and do in these past two weeks. From exploring the forests and the caves at Las Cuevas to snorkeling around the reefs of Glover’s, everything has truly been so unbelievable. The rainforest and the reef, though they are so different, can honestly be comparable to each other as the terrestrial and aquatic equivalents. Both environments host some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in their respective areas, from the insane diversity of creatures of the rainforest to the absurd abundance of fish and corals of the reef. The comparisons between trees and corals is also one that cannot be ignored, especially how both provide structure and habitats for so many organisms, and are arguably the defining trait of each ecosystem. Without trees, there is no forest, and without corals, there are no reefs.

Never had I thought about the two in such similar contexts, but going from forest to reef back to back, these similarities were inevitable. But though they feel like the terrestrial and aquatic counterparts, there are still many a differences between. Everything in the forest felt so hidden, and we had to be actively searching for everything, from small insects like grasshoppers and crickets to larger mammals like agoutis and howlers. The reefs, however, felt so much more open and out there. I noticed how prevalent fish truly were, and how they were literally everywhere. I also noticed how, especially in MPAs, fish were so much more comfortable with human presence as opposed to the wildlife at Las Cuevas, despite both being arguably equally isolated.

But still, both experiences were genuinely insane, in the best way possible. Honestly I don’t really know what I was expecting coming into the course, but I do know I was really only interested in the reef section. The rainforest half felt like a week in between me and a Belizean snorkel vacation, and unfortunately that thought was very prevalent in my mind at the start. What I didn’t expect, however, was how much I would end up enjoying LCRS and the Chiquibul.

By the end of my senior year, I had in some way fallen out of enjoyment with backpacking, and in part a lot with nature and the forests as well. The thought never occurred to me that LCRS could reinvigorate my love for the outdoors and relight the spark I had developed throughout my high school years.

Obviously, as such, I really enjoyed the hikes we had in the Chiquibul. I loved exploring the trails, hiking to the bird tower for both sunset AND sunrise, and our campfire we had before we left. Almost every experience, but these in particular reminded me just how much I missed being out in the middle of the woods, especially with friends.

Though I was most excited about the reefs, at some portions I did feel a bit, not necessarily sick of it, but ready for the reef portion to be over. I think the best way to explain it was during my time at LCRS, I was actively trying to ignore the day we were about to leave, and not looking forward for that day to come. However at GRRS, I found myself counting down the days and wanting to leave all the way up until I was in the boat and we started driving away from the island.

Beyond just what I’ve learned about Orthoptera and Groupers, like how grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids (which I lowkey never heard of before this trip) are actually pretty cool insects, and how groupers aren’t always these giant behemoths roaming around the reefs, I hope that in five years from now I’ll still be able to take away how much nature does in fact have to offer us, even beyond any surface level or economical value. I’ve realized that nature and the outdoors is truly my happy place, and I never want to give up on it ever again.

I also hope to remember just how beautiful nature is when it is completely untouched by humans, and how important it is to keep what little we have left. I hope to always remember the stark difference between parrotfish behavior in the untouched MPA, where they weren’t skittish nor afraid of our presence, versus the place Dr. Evans suspected had been fished, where all the parrotfish were constantly on high alert and would dart away at even a shadow. This in particular really quantified just how much of an impact humans make even when we don’t believe we are affecting Mother Nature that much.

My last takeaway is hoping to remember that no matter how unimportant I feel an organism may be, they truly have a central and vital role to their ecosystem. I came in not knowing how important Orthoptera, groupers, or angelfish were to their respective habitats. They felt like animals that could be cool to observe, but I never realized how important they are to the cycling of nutrients and trophic levels, nor their roles in keeping their food sources in constant check. It fully opened my eyes to how rarely is there ever going to be a species that is truly and genuinely useless, and that, in some way, everything really is by design.

All in all, genuinely, this trip was the experience of a life time. I cannot put into words how fortunate I am to have been able to be a part of this adventure, and having the privilege to experience the pure rawness of the tropical rainforests and coral reefs. I don’t say this often, but I found myself saying this a bit too much for this trip: I will never forget any second of Belize. As they say, forever a TFB.

Here are some of my favorite moments:

It’s been a good one. TFB Ian, signing out.

Day 15: Home Bound…

As I’m on my plane flying back to North Carolina, I’m truly just registering how surreal of an experience these past two weeks have been.

We hopped on our boat back to Belize City this morning at 6:15 AM, marking the end of our stay at Glover’s Reef Research Station and subsequently Belize as well.

I caught one final picture of the view right before I left, in hopes of letting it become ingrained in my memory.

Last night, I returned to the dock to enjoy the sunset one last time. This dock has been one of my favorite places this entire trip, even though it’s not as extravagant nor as exotic as the coral reefs.

The boat ride back was not as fun, and the choppier waters were a lot worse than I remembered. However, it was just as surreal as the way out. We managed to spot a sea turtle, the first and only of our trip, as well!

It felt a little different when we returned to Belize City. Though I had so desperately missed AC and flushing toilets, I did suddenly start to miss the complete isolation of both Las Cuevas and Glover’s Reef.

The flight back was bittersweet, at least when we were awake. I was sad to leave Belize, but the early morning exhaustion fell over our entire crew and everyone was out cold through the flight.

Claire C and I, both from NC, had a flight that was supposed to depart at 6:10 PM, with boarding beginning at 5:30 PM. However, our flight from Belize got delayed heavily, and we ended up landing at 4:50 PM. Fortunately, our flight out of IAH ended up getting delayed, so we made it with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, our flight got delayed by almost 3 hours. We ended up departing around the same time we were expected to land, but at least this is better than us missing our flight completely.

That brings me to where I am now, finally on our flight back home, wrapping up our two week stay in Belize.

I’m already missing that dock.

Ian C

Day 14: The Lion, the Fish, and the (War)Dock

Though today was our last day at GRRS, it was still nonetheless an eventful one. We started the day by picking up trash around the island, to try to help out wherever we can. Though we filled up six huge trash bags, we felt like we didn’t make much of a dent, which was a pretty depressing.

A little good news though, was that I found my missing left airpod! On the second night here, I had dropped my airpods in our room in the middle of the night and couldn’t find my left one. However, I wasn’t sure if the left airpod had even made it to our room, and the last findmy location made it seem like some crab picked it up and took it to their burrow. However, it actually just landed in Sam’s shoe, so the pair is now fully back together again!

Anyways, back to the trash pickup. We also turned it into a small research project, observing how trash distribution would differ between the sides of the island that were facing in the atoll (towards the lagoon) vs. facing the open ocean. We ended up using our quadrats again!

In the afternoon, we dissected a lionfish! Well, “dissected.” I fear I’m using this quite loosely here. We tried to, and ended up just demolishing it. We found the stomach and half of a small fish, likely a cryptobenthic fish, in its stomach at least! However we did not get much further, and failed spectacularly when trying to find the otolith (sorry Elise…).

At some point we gave up and just went for it’s eyes!

After we dissected them, Dr. Solomon and Dr. Cory prepared a dip with the longish for us to try. It felt pretty exotic but also the lionfish itself didn’t have that much flavor. I don’t think I got an actual taste of it at all.

We also had a bunch of coconut and drank straight from the fruits along with eating the flesh fresh. Though I’m not the biggest coconut fan, I really enjoyed these!

We ended the day by enjoying our last sunset here on Middle Caye. The dock has been a perfect place for the sunset, and I’m truly going to miss having such a beautiful sight present daily. I know I said the same about LCRS, but I’m also truly going to miss this place.

Hope to see you again Middle Caye,

Ian C

Day 13: Coral-ling the Blues

We went right back to the reef today, this time with another research project on coral health and reef biodiversity in mind.

We used small 2×2 foot square quadrats and placed them over coral before counting the coral and organisms inside.

Though they were mainly for research experiment, these quadrants were also really fun to pose with!

While on the boat waiting for our last pair to finished we spotted a singular dolphin swimming and jumping by! I was hoping all along to spot a marine mammal, either a whale or a dolphin, so I was super stoked when that became reality.

Specifically, we were looking at coral health between Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and unprotected waters.

In between reefs, we found the molt of a large lobster!

In the afternoon, we compiled all our data and created our fourth poster of the class!

After we presented, we went back out to the dock to relax a bit and enjoy the view. While we were there, someone caught a bonefish! It was super cool and we all got to touch it. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel scaly at all but rather really smooth and mucusy.


While we were on the dock, the brown pelican that’s been diving around us perched on the dock, which was super cool.

Anyways, that’s all for today! See you tomorrow for our last full day at Glover’s Reef!

Ian C

Day 12: Docks Full of Sunshine

Today was our first entirely land bound day, which though at first was disappointing ended up being a really nice change in pace.

We went out to the dock to pass a bit of time and spotted a young lemon shark swimming by. It was the first of many appearances for this little guy.

We then began our day by compiling our parrotfish data from the previous day and creating our third poster of the class discussing our findings.

Once we finished, we waded out by the dock and tried to see what we could find, catch, and collect from the surrounding areas. There were tons of small schools of fish, and the lemon shark kept circling by to try to catch them. We ended up catching three large hermit crabs and a red land crab, along with a baby crab, two snails, and five small fish.

In the afternoon we finally explored the rest of the island. Though it’s only a 20 minute slow stroll around, each part proved to be super interesting and unique.

First up was the coral graveyard, which was a beach made up of almost entirely fossilized corals. There were a ton of different species, including Montastraea cavernosa, or the great star coral, which has huge polyps, brain corals, and purple sea fans!

The waters were also filled with sea urchins and starfish, which felt really weird when they moved.

Further along the trail is a really nice sandy beach, where we spotted a small dead pufferfish.

We also saw tons and tons of sprouting coconuts!

After our hike we went back to the dock to yap and nap before presentations…

…and then again before dinner.

We ended the night back out on the dock, dangling a couple flashlights to attract fish. Initially we only attracted plankton, but soon we spotted and caught a ton of small fish, shrimp, glass eels, and even a squid!

Though we never made it to any reefs, today was a much needed and eventful rest day. Excited to get back out on the reefs though!

Ian C

Day 11: Big Toadfish, Bigger Reef

We finally began our first research project here on the reef! This one focuses on parrotfish behavior, particularly their feeding habits. We decided to focus on four species of parrotfish, stoplight, redband, redtail, and striped parrotfish.

We returned back to the two patch reefs off the dock of Middle Caye. I paired up with Elise and we began our search for striped parrotfish! We found four groups that kept darting around between the reefs and seagrass, constantly being chased way by damselfish.

While roaming around the closer of the two patch reefs, we spotted a white spotted toadfish hiding in the reef, which was super cool.

I think I saw the tail of a red hind hiding in a small cave, but the cave was too dark to tell. However, we did stumble across a huge trumpetfish hiding in some branch corals!

We returned to two further patch reefs after lunch to look for more striped parrotfish. During that process we saw a cave with huge French and queen angelfish and a couple of blue tangs. We also saw this weirdly shaped fish with a huge body and a tiny caudal fin rush by. We tried to chase it but it was a bit too fast 😔.

As we continued to swim along the edge of the reef, we kept seeing more and more huge angelfish and blue tangs. Apparently two barracudas were spotted in the area but we never saw them. Our underwater camera also broke almost as soon as we got into the water in the afternoon, so we were unable to take any pictures of these fish.

Right before dinner, Dr. Evans and Dr. Solomon went back to the close patch reefs to spear a couple lionfish. They were successful and managed to catch two!

We ended our day with a couple of extra presentations from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the organization that owns Middle Caye, the Belizean Fisheries Department, and the Coast Guard, which were all super interesting and insightful. I never realized the full reach of WCS, and the same organization that owns the Bronx Zoo also does work out in Glover’s Reef/Atoll.

All in all, today was a really fun and eventful day. Hoping to see more of what these reefs and this atoll has to offer!

Ian C

Day 10: First Snorkle!

Today marks our first day on Middle Caye! Breakfast is back at 7:00 AM, which surprisingly doesn’t feel that early anymore. We started the day with a morning practice dive, trying out our snorkel gear in the ocean for the first time. Whatever happened in between the first time snorkeling in the Rec pool and now must’ve been a miracle, because I felt so much more comfortable snorkeling in the ocean this time.

We swam out to the nearest two patch reefs, both to get comfortable traversing through the ocean and to get the opportunity to start looking for wildlife. We saw a queen conch, some bonefish, parrotfish, and some purple fan corals!

After lunch we went for our first real snorkel, to a patch reef called the Aquarium. There were so many cool fish, including a resting nurse shark, a stingray, schools of various parrotfish, damselfish, and a ton of blue tangs.

As for groupers, there were a couple of red hinds, and although not true groupers, we saw a couple harlequin basslets too.

It was a super cool experience as I’ve never seen a coral reef with my own two eyes, and the amount of fish hiding throughout the reef was insane. Everywhere I looked there would be something cool to see, and I’m really excited to find more!

Ian C

Day 9: Arriving at Glover’s Reef!

We finally got to sleep in today, with a late start of 8:00 AM! We drove back to Belize City to get lunch and get to our boat that would take us to Middle Caye and Glover’s Reef Research Station.

Our dock was behind a casino, which was a bit surprising, but the boat ride was amazing. The initial portion of the trip was super fun, as we sped through the waters.

We saw the ocean turn from a murky green to a clouded dark turquoise to a beautiful vibrant blue. At one point, we couldn’t see any land around us at all!

When we finally left the reef edge, the waters become much more rough and the boat felt like it was being tossed around. At many points it felt like we got a bit of airtime from how high we would get thrown up!

Once we got to Glover’s Reef, it became a lot more calm, but this time with super clear waters filled with hundreds of patch reefs. We even saw a brown pelican repeatedly dive into the water!

Middle Caye itself is beautiful too, and so is the research station itself.

We caught the tail end of the sunset on the dock, which was stunning. Can’t wait to spend the next week here!!

All in all, it was a pretty light travel day. Excited for what the reef has to offer!

Ian C

Day 8: ATM Cave and Belize Zoo!

This morning, we finished packing up and left Las Cuevas to begin the second half of our trip. It was a very bittersweet goodbye, as on one hand I’m super excited to go to the reef, but on the other I really wish we could stay here longer. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.

As we were rocking back and forth on the uneven gravel road, I began thinking about the rainforest part of the trip as a whole, and what LCRS has done for me. I’ve really come to love this place and it’s helped me fall back in love with forests, hiking, and camping.

We visited the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, which was an insane adventure. The first portion of the cave is a wet cave, so we had to swim and wade through water and climb over and under a ton of rocks. It felt a lot like the river travel we did on our DT trips.

The dry portion of the cave was filled with ancient Maya artifacts, including pots, fireplaces, and even human skulls and remains. Sadly, they also had a no cameras policy.

After the cave, we reached our lodge for the night (Tropical Education Center), and got a special night tour of the zoo!

We got to see jaguars, pumas, tapirs, and more.

There was even a wild iguana with its tail bitten off. It charged right at me and ran through my legs before it hit both Claire C. and Sam.

The highlight of the visit was being able to feed the tapirs. We gave them carrots and even petted them on the head.

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Tomorrow we’ll be leaving TEC and heading out to Glover’s Reef. Stoked about the 3 hour boat ride!

Ian C

Day 7: Sunrise to Sunset

A small group and I started the day this morning by going right back to the bird tower to watch the sunrise. We were a bit late but caught the tail end of dawn. It was also a bit cloudy, but the clouds helped accentuate the rays that made it through. We rested and chilled there for around an hour, enjoying the cool breeze and the sun.

We then went out and collected our camera traps! Sadly, I didn’t get anything outside of our group and a couple cars.

While we collected camera traps, we ended up using our extra flagging tape as bows, ribbons, and bracelets!

To wrap up both our day and our stay at LCRS, Steve helped make a campfire where we did rose bud thorn and then just chatted. It felt a lot like all the backpacking trips I went on in high school, and was a feeling I didn’t realized I had missed.

I ended the day sitting out on the deck stargazing. The stars were still just as bright and just as pretty.

I came into Las Cuevas not knowing what to expect, but I’m sure gonna miss this place. Hopefully we’ll meet again!

Ian C