Today we went into the water! Swimming felt so nice, especially with the humidity down here.

For breakfast, the pancakes had banana in them!! 😋

First, we went to the patch reefs near the dock, where I found 4 queen conch shells. It seems to me like these are the most obvious molluscs present at the reef, especially since they tend to be large, had a very definite crown, and a pink lip! (I learned today that they’re called queen conchs due to their spiral looking like a crown!) We were in the water for about an hour, just getting a feel for what it’s like to snorkel in the ocean. I got So. Much. Water. In. My. Mouth.

So after we got back, we had some time to rest, then we put some equipment together that we’ll need in the coming days. Lunch consisted of some chicken wings with BBQ sauce, fries, and coleslaw. The food here is so good.

We then “voted” (really well we’re coerced by amazing speeches of Caio and Nyala) to take a trek through the mangroves of death. NEVER AGAIN. Imagine you are wearing a long sleeve shirt with a yellow sleeve. Your sleeve is now black. It is covered with mosquitos. It may as well be made of mosquitos. You try to run. They smell your fear. They know they have won. They take no mercy. They swarm. You try to jump into the water to escape them. It’s too shallow to dive under, your effort is futile. You accept your death and continue on, knowing that they are the rulers of this island.

Ok, but once we were in the water for the second time, with clipboards and cameras, we tried to do a scavenger hunt with varying levels of success (I kind of forgot to write things down, the waves kept pushing me over).  We saw a sea cucumber! It was quite large! (See picture)

once we got back to land, 2 people (Ava and Rusty) presented their taxon lectures. We broke for about an hour, and then had dinner. The cheesecake was so good! Then we finished the day with 3 more lectures (1 topic, 2 taxa) (Maegan, Phoenix, and Michael).

good day over all. The aliens in Lilo & Stitch were wrong. The mosquito population is thriving. They are the apex predator.

Today is over! Did it go particularly smoothly? No! Not really! But we made it and we are at the station on the Glovers Reef atoll! And we had a delicious dinner and have an awesome crew, so that’s what matters!

(Note to self, as I’m writing this and itching at mosquito bites – spray bug spray all over your clothing – they do bite through pants) 

Today has been a long day, tbh. I started it off at 2AM after ~3 hours of sleep by leaving my home town and driving 4 hours to Houston to make it on time to Rice (Success, I did in fact make it). After loading up bags with gear, taking a picture, riding in a rice shuttle 45 minutes to Bush International Airport, getting car sick on the way, and taking a Dramamine, we made it to the airport! Woo! But we then found out that each of our check bags had to be paid $35 for. 🙁 less woo, more time consuming. Then there was a whole fiasco about bringing the kids to Belize, but it all worked out and everyone got through! I had Panda Express for breakfast (ya know, the healthiest breakfast ever!), and then we set on for Belize!

Once we got here, we went through customs (easy) and loaded into 2 vans to get to the marina to take us to our next destination: Glovers reef. First, we stopped for some snacks at Skycity supermarket, but then we were on a boat for a 3 hour ride to the field station. It was pretty! But when the wind wasn’t blowing and the sun was hitting you, it was hot!! 

Lunch was some chicken and veggies wraps, which were good. I listened to an audiobook to drown out the engine noise on a majority of the ride over, but a major win, I didn’t get seasick! Definitelyyyy thought that I would. 

Once we made it to the island/atoll, we got our bunks set up and got familiar with the bathrooms, and the mosquitos. Dinner, again, was delicious. We had a little debrief, and now here I am, sweaty and sticky from mosquito spray, but also so so so tired since my day started at 2AM. Good omens so far? We’ll see! Hopefully! This trip should be fun!

Special shout out to our water safety specialists who are really cool, Ruth, Claudius, Adrian, and Kenneth, as well as our cooks who made the awesome dinner, Hortance and Ashley! 

My name is Jazmine and I’m a rising senior at McMurtry College, majoring in Biosciences!

This blog will keep track of my days in Belize tracking the biodiversity of organisms of the rainforest and reef! I’m very excited for this trip, as it will be only my second time out of the country, and my first time to an area of the like!

As an integrative biology major concentration, I’m looking forward to this trip because it will be a chance for me to explore the EBIO portion of my major, especially in a field work setting. Thus far, almost all of my research has been in a biochemistry focus within a lab setting. As I’m still deciding which path I want to take after undergrad, I hope this trip will give me some insight into whether field work is for me!

I’ve studied up on my taxa (trees and molluscs) both of which we are guaranteed to see on this trip! I think, if anything, I’m most nervous for the boat ride to the island, because I know I have a tendency to get motion sick and have never been on a boat (aside from a small one on a lake) before. But I’m stocked up on Dramamine just in case! 

I’ve never been to the tropics, but that’s part of why I’m so excited for this trip! I have taken a course on coral reefs and the effects of climate change, so I’m looking forward to seeing the reality of that class in person!

I’m gonna be driving in the middle of the night to get to Houston at 6am – so t-minus 5 hours till I head out! See you soon Belize!