Wed, 4 Feb
up early to catch the 7am Express Water Taxi to Belize City and a pretty sunrise, a great start to a great new adventure.
Darrel went with me and made sure i was safe in Belize City, i took a taxi to the airport, and boarded my flight to Dangriga. it was a short flight, and only 4 of us on the plane. just as we were approaching Dangriga, i saw groves and groves of citrus trees. does Florida have this many?
when i arrived in Dangriga, i met Alex, and we went to the boat that would take us out to Glovers. Here is a picture of the 26foot boat.
before we left, i met our captain, Fagan. nice guy with bright blue eyes who will be out at Glovers while i am there.
he told me that the ride would be rough because it was windy and the waves would be kind of big ... but, he stressed, it's safe! hummmmm, wonder why he told me this? the ride out there was very 'interesting'. once we got out of the mouth of the river, it wasn't too bad; we didn't go real fast, because occasionally we had to 'ride' a wave. it took us about an hour to get out to the reef. once we crossed the reef ... the waves got really big, we were out in the big water; and we were splashing and crashing down and up, like a roller coaster. i looked around ... i could see NO land :~ if you know me well, you know that i really like to keep land in sight, coz i want to know which way to swim; but ... i wasn't scared, Fagan said it was safe :) Alex and i talked all the way out there, he's easy to talk with. he told me that his dad is retired and is out at Glovers 'volunteering' too. i was happy to learn that there was another girl volunteer out here! yeahhhh her name is Marie (not likely i'll forget that name). i'll be working with her and the other volunteer, Nick, both from the UK, on their projects. right in the middle of all the big waves, a pod of dolphins started following along side of us, even saw a baby jump out of the water, they were surfacing and swimming so freely. there were a LOT of them. i was quite excited and pleased that they were excited enough to stop the boat and just watch them. i kind of thought that this would be so common place to them that they wouldn't be in awe as i was, but they were. it was great! i get the feeling that all of these people are environmentalists and truly concerned about it's future. eventually we took off again, they hung around for awhile, then vanished. we continued 'plowing' our way through the waves, and finally reached Glovers Reef. once we crossed over the Reef into the lagoon, it was like being in paradise. the color of the water changed from dark blue, to that beautiful turquoise green, light and dark variations, with the coral just below the surface. oh my ... i'm here! i'm smilin! we had several more miles to go to get to the other side of the lagoon and Middle Caye, and the Research Station. but it was much calmer and so beautiful. then, there in front of us, were a bunch of coconut trees and our dock. the rest of the staff and volunteers were out on the dock to greet us. it's like a family out here. a family in paradise!
it is REALLY REALLY windy here! Marie showed me to my bungalow and room, and i got set up ... complete with my princess netting. Marie said i will need it here, even though there are screens on the windows.
Photo of my bungalow and view out the door
i chose the top bunk so i could see out the window
View from my balcony:
Marie and i walked around the island ... that took about 10min. the island is about .3 of a mile around. she is happy to have another girl here too. there are literally HUNDREDS of hermit crabs on the trail through the mangroves! you have to be careful where you put your feet when you walk and they come in all sizes, ... some larger than your fist.
i walked around and took some photos, sat on the dock, and in the hammock. so far, it's a tough life, but someone's got to do it. did i say what a lucky girl i am?
you know the 5 pounds i lost while in Caye Caulker ????????? i'll be gaining them back within a few days of eating here at Glovers! what a feast! Yvette, is our chef. she is so sweet and a wonderful cook.
Dinner is from 6-7pm.
Photo of inside of Dining Room, screened, overlooking, what else? ... the sea!
it's buffet style, when the food is on the table, you grab your plate and fill it up. tonight we had fried rice, wonderful beef in a rich brown sauce, an asian-type salad, also, yummy lemon cake and fresh cinnamon rolls. there is always some fruit juice, water, and fruit. i ate with Alex, Ray, his dad, Marie, and Nick. after eating, we put our paper in a wastebasket, and take our plates to the kitchen. scrape all food into a bucket, including meats and dairy, then wash our dishes. there is a basin with soapy water and a basin with rinse water, then we put them in the rack to dry. :) after dinner i went to the library, ... the internet here is from satelite and, sadly, is slow and unreliable.
at 8:30pm Alex, Marie, Nick and i had a meeting to plan the next few days. it reminded me of my days working on the Kalamazoo River Project with Karl, Billy, and Pam. tomorrow i will help with the sea grass study. after our meeting, we retreated to Alex's room for cocktails :) i was happy about this, i was hoping this wasn't an 'alcohol-free' caye, and that i could contribute with my bottle of Capt Morgan and Absolute Vodka :) Brian showed up a little later, the wind continues to blow and the waves are huge, so he was soaking wet from coming over from the neighboring caye. he works at the resort there, but will be helping out here too when we start catching, tagging, and tracking the stingrays. we chatted, laughed, and told stories for a few hours. i noticed that no one was wearing shoes.... then it was time for bed. i climbed up into my bunk and i was out!
Darrel went with me and made sure i was safe in Belize City, i took a taxi to the airport, and boarded my flight to Dangriga. it was a short flight, and only 4 of us on the plane. just as we were approaching Dangriga, i saw groves and groves of citrus trees. does Florida have this many?
when i arrived in Dangriga, i met Alex, and we went to the boat that would take us out to Glovers. Here is a picture of the 26foot boat.
before we left, i met our captain, Fagan. nice guy with bright blue eyes who will be out at Glovers while i am there.
he told me that the ride would be rough because it was windy and the waves would be kind of big ... but, he stressed, it's safe! hummmmm, wonder why he told me this? the ride out there was very 'interesting'. once we got out of the mouth of the river, it wasn't too bad; we didn't go real fast, because occasionally we had to 'ride' a wave. it took us about an hour to get out to the reef. once we crossed the reef ... the waves got really big, we were out in the big water; and we were splashing and crashing down and up, like a roller coaster. i looked around ... i could see NO land :~ if you know me well, you know that i really like to keep land in sight, coz i want to know which way to swim; but ... i wasn't scared, Fagan said it was safe :) Alex and i talked all the way out there, he's easy to talk with. he told me that his dad is retired and is out at Glovers 'volunteering' too. i was happy to learn that there was another girl volunteer out here! yeahhhh her name is Marie (not likely i'll forget that name). i'll be working with her and the other volunteer, Nick, both from the UK, on their projects. right in the middle of all the big waves, a pod of dolphins started following along side of us, even saw a baby jump out of the water, they were surfacing and swimming so freely. there were a LOT of them. i was quite excited and pleased that they were excited enough to stop the boat and just watch them. i kind of thought that this would be so common place to them that they wouldn't be in awe as i was, but they were. it was great! i get the feeling that all of these people are environmentalists and truly concerned about it's future. eventually we took off again, they hung around for awhile, then vanished. we continued 'plowing' our way through the waves, and finally reached Glovers Reef. once we crossed over the Reef into the lagoon, it was like being in paradise. the color of the water changed from dark blue, to that beautiful turquoise green, light and dark variations, with the coral just below the surface. oh my ... i'm here! i'm smilin! we had several more miles to go to get to the other side of the lagoon and Middle Caye, and the Research Station. but it was much calmer and so beautiful. then, there in front of us, were a bunch of coconut trees and our dock. the rest of the staff and volunteers were out on the dock to greet us. it's like a family out here. a family in paradise!
it is REALLY REALLY windy here! Marie showed me to my bungalow and room, and i got set up ... complete with my princess netting. Marie said i will need it here, even though there are screens on the windows.
Photo of my bungalow and view out the door
i chose the top bunk so i could see out the window
View from my balcony:
Marie and i walked around the island ... that took about 10min. the island is about .3 of a mile around. she is happy to have another girl here too. there are literally HUNDREDS of hermit crabs on the trail through the mangroves! you have to be careful where you put your feet when you walk and they come in all sizes, ... some larger than your fist.
i walked around and took some photos, sat on the dock, and in the hammock. so far, it's a tough life, but someone's got to do it. did i say what a lucky girl i am?
you know the 5 pounds i lost while in Caye Caulker ????????? i'll be gaining them back within a few days of eating here at Glovers! what a feast! Yvette, is our chef. she is so sweet and a wonderful cook.
Dinner is from 6-7pm.
Photo of inside of Dining Room, screened, overlooking, what else? ... the sea!
it's buffet style, when the food is on the table, you grab your plate and fill it up. tonight we had fried rice, wonderful beef in a rich brown sauce, an asian-type salad, also, yummy lemon cake and fresh cinnamon rolls. there is always some fruit juice, water, and fruit. i ate with Alex, Ray, his dad, Marie, and Nick. after eating, we put our paper in a wastebasket, and take our plates to the kitchen. scrape all food into a bucket, including meats and dairy, then wash our dishes. there is a basin with soapy water and a basin with rinse water, then we put them in the rack to dry. :) after dinner i went to the library, ... the internet here is from satelite and, sadly, is slow and unreliable.
at 8:30pm Alex, Marie, Nick and i had a meeting to plan the next few days. it reminded me of my days working on the Kalamazoo River Project with Karl, Billy, and Pam. tomorrow i will help with the sea grass study. after our meeting, we retreated to Alex's room for cocktails :) i was happy about this, i was hoping this wasn't an 'alcohol-free' caye, and that i could contribute with my bottle of Capt Morgan and Absolute Vodka :) Brian showed up a little later, the wind continues to blow and the waves are huge, so he was soaking wet from coming over from the neighboring caye. he works at the resort there, but will be helping out here too when we start catching, tagging, and tracking the stingrays. we chatted, laughed, and told stories for a few hours. i noticed that no one was wearing shoes.... then it was time for bed. i climbed up into my bunk and i was out!
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