Fri, 26 Feb

Fri, 26 Feb ....a sad morning, saying goodbye to all my friends at Glovers Reef .... Alex, Marie, Ray, Me, Nick with a beautiful sunrise ... we had a boat load of people going to the mainland this morning. it wasn't a bad ride this time ... just a little over an hour. we passed a lot of small little islands/cayes. seemed unthinkable that we were out in the middle of the sea in really deep water, and then all of a sudden an island appears! arrived someplace out of town in the boonies; some people left in a minivan; but about 8 of us piled into the back of a pickup truck and went into town. they dropped Nick, Marie and i off and we headed for the Immigration Office. the town of Dangriga .... we did our first bit, then went for a breakfast ... on the way we passed the Price is Right grocery store .... made me laugh ! ..that's Marie in front .... we got our visa extensions, they walked me to the bus station; and i said farewell to them. it was sad, we had a great time together, but i was moving on. .... got on the bus,.... again an old American Blue Bird School Bus ... and it was packed... but i did have a seat, that was the good news! the bus left on time and we weren't 20 min out of town when i saw my first giant elephant plant leaves! they were HUGE! it was then i realized that i was really going to enjoy this mainland adventure! yes, i'll miss the sea; but i'll love seeing the plants and flowers of the jungle. the hills were beautiful, and you could see huge palm trees among the other trees on the hillside. Twice we went through orchards and the air was filled with the smell of sweet orange blossoms. i love that smell! a 2 hr trip to Belmopan. Belmopan is the capital of Belize. it used to be in Belize City; but BCity is on the coast and susceptible to hurricanes. they moved it inland to Belmopan were it was more protected. i guess a lot of records were lost some years ago in a hurricane ... at least that's what 'someone' told me .... once at the bus station in Belmopan, i needed to get on another bus to San Ignacio. i called Chaa Creek, and was told that Eddi had arranged transportation for me and would be waiting until 2:30. if i wasn't there by then, i should get a hotel room in the city. Chaa Creek is 8 miles out of town and there is no transportation out there, except a US$30 cab ride. i need to get on a bus soon to get there in time. but, there are lots of people that are trying to get on the bus; and i was too far back in line to catch the 12:30 bus. while i was waiting for the 1pm bus, a taxi driver asked me if i wanted a ride instead ... US$30 versus the bus is B$3, US$1.50. i was tempted and tried to find someone else to share the ride, but no one has that kind of money here. that's the equivalent of 4-6 dinners here (without drinks of course). so i needed to get on that 1pm bus! ....it's not easy to push your way through a crowd of people with a big backpack and a bigger duffle bag! but, i was able to push my way through and got on the bus ...with my luggage. another pretty ride through the countryside, stopping very frequently to pick up and drop off people; and go over speed bumps! at one of our stops, i saw this little boy watching from his yard. i arrived at 2:20 .... and hooked up with Eddi. it was great to see her again. the driver wasn't quite ready, so we were able to go for a rum and coke and chill for a few minutes; then in the truck and out to Chaa Creek. Chaa Creek is the premier nature reserve and Eco Lodge in the area. set along the banks of the Macal River in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. it started in 1981 and they have done a beautiful job out here.... 365 acres of jungle, with trails, including a Maya Medicine Trail, spa, pool, conference center, beautiful restaurant and bar, natural history center, butterfly house, horseback riding, canoe trips, morning bird excursions and evening noctural excursions on the trails here, beautiful fresh flower arrangements in the bathrooms and tables; everything you could want in a jungle setting .... and people pay dearly for it! ....... it's very expensive to stay here. you can check it out at www.chaacreek.com. .... so, ....me? ..... what am i doing here? ...did i say what a lucky, fortunate, blessed girl i am? Eddi is a volunteer here, setting up the Interpretive Center for the Medicine Trail. she is staying in a house with 2 other young girls who are helping her, all from the UK. i've been allowed to stay with them. i'm sleeping on the bed in the lounge area of the house .... this is my bed ... and i swear, it's just like sleeping outdoors ... without the BUGS ! .... it's awesome! ...we have a complete kitchen, washing machine, and .... flush toilets, .... and my first hot shower in 5 weeks! .... i'm in another kind of paradise! after dinner in the main dining room, we went on the night noctural walk on some of the trails here. there were 9 of us, all with head lights and it was a bright moon ... maybe that was the reason we didn't see any of the 'cats' or other big animals here. but we did see some really cool things. we shown our head lights across the lawn or into the woods, you could see little shining things. actually looked like a water drop sparkling after it rained. but it wasn't ... it was the eyes of the Wolf Spider. they were everywhere as we walked along the trails ... amazing! also saw this 5in moth, whose eyes shown orange when you put the light on it. and, we saw Leaf-Cutter Ants ... hundreds of them, carrying their little pieces of leaves, in a row, back to their nest. there were so many of them that there was actually a 'path' that they had made! ...just like on TV !!!!!!! ..... i do hope to go out on that trip again, and will take my camera with me this time!!!!!!!!! we finished up about 8:30 and i was really tired. i had gotten up at 3am this morning, hoping to use the internet and finish packing... the internet was down of course, but i needed that time to finish putting things together anyway. i fell into my bed, and it was like sleeping outdoors. i exchanged the sounds of the waves crashing on the reef, for the sounds of crickets, frogs and geckos! ..... by the way, geckos are permanent 'house-guests' everywhere in Belize. they are so cute and help keep the insect population down in the buildings. but ... they make a LOT of noise in the evenings! .....they sound like a dog's 'squeeky toy' .... yes, i'm going to like it here !

25 Feb--Last Day Glovers

Thurs, 25 Feb i apologize, sometimes this blog site publishes a blog that i wasn't finished with ... sorry ! so if you see a blog and there is nothing there ... there isn't ... check the next one :( it got REALLY cold last night ... well, it was 60F :) ... i was cold all night and still cold this morning. everyone showed up at breakfast with sweaters and coats on. there won't be any snorkeling on my last day :( it did warm up and the sun came out. but, still no 'water time' today i spent the day organizing and packing. i helped Marie with some data entry. also took the opportunity to take a few more pics of the surroundings that i'll miss so much ! my parting shots of the place i'll dearly miss !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! overlooking the lagoon and our dock looking south to Southwest Caye (Marisol Resort, where we partied at the bar) in distance and Reef looking across lagoon and north to Long Caye in distance, and Reef Lagoon -- dark areas are Patch Reefs where we snorkel in the evening the Wildlife Conservation Society staff, that has been here all week for their team building sessions, put on a going away "beauty pageant" .... i know ... they asked Marie, Nick and I to be the judges. there were 3 contestants ... both of our chefs, Yvette and Joyce, and also Paulita, who is from the Belize City office. they had a stage all decorated, we had a judges table. they had to make some kind of a sportwear garment and an evening gown out of white garbage bags and duck tape, they also had to do a 'talent' and an interview. they were very creative and it was a fun event. photo of the queen in the middle and the runners-up ...... that was my last day .... VERY different from all the rest of my days here!

Wed, 24 Feb

Wed, 24 Feb A beautiful sunrise this morning ... right out our bedroom window ... then Marie and i went out on the fore-reef by our rooms to snorkel ... just for fun ... no observations today. she wanted me to have a good day of snorkeling before i left .... which means my time is short here ... tomorrow is supposed to be cold and rainy again, so this could be my last day. we had a lot of fun. Marie is a lot of fun; we get along well together; and i'll miss her. me snorkeling on the fore reef we snorkeled out deep, but things to see are so far down.... so we headed in to shallower water. the jelly fishes were everywhere and stinging like crazy, it was irritating. she does some 'free diving', so she was giving me some lessons on how to do it. basically, you take several deep breathes, and then hold your breath, and do a 'surface dive' ... she calls it a 'duck dive' straight down. then when you get to the bottom, you level out and swim and follow fishes and lobsters. you also need to equalize the pressure in your ears as you go down. she can go down and stay down a long time, but she says not as long as Alex and Brian. i am a novice in comparison; but it is fun because you can get up close and personal with the fish and corals... and they don't seem to mind. a Trumpet Fish we found a couple of very large lobsters and she filmed them ... check out the video on You Tube .............. pic of Brian and i before he left for Long Caye after lunch, i worked on trying to irrigate my ears ... with not much luck ... then i wanted to go out to the lagoon to snorkel one more time ... Marie let me use her camera again ... and i took a few photos. the visibility was only about 6 feet, and it was getting pretty dark and choppy. but i perservered ... pic of a school of very small fishes a nice big Sea Cushion ... in a beautiful shade of golden this time. it extended over an inch beyond my out-stretched hand .... i had not seen this shade of purple in an anemone before .... maybe it was because the sky was getting so dark ... and so many different colors of anemones .... all together ... they were so pretty ! and this little hermit crab inside his nice conch shell ... perched atop a bed of soft coral on a small reef in the lagoon after snorkeling i helped Marie input some data and then we went to watch the sunset. i had not seen a sunset since i've been out to Glovers ... i guess i've always been busy at that time; and it sets by the dock on the other side of the caye. not that it's that far ... but ... i've just never gotten out there. ....tonight Marie insisted we stop our data entry, so we made a special point to go to the end of the dock and catch it. it wasn't spectacular, but it was a big red ball and we got some nice photos ... Marie and i ... we're happy ! Marie, Stumpy and me the sunset and the palapa at the end of the dock ... the wind picked up this evening ... it was blowing the sand so strong that it hurt your legs to walk! it was brutal! ......i can't imagine what hurricane winds are like out here, ...and don't want to know either!

Tues, 23 Feb

Tues, 23 Feb the next step of my adventure, after i leave here, is coming together ..... i'm leaving Glovers Reef Research Station on Fri morning at 6am on the boat to Dangriga ... if the weather is really nice and calm, it could be a 1hr trip .. if it's the way it was on my way out here, it will be a long cold windy 2hr journey. ... i have "sort of a plan" for my next adventure. first i need to go to the Immigration Office in Dangriga, to get another 30 day extension on my visa. Nick and Marie both need extensions too, so this should a case of the little duckie following along ... although, i will be hauling all my luggage! then i plan to take the local bus to Belmopan. Belmopan is the country's capital city. it's inland about 2 hrs. once in Belmopan, i'll take another local bus another hour or so to San Ignacio. San Ignacio is near the western border of Belize and Guatemala. it used to be no more than a 'jumping-off-point' for those travelling to Guatemala to visit the Tikal Mayan ruins. but today, it's more than that because there is so many other interesting things to do in that area. ....jungle adventure camps, canoe/kayak rides down the rivers through the jungle, botanical gardens, cave exploring, and other smaller Mayan ruin sites, lots of beautiful birds and wildlife. so, i'm heading that way, ...to see what i can see .... You may remember me talking about Eddi, who stayed at Madi's with me while in Caye Caulker, .....i've been keeping in touch with her, and she has been in San Ignacio for about 3 weeks. so, i'm going to visit her! by this time she has already seen most of the sites, but i'll get to visit with her again. i'll get to see the interior of Belize, which will be much different from the cayes. i'll miss the sea, but i will return before i head back up north. at this point, .....i'm still planning on 'heading back up north' .... :) it was kind of a slow day today ..... i went out to the lagoon snorkeling for a short time this afternoon on the patch reef in the shallow water ... the visibility was very poor. i saw a cute little Burrfish, he had beautiful irridescent eyes, but i didn't get a picture of him. on the way back, right off the dock i saw this pretty little Yellow Stingray, ....it isn't very big, 8-12in ... but it is so pretty. when it moves, the edges of it's entire body is real 'frilly' in the water ... this is a photo that i got from Marie of an Electric Ray. i have never seen one of these, didn't even know they existed. they have the ability of discharging an electric shock. ... interestingly different from a 'normal' stingray ... in the afternoon i went for a walk and took some photos on the 'fore-reef' ... out my back door ... this is just inside the reef pic looking down the reef to the north ... our resident osprey's were soaking up the last of the afternoon sun photo of our 'dormitories' from out on the reef. i was in the second one, right of the osprey nest. lots of these Spider Lilies all over the caye this 'center piece' was made by the Wildlife Conservation Society folks that were here. and, of course, Wish Willy

22 Feb-Shallow Snorkeling-Pt 2

Mon, 22 Feb ... continued ... i spent a LOT of time patiently waiting for this Queen Triggerfish to pose for me ... it paid off. aren't they beautiful ... they must all be female ... look at that eye makeup !!!!!!!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL ! ....one of my favorite fishes !!!!!!!!!! sorry to show many photos of her ... but she was sooooo pretty ... and they usually are not this cooperative ... this is a Sea Cucumber, a Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber ... nice name, huh? but that's about what it looks like on the top side ... i've seen these before, but have never bothered to take a pic, because they aren't very 'pretty' .....but have never seen one that had this beautiful red coral color and white stripe on it's underneath side ... they should live/feed upside down ... maybe they'd have a nicer name and this Starfish and this 2 Spined Sea Star looks like it was someone's lunch ..... :( this is a Split-Crown Feather Duster Worm, .... it lives inside a parchment-like tube that is made of sand and secreted 'glue' and is attached to the reef. ... it has this frilly 'flower' that comes out of the tube and collects it's food. ...they are very sensitive to movement and changes in light, and if distrubed, the 'flower' or 'duster' instantly retracts into the tube ... they are very pretty, swaying in the current, and ... look like a feather duster :) there are also some that look like Christmas Trees, but i haven't been able to get a photo of them yet that is in focus ... the sun was starting to set when i climbed out of the water; and we had company. this week the staff is having a 'team building' session. ...sound familiar? ... yes, even out here on Glovers they do that !!!!!!! there are 2 people for every job out here. they usually come out to the Atoll for 2 weeks a month; then the other group is here for 2 weeks. this week they are all here together. this also means that there won't be too much research work being done. wonderful Belizean day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

22 Feb-Shallow Snorkeling-Pt 1

Mon, 22 Feb a beautiful Belizean day :) ...and we're all happy! it's hazy, you can't even see the horizon, but it's hot and calm. Marie and i went out to the patch reefs off the dock to do more stingray observations. visibility was only about 25ft, i observed 2 stingrays for about 10 min each, but then i lost them in the distance. i didn't wear any kind of wet suit because it was so nice, but i did get cold after about an hour, so i came in. after lunch, Alex fixed the internet... it had been down for over a day. so i spent some time and got caught up in the library; there isn't any breeze in there, and i was sweating! so ... i had to get in the water again. it was REALLY hot, and the only logical place to be was in the water. Marie was already out in the lagoon, i could see her wayyyyyy out there. so i went in too. i'll try to explain how relaxing it was in the lagoon today! it was warm as bath water, and just as calm. i didn't wear a wetsuit again, and i felt like i was a baby, floating in the womb. ...kinda corny, huh? but i don't know how else to explain it. i went out to see how Marie was doing in the deeper water, and the water was noticeably cooler out there. she gave me her camera; so i headed in toward the reef; i was snorkeling in really shallow water, ... the shallower, the warmer and calmer it was. i could almost touch the sand with my hands, so everything was really up close and personal, and soooo warm! i could have stayed out there forever! there were no waves, it was so peaceful. i saw some wonderful marine life that i can share with you, thanks to Marie ... these 2 huge hermit crabs ... i think they were dancing, it was such a beautiful day for them too when i first spotted this big red rubber ball ... i didn't know what it was .... about the size of a tennis ball and real soft and squishy looking .... there is also a Fireworm on the left ..... after patiently waiting for awhile ... i saw what it was .... it was an anemone ... a Giant Anemone .... can be 6-12in across including tentacles. the tentacles are just starting to come out .... of course i'd seen anemones before, and love the way their tentacles softly sway in the current, but their 'bodies' are usually stuck inside a piece of coral or under the sand, so you don't usually see the body, ... you usually only see the tentacles. the tentacles vary in size, length, and color; and have the ability to sting their prey, and then draw it into their mouths. some fish are immune to some anemones and live in harmony ... remember the Nemo the Clown Fish.. ? but are not generally toxic to bare skin. if disturbed, they can retract their tentacles into their bodies for protection ... which is what i saw originally ... another anemone ... ... and, no, i didn't not put fingernail polish on those tips ! there was a pretty little crab in this anemone... (bottom left corner) ... he was shy ... but the light reflecting on the anemone created such beautiful muted colors .... i think this is a Sun Anemone ... these most probably will cause stinging to bare skin occasionally blistering. there were a lot of Bristle Fireworms out there ... big fat ones and can grow to 12in.... they are worms that have sensory hairs on them that are sharp and detachable, and can penetrate the skin and cause a painful sting for many days ... do not touch Fireworms ... it looked like this one was eating this Sun Anemone which had been pulled from it's protection somehow ... and i finally found an eel out here on Glovers. i haven't really been looking for one, but the other day i realized i hadn't seen one ..... i saw his body under the coral, and swam around to the other side, and his nose was peeking out at me .... it was just small .... i actually saw 2 of these today ... he is pretty well camouflaged ... in the lower right third of the photo you can see his head ... i don't know what kind of eel it was .... and another piece of coral was home to a 'family' of lobsters .... 5 of them ... one really small, one medium, and 3 larger ones .... Another day with a lot of photos ... continued in Part 2 ...