A gem! Tues, 10/24/23

 

We followed the same morning drill as yesterday, but today the boat headed off on a more southerly course, aiming for Laughing Bird Caye National Park, only 11 miles off the Belize coast.  This is a narrow isle, not too long, and about as picturesque as anything I've ever seen.   As you see below:

The entire island:  A paradise!

I was the first to jump in the water, even before the anchors had been set.  The others followed me in, one after another.  The water is warm, but not too warm.  A person can stay in for a long time without getting chilled.  Look at the color!

The group trooped to the island to meet with a very young ranger, who repeated the rules and regulations to be followed while we were on land or in the associated water.  We were right back in the water, although I would've loved to spend a few more minutes on this tiny slice of heaven.  Laughing Bird Caye derives its name from the Laughing Gull who used to nest here and can still be seen here, but their breeding grounds have moved to a less "popular" caye.  Pelicans abound here, too, photo above.

"What is that little round ball down there," I asked.  The guide brought it up for me to see.  It's a one-celled organism called a Sea Pearl.  Looks like a marble!  He returned it to the sea floor.

I'd never seen a Barracuda before.  This guy was about a foot-and-a-half long and didn't like having its picture taken, so it hightailed out of range.  The colors of the sea flora and fauna are so spellbinding -- it's easy to spend hours in the water. 

Lots of brightly colored fish, blues and yellows especially.

I believe this is a Yellowtail Snapper.  Kinda pretty, too.

This one!  Hahaha -- the name -- Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber.  The thing was heavy.  It didn't move, even when it went from hand to hand.  The guide gently put it back where it was found.

I liked this fish, 'cause it appeared to have wings, tho I have no idea what it is.  The coral is cool, also.

I followed a school of Striped Parrotfish, above and below, as they attacked coral formations.  Or whatever might have been on the coral.  Lots and lots of parrotfish.  Those purple sea fans were my favorite.

Belize's coral reefs were in real trouble, especially damaged by coastal erosion of the country's mangrove forests, and depleted by Hurricane Iris in 2001. Lisa Carne, a marine biologist, saw firsthand the damage to Laughing Bird Caye after Hurricane Iris.  “It was a wasteland. The caye was split in half, the trees were destroyed, and it was washed over with dead marine life. Most local guides gave it up for dead.”

She wondered if reseeding and replanting coral beds could help the reef recover. The first of their kind in Belize, coral nurseries brought the reefs at Laughing Bird Caye back from the brink of extinction with over 49,000 nursery-grown coral fragments replenished.  I gleaned this info from One Earth.  Thank goodness for people who care enough to take action!  

Massive "boulders" of coral -- perhaps Starlet Coral?

A different Starlet Coral?

Giant Staghorn Coral.  Not sure if it's alive or partially dead or what.  About the size of a kitchen table.  Amazing to see in person.

After an hour or so, we were called back to the boat ... time to go.  First in, last out.  Snorkeling in this beautiful water was such a treat.  I could've easily spent the whole day in these crystal-clear waters being entertained by everything in the sea.

As we made our way back to Placencia, we saw rain showers on our left and right.  Towering clouds like you see above dot the sky all over the tropics, and some drip!  Even as we approached Laughing Bird Caye, we were caught in a brief shower ourselves.  

Back at the pier!  After depositing our snorkeling gear, we headed for the bus.  This big guy has a home on a mangrove limb and seems content.

The bus driver stopped the bus so we could get out and take a photo of the sign.

We felt like a million bucks after we showered and put on dry clothes.  We set our bathing suits out on balcony chairs to dry so we could pack them away.  Yes, the suitcases have to be packed and ready to go on the bus by tomorrow morning:  our Belize journey is soon over.  Tonight is our farewell dinner, where we'll exchange email addresses and photos, and share our favorite Belize experiences.  Man, what a wonderful adventure this tour has been!

O goodie: Snorkeling! 10/23/23

 

From the Placencia pier, our group boarded a boat named "Deep Blue" for a half hour ride to a protected caye on Belize's Barrier Reef.  Being on the water makes me happy; I stood on the top deck with the wind in my face, enjoying the beautiful morning.  We'd already picked up our snorkeling gear at Seahorse Dive Shop and were eager to hit the water, so to speak.  As I mentioned in my previous post, this barrier reef is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of an impressive coral system.  Today we'd spend time in the water both before and after lunch.  I was excited!

Land ho!  We'd passed many tiny cayes on the way to our stop.

And, here we are!

Herding cats 😀

We waded into the water and never did get too deep, although most of the time the depth was over my head, which is what you want, so you don't bump the coral.  The water wasn't stellar-clear, but it was clear.  Lots of little fishes!

We floated over many different coral formations, and I don't know their names.  Some of them were exquisite.  But bunches of the reef's corals were dead, with more bleaching going on.  As is happening most everywhere, sadly.  I tried to focus on the beauty.

Saw a number of these large and pretty fish.

The fish weren't too numerous, but they were colorful!

Sorry, I don't know their names.

Lunch was provided, which was good.  Ya get hungry toodlin' around out there!  We had rice and beans and chicken again.  It was quite the joke by this time that lunch would be just that:  rice and beans and chicken.  Well, it does take the mystery out of "what's for lunch?"  Ah, Jill found a hammock for a bit of rest between swims.  The island was as lovely as you imagine a Caribbean Sea island to be.

Jimmy and I walked to one end of the island, and came back to sit for a minute.  I watched this li'l Hooded Warbler scooting along the sand and it got closer and closer to me, went under my chair, and out the other side.  I got up and it followed me!  Almost fearless, like Galapagos birds.  We also spied a Black-headed blue warbler moseying from the base of one tree to another.  Cool beans!

After waiting the requisite one hour to digest our lunch like our mothers always said, we were back in the water, and to a different area.  A manta ray silently glided past me.  Kidding about waiting an hour!

I'm sure if you looked closely you'd see a fish or two.  But the composition of the coral and the sun and the colors is what hooked Jimmy and me.

One of the guides found a conch on the sea floor.  He dove down and brought it up for show 'n tell.  Though it was heavy, Jimmy carried it around for a while, then returned it to the guide who gently placed it back on the sea floor.  Fine-looking, isn't it?

We kept losing each other in the water as we each chased something that caught our eye, but Jimmy found me and popped over to say hi!

I took a couple of short videos, but they were so bumpy with movement, I deleted them after watching once.  Darn it.  Yeah, you have to remember we're out in the sea with lots of wave action.

I thought these guys were fun -- feather worms.  The guide demonstrated by dropping down to touch one of the feathery plumes, and it instantly went "floop" and disappeared into its hole.  Actually it didn't make any noise, just disappeared.  They catch prey with the feathery stems.

Another pleasurable hour passed while we splashed, and then it was all aboard.  I could've stayed in longer, but it was time to go.  As you see, another boat had anchored.

Lots of Brown Pelicans were about, diving headfirst into the shallow water repeatedly for a fishie or two, and one Osprey, as you see above.  It's huge nest appears to be in the next tree.

Uh-huh, saw this sign on our way to the bus.

No one went in to check ... as far as I know!

A short half hour run to the pier and we were on land again and on our way to the hotel.  A shower, dry clothes, and dinner awaited, and all were most welcome.  But, lucky us, tomorrow we get to go out again, to a new caye, for lots more underwater exploring.  Oh joy!  See you mañana!

Into the water! 5/10/23

 

It was time!  Tuesday morning, Tom took me and Jimmy the short distance to Kamaole III Beach Park (really, right down the hill) where we could step from the sandy beach into the water.  Other families were splayed out on the sand or in the water -- snorkels up!  But it wasn't crowded.  Just off the sand was a spacious grassy area with people playing or laying on towels in the sun.

Kamaole III is located between jagged rock (lava) formations where the fishies like to be, but with waves, we had to be careful not to get too close.  The water was the perfect temp, neither hot nor cold.  We tried the full face snorkel masks that our friends loaned to us, but they didn't work as well as we thought, 'cause they didn't fit our faces and continually let water in.  No matter, we enjoyed being in the ocean.  The highlight was when a big 'ol sea turtle swam up next to me while I was standing in the shallows.  No camera, darn it.

I'd booked a snorkel trip to Molokini and Turtle Town for Wednesday.  Oh boy, we were excited about this!  Be at the Kihei beach landing at 6:30am, boat leaves promptly at 7am.

The Getaway, 18 passengers (three young girls), plus two crew.

Molokini is a small, crescent-moon-shaped island located 3 miles offshore from Kihei.  Now a marine sanctuary, it stretches over 18 acres and rises 160 feet above reef-filled waters.  Scientists believe Molokini Crater formed about 150 thousand years ago.  And it's a "flourishing coral reef" filled with colorful fishies.

Away we go!

I brought my late brother, Rob's, Olympus Tough underwater camera, which I haven't used in years.  Charged overnight, I hoped it worked!  Above, we're entering the caldera, where we'd be for an hour-and-a-half.

We were using our own dive "shirts," and the tour provided masks, fins, and snorkels (which all fit to a T).  Jimmy is ready to hop in.

Entering water world, we were enchanted!

The water was clear.

We saw lots of different fishies.  I took plenty of photos, but between wave action and swimming fish, many were blurry.  I would identify the fish above, but I can't find half of them in the book!

We could get so close to the black triggerfish, almost touching them.

I liked this guy with its feathery tail.

Smile, you're on camera!  Can you tell Jimmy is at left, and I'm on the right?  I used the blue "noodle" to hold me up in the water while I photographed.  Easier.

Molokini is also federally owned and protected as a Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary.  We spotted Great Frigatebirds circling over the island, and, in the grassy areas above, it appears birds are nesting.

We frolicked in the water for over an hour, and then we came aboard the zodiac.  Most everyone was already aboard.  The crew offered sandwiches and juices, which we ate with relish (haha, no relish).  When the group was ready, we motored off toward Turtle Town.  On the way, we saw this Bottlenose Dolphin gamboling thru the waves.  The breeze on our wet suits felt chilly, so when the boat slowed at our approach, we were grateful.

Two groups of kayaks were already there, preparing to snorkel.  Surprisingly to us, Turtle Town's location is not far from Makena Landing where we were last Saturday.  Or maybe a little further south.

We jumped in the water from the boat and immediately confronted a sea turtle.  Not really confronted, but there it was directly in front of us!  I don't know which kind of turtles we saw (I forgot to ask), but Green Sea Turtles are most likely to hang out in Turtle Town.  It was truly wonderful to swim with them.

Coral and Hawaii's Red Pencil Urchins.

Imagine swimming with these beauties!

In the above photo, you see a (black) Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse cleaning the turtle's shell.  The fish pick off algae and dead skin; apparently this is why the turtles stop by this coral reef.  Removing algae from their shells makes the turtles lighter, and it's food for the Wrasse -- win-win!

Ornate Butterflyfish, too.

Jimmy snorkeling close to, but never touching or crowding, a turtle who's come up to the surface to breathe.

Dunno exactly, but I kinda liked this needle fish.

We must have seen six or seven different turtles, including a little guy.  Again, we were in the water for close to an hour before I started to get cold.  Jimmy and I kept losing each other.  I'd pop my head up and look around for him, but all I could see was snorkels!  And they all look alike!  He'd do the same.  Eventually we'd find each other.

Man, what a great morning.  One we'll remember forever.  The camera did fairly well for being in a constantly moving ocean, I think.  The boat returned twenty minutes early, because the passengers were ready to get back, including us.  A person expends a lot of energy swimming around for a couple of hours.  Tom picked us up 11/ish.  Well, it didn't take either Jimmy or me very long to fall onto the bed for a needed and nice afternoon nap.