Today we got up and walked to a Cafe and got some coffee and tea. I bought a triple chocolate espresso brownie as well. We walked to the Ragamuffin Tours and checked in for our snorkeling tour. We got fitted for masks and fins and they asked what we wanted for lunch. We both ordered the seafood curry. We walked back to the hostel and ate our granola breakfast. When the time came to go to the boat, we headed over all sunscreened up. There were enough folks for two boats. We managed to switch boats to be with the Minnesotans. Lana started it the exchange, but she was sure to say that we would be ok if it was too much trouble, Minnesotans… Also on in our boat were four Scots. They were from Edinburgh and Glasgow and had also coincidentally met on their trips. So we were a boat full of Minnesotans and Scots and a couple Belizeans. Dylan was the mate and Elio was the captain. We motored out into the wind on a yellow sailboat called Ragga Gal. They said we would sail back. Dylan brought us some fresh watermelon and pineapple and we all chatted. Jill enlightened the Scots about our experience and her job. I chatted with Elio and Dylan about the boat. Elio was from the town of Sarteneja and he said the boat was from there as well. The boat was wooden and had a solid mast and solid gaff. It was freshly painted and looked sharp. There is a cuddy cabin and a bathroom. The turnbuckles was a beautiful block and tackle system. We arrived at the coral gardens, and we all jumped into the water. The visibility was maybe 20 feet. We saw a few nurse sharks and a lot of Horse Eyed Jacks. There were beautiful fan corals and some dead coral looking sad as well. Colorful fish were everywhere; I think we saw all the characters from Finding Nemo. Even the Barracuda was there. When we got back on the boat Dylan had put together our lunches. Jill and I ate the curry that had Conch, shrimp, and fish in it. It was delicious. Jill wasn’t to sure if she could enjoy conch’s meaty texture but she ate it all.
The second stop was the Shark Ray Alley. This is a place where the fish have been trained to come to the sound of the motor to get some fish. We saw large nurse sharks, Horse Eyed Jacks, Grouper, and Stingrays. We all jumped in the water and swam amongst them. I tried to grab a Jack for Jill but got nothing more than the touch of a tail. The third stop was at the Hol Chan Reserve. This was truly a coral reef. There is a cut through the reef and we could dive down to 15 feet or so. We saw some more corals, a Moray Eel, a giant Grouper, and a Green Turtle having lunch. We were in the water for what seemed like an hour. Back at the boat we hoisted the sail and started back, the wind had died so we used the motor the whole way back, the sail was for looks. Dylan also brought out a big bowl of ceviche to Jill’s delight. The ride back fit the Caye Caulkerian motto of Go Slow. We puttered back to port not long before sunset. Jill and I were going to have supper at the Fryjacks place but it was closed, unlike last night when it was open. We ended up eating at a Pupusa cart which was delicious and spicy. We ate in the basketball stadium. There was some award presentation going on. Like most small town award presentations, it was not very exciting. We walked the island again and ended up looking at the moon at the Split again. Now I am sleepy and going to bed.
