The windy weather we´ve been having here on Ambergris Caye finally let up on Friday enough to get out snorkelling on the Barrier Reef that follows the coastline of Belize. After a 15 minute boat ride and a quick refresher on snorkelling ettiquete (i.e. - don´t touch the coral, etc.) we hit the water. It was a crystal clear day so the water was very clear and brilliantly colored fish and coral were everywhere. After checking out the Hol Chan marine park area for about 30 or so minutes we proceeded to Shark Ray Alley.
Yup, you guessed it. We were in the water snorkelling with all the stingray and sharks. The stingrays were very friendly and were looking for handouts from the snorkelling guides who feed them everyday when groups go out to the reef. Marisa finally confronted a fear and touched one and thought it felt like a portabello mushroom floating in water. After floating around with the stingrays acosting us for handouts, we went looking for sharks. The guide led us on the hunt for the harmless Nurse Sharks who also hang around in this area. Again, they are very used to humans being around them everyday and sometimes they are fed by the guides as well. We found a pair lurking around some coral and followed them around for a few minutes. Hopefully our photos with one of those Kodak toss out waterproof cameras will turn out.
Tomorrow, we head off for NE Guatemala and the Mayan Ruins of Tikal. We can´t wait.
