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We’ve arrived in Belize just in time to catch the tail end of the rainy season but the sun peeks its head out now and then, and we take advantage of it when we can. We’ve been steadily making our way north along the barrier reef, fighting unfavourable winds and waves but making fairly good time.
The highlight of the trip so far as been our run out to Turneffe Islands, which is an atoll located 5 miles east of the reef. An atoll is formed as coral grows around the edges of steep underwater plateaus. The coral continues to grow as sea levels rise which creates a ring rising perpendicularly out of the ocean from great depths, with a shallow basin or lagoon in the middle. Inside the lagoon there are a series of cays and mangrove islands. Turneffe attracts many divers and we’re told that there is decent visibility down to 150 ft along the coral shelf. Although we don’t dive, we had excellent snorkeling and saw fish and coral formations that we’d never seen before. There are two other atolls that we hoped to get to but time and, especially, wind have been against us. Adam was particularly disappointed about not being able to go to Lighthouse Reef to see the blue hole, but the promise of pizza on the mainland has done wonders for his morale. With blue skies, a steady breeze, and pizza in our hearts we lifted the anchor and sailed out into the Turneffe lagoon over clear water. At least we did for approximately 200 metres before we came to a dead stop after driving ourselves into a shallow patch. We made several failed attempts to heel the boat and Adam was in the middle of rowing out a second anchor for the third time when a fishing boat came along and generously offered to tow us. It was a big relief as there were no other boats on Turneffe at the time and our only other option would have been to call the coast guard.
But it isn’t all rainy days and running aground, we’ve managed to see a lot of marine life in a short period of time. We’ve seen sting rays, spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, reef sharks, barracuda, manatees, turtles, and Adam even swam with some dolphins on Turneffe. We also rescued a very small hermit crab, bringing it back from the brink of death, after the shell it was living in was taken out of the water, sprayed with vinegar, and left out over night. Of course we were the ones who took the shell, sprayed it with vinegar, and left it out over night but, more importantly, we also eventually rescued it. In the morning when I picked up the shell and the little guy slid out into a lifeless heap we were very quick to leap into action. Our fast response time enabled us to revive him, return him to his shell, and eventually to the sea. And maybe, just maybe, we taught him a lesson about living in a house that is far too big for him.
The highlight of the trip so far as been our run out to Turneffe Islands, which is an atoll located 5 miles east of the reef. An atoll is formed as coral grows around the edges of steep underwater plateaus. The coral continues to grow as sea levels rise which creates a ring rising perpendicularly out of the ocean from great depths, with a shallow basin or lagoon in the middle. Inside the lagoon there are a series of cays and mangrove islands. Turneffe attracts many divers and we’re told that there is decent visibility down to 150 ft along the coral shelf. Although we don’t dive, we had excellent snorkeling and saw fish and coral formations that we’d never seen before. There are two other atolls that we hoped to get to but time and, especially, wind have been against us. Adam was particularly disappointed about not being able to go to Lighthouse Reef to see the blue hole, but the promise of pizza on the mainland has done wonders for his morale. With blue skies, a steady breeze, and pizza in our hearts we lifted the anchor and sailed out into the Turneffe lagoon over clear water. At least we did for approximately 200 metres before we came to a dead stop after driving ourselves into a shallow patch. We made several failed attempts to heel the boat and Adam was in the middle of rowing out a second anchor for the third time when a fishing boat came along and generously offered to tow us. It was a big relief as there were no other boats on Turneffe at the time and our only other option would have been to call the coast guard.
But it isn’t all rainy days and running aground, we’ve managed to see a lot of marine life in a short period of time. We’ve seen sting rays, spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, reef sharks, barracuda, manatees, turtles, and Adam even swam with some dolphins on Turneffe. We also rescued a very small hermit crab, bringing it back from the brink of death, after the shell it was living in was taken out of the water, sprayed with vinegar, and left out over night. Of course we were the ones who took the shell, sprayed it with vinegar, and left it out over night but, more importantly, we also eventually rescued it. In the morning when I picked up the shell and the little guy slid out into a lifeless heap we were very quick to leap into action. Our fast response time enabled us to revive him, return him to his shell, and eventually to the sea. And maybe, just maybe, we taught him a lesson about living in a house that is far too big for him.