Belize - snorkeling trip

On Monday of the Belize/wedding trip we went on a day-long snorkeling trip. It was so amazing!!!! I am proud to note that after about 10 hours in the hot Caribbean sun I managed to avoid getting a sunburn. I went through nearly two bottles of sunscreen on the whole trip and re-applied and covered up whenever possible!

I got up early on Monday (actually I didn't sleep much on this trip . . . ) and caught the sunrise. It was so beautiful I felt like I was in a postcard.
There were some adorable birds hanging out by the beach. I don't know what they were but they were very cute.
We got on the boat at about 8am. We rode about two hours out and stopped in a natural preserve right in the middle of the mangroves.
The area is known for being a manatee hangout and they did not disappoint! The manatees didn't really come up above the water line so this is one of my better pictures. The guys running the boat tour said that we were pretty lucky all day - a group they took out a week before didn't really get to see any manatees or other wildlife.
We then road about another hour out to this island/sandbar in the middle of the ocean and in the middle of the coral reef. The sun was so bright, the sky was so blue and water was so light it was almost dazzlingly blinding. If you've ever dreamed of being shipwrecked at sea and ending up on a small island, I can tell you for certain that these places do exist! The island was our home base for our snorkeling trip.
I've never snorkeled or been scuba diving before but I loved it and can't wait to go again! I rented a mask, snorkel and fins. The water was so salty that I was able to float for one of the first times in my life. We were right on the coral reef and could see hundreds of beautiful fish, including a barracuda, a needle nose fish and a parrot fish. There were lots of other fish but I didn't have an underwater guide :-)
I nearly cried when we left out oasis. It was one of the most amazing places I have ever been!
On our way to our next destination we stopped suddenly and saw dolphins! Dolphins! Other than the aquarium I have never seen a dolphin up close! There was a pack of eight or so and we could even hear them call to one another. Amazing!!!
Our next planned destination was shark/stingray alley where we got off the boat and swam with the stingrays. Stingrays were what killed Steve Erwin so we were warned not to touch their tails. There were about twenty (or less) of them. The guys on the boat fed the stingrays little fish so we were swimming with the stingrays and half-eaten fish carcases. I was slightly freaked out by the stingrays but it was really really cool.
Our next stop was Caye Caulker, an island about 15 minutes from Ambergris Caye. We wandered around for an hour and I saw the same beautiful flowers as on San Pedro, but in purple.
Caye Caulker was lovely. Lots of young-ish pseudo-hippies.
Most interestingly, Caye Caulker had a swim up bar! This is notable because I have video from New Years where my friend X said her New Year's resolution was to find a swim up bar! Voila! (mine was to cut all insane people out of my life and so far, I think I've done a good job of this)
All in all, it was a fabulous day, one that I won't forget for a while. Thanks J & K for arranging such a fun trip!!!! :-)