If you have already read the blog post about Hopkins, and if there is snow on the ground, STOP! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! (You might be too jealous.) Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better than our own private beach cabana in the real world Belize--Hopkins style--we get our own island; see I told you not to read any further if currently you are cold with the heat on 65. As we pulled away from the town we had fallen in love with, in the backseats of the van, we had no idea that South Water Caye would be the stuff dreams are made of. We clambered onto a boat, strapped our life vests on, and began to jet across water so blue it made your eyes hurt. After about a half hour of riding the waves, we pulled into the island. There we were greeted with warm smiles and a tour, and our adventure in learning began.
South Water Caye is nestled between two resorts but is nothing like them from what we could tell. There are little private cabanas all made of natural wood and thatched roofs and then a bigger cabana in the center where our dorm was. At no point are you more than a 1 and a half minute walk to the water, and a few of the great opportunities we were able to take advantage of follow: Sunrise and sunset kayak trips; a dock where you could see octopi, stingrays, and turtles swimming by at all times; and volleyball court complete with a built in player in the form of a palm tree. Some pretty serious volley balling took place and Jay showed us his skills as South water Caye’s best baller. The next five days would be jam packed with Dr. Colin Young’s class, Watershed Ecology, and you could say was the perfect pairing of information put to the test by literally submerging ourselves in our topics. Not to mention on top of all this we ate some of the BEST food that is worth detailing later in this entry. Trust me, guys...we couldn’t make this stuff up.
South Water Caye is nestled between two resorts but is nothing like them from what we could tell. There are little private cabanas all made of natural wood and thatched roofs and then a bigger cabana in the center where our dorm was. At no point are you more than a 1 and a half minute walk to the water, and a few of the great opportunities we were able to take advantage of follow: Sunrise and sunset kayak trips; a dock where you could see octopi, stingrays, and turtles swimming by at all times; and volleyball court complete with a built in player in the form of a palm tree. Some pretty serious volley balling took place and Jay showed us his skills as South water Caye’s best baller. The next five days would be jam packed with Dr. Colin Young’s class, Watershed Ecology, and you could say was the perfect pairing of information put to the test by literally submerging ourselves in our topics. Not to mention on top of all this we ate some of the BEST food that is worth detailing later in this entry. Trust me, guys...we couldn’t make this stuff up.
I can’t think of a better setting for a college class to take place than the open air beach bungalow of a classroom at South Water Caye’s International Zoological Expedition (IZE). In Dr. Colin Young’s Watershed Ecology course, we spent every day--usually all day between meals and expeditions--learning about things such as how major deforestation in the rainforest or chemical runoff from a citrus plantation can affect the health of the coral reefs. It is safe to say that every one of us came away from our learning experience on South Water Caye with a greater appreciation for Belize’s ecosystems and the incredible services they provide.
After being enlightened about the riparian rainforest, savannas, wetlands, mangroves, sea grasses and coral reefs in the most beautiful classroom in the world, we had the opportunity to explore the depths of Belize’s vast barrier reef and put our knowledge to use. For some, it was a first to strap on mask, snorkel and fins and be opened to a whole world that exists below sea level. We got to encounter some of the reef’s most exotic and beautiful creatures, from the deadly Lion Fish, to the ferocious Great Barracuda, to the graceful Southern Sting Ray, and with a little help from our great snorkel guides, we could actually identify what we were looking at. Our guides were smarter than us, however, as we were the guinea pigs to test the tempers of the up-side-down jelly fish in our attempt to snorkel through the mangroves. After a few stings here and there, everyone was back in the boat, and the guides, still dry, brought us to a more enjoyable snorkel destination.
Although our experience here couldn’t have gone any better, it was a little bitter to know that these beautiful corals are only a fraction of what they used to be. Rising water temperatures, acid rain, chemical run off, exploitation of other ecosystems and numerous other factors have caused, and continue to cause, major deterioration of Belize’s most beautiful attraction. However, the knowledge we took away from our experience at South Water Caye will allow us to spread the awareness of the importance of environmental conservation.
On our last full day there we said our goodbyes to Colin, who had to catch a boat back to the mainland, and it was bitter sweet to say the least. Bitter because we were saying goodbye for a while to the professor who had facilitated some of the best teaching experiences we have ever had, and also bitter coming to the realization that our time at South Water Caye was about to end. Sweet because we had our first day with no class and we put our game faces on (well Dan put his sun block face on) as we headed out to do some serious lounging on the beach before the surprise fishing trip we would embark on.
The first group went out to do some fishing and came back hours later with over fifty fish in buckets all caught on hand lines. The second group went out and although they caught less fish, were compensated by the boat ride in that was timed perfectly for the sunset, although not timed as perfectly for the rain! We bolted to the dining room out of the downpour and into yet another one of the finest meals imaginable, and this time our dinner was caught with our very own hands.
The food had been beyond amazing before this meal and is worth talking about. The women in the kitchen were always singing and smiling and making magic happen. We ate handmade tamales, fried shrimp, shrimp scampi, yummy hot vegetable soups, and all around beautiful meals. The last night we had the fish we caught baked in butter, baked potatoes, and a coconut cake that melted in your mouth.
Bellies full, some of us climbed into a hammock and slept the night away with the ocean air rocking us all the while. The next morning our island adventure in learning had truly come to a close as we packed our belongings and headed to San Ignacio to set up shop for the next 2 and a half months.
The first group went out to do some fishing and came back hours later with over fifty fish in buckets all caught on hand lines. The second group went out and although they caught less fish, were compensated by the boat ride in that was timed perfectly for the sunset, although not timed as perfectly for the rain! We bolted to the dining room out of the downpour and into yet another one of the finest meals imaginable, and this time our dinner was caught with our very own hands.
The food had been beyond amazing before this meal and is worth talking about. The women in the kitchen were always singing and smiling and making magic happen. We ate handmade tamales, fried shrimp, shrimp scampi, yummy hot vegetable soups, and all around beautiful meals. The last night we had the fish we caught baked in butter, baked potatoes, and a coconut cake that melted in your mouth.
Bellies full, some of us climbed into a hammock and slept the night away with the ocean air rocking us all the while. The next morning our island adventure in learning had truly come to a close as we packed our belongings and headed to San Ignacio to set up shop for the next 2 and a half months.
--Submitted by Storm Leland and Dylan Estabrooks
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