Glover’s Reef is a tropical paradise. We were in the water at every opportunity; scuba diving, snorkeling, and one day we even sea kayaked between two islands, stopping on a tiny deserted island to snorkel and swim.
We were curious to learn more about all that we saw around us. To find the answers to their questions, students did mini-research projects and talked at length with two marine biology experts at the research station. They taught us about basic coral reef ecology, problems with fisheries (all of the seafood lovers in our group were devastated to learn how terrible shrimp harvesting is for the environment!), and how to identify different underwater species. Students also helped in stingray research, snorkeled with nurse sharks, and dove with sea turtles.
We had a bonfire on the beach our last night on the atoll. The next morning, we managed to convince all of our students to get onto the boat that would bring us back to the mainland. We may have been saying goodbye to paradise but we still had other adventures to look forward to. . .
From the marina we headed to Gale’s Point, the first Belizean creole village, to stay at Emit Young’s drum school. We crammed a lot into our short stay here-- we learned how to bake bread in a hearth oven, use casting nets to fish, and to top it all off Emit gave us drumming lessons where we learned traditional rhythms from the Ivory Coast.
On our way back to Cayo, we stopped for one last adventure together: cave tubing on one of the underground rivers that flows through Belize’s intricate and impressive cave system.
It's truly been an incredible expedition to this diverse corner of the world!
-Britt, Mike, and the NGSE Belize team
