Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things ocean. Each year, Mike and I take a trip to Belize.
Are you wondering where Belize is located? So were we when someone first told us that the snorkeling in Belize was the best in the world! We looked it up, and Belize is nestled between Mexico to the North, Guatemala to the West, and Honduras to the South...with nothing but the Caribbean Sea to the East!
Top on our priority list each year is to snorkel the barrier reef off the coast of Belize. We stay on an island situated on Glover's Atoll, just a short boat ride from the Glover's Reef Research Station. To give you an idea of how remote this area is, twice daily the power goes out on the entire island, as they switch to the second generator!
This reef is the second-largest reef in the world and includes The Great Blue Hole. This year, we snorkeled the Great Blue Hole, and it did not disappoint.
One of the items on my bucket list that I had not been lucky enough to experience on previous visits, was the hatching of loggerhead turtles. Each year, when we go, we are either too early or too late to see them hatch. While there were roped-off nests on the beach again this year, it appeared we would miss the hatching by a couple of weeks. And then it happened....we were in our cabana when the phone rang and it was one of the island staff yelling that there was a hatching taking place RIGHT NOW! I don't think I have ran that fast in 10 years!
Once at the ocean's edge, we saw dozens of baby turtles making their way to the sea. That they instinctively know what to do is simply amazing! That such a tiny creature makes it to the ocean is a miracle. Overhead, we saw birds circling and just waiting for the opportunity to swoop down for a meal of baby loggerhead. Of course, none of the humans watching would let that happen!
Because the loggerhead is considered endangered in Belize, each baby turtle is counted and recorded by the Glover's Reef Research Team.
The staff dug deep into the sand, pulling out egg shells to ensure all the babies were safely hatched and counted.
Visiting this remote area of Belize has given me a profound respect for the work our conservationists have ahead of them. I encourage you to visit each of the links in my blog and learn more about this beautiful country and what they are doing to preserve and protect not only their country but the world!
