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Belize - Day 15 : Day 15: Travel Home The day started early with some last minute packing and breakfast. The taxis arrived at 9:00am and everyone headed to San Pedro airport. After an uneventful 20 minute flight to Belize City, we checked in for our flight home. Our Delta flight went smoothly and we actually arrived 30 minutes early in Atlanta, but there were no available gates at the time. As we waited for a gate, a storm moved across the area and they shut the airport down for about a half hour. We eventually made it into the terminal and quickly cleared customs. After some quick goodbyes, everyone went on to meet their family and friends that had come to pick them up at the airport.

Belize - Day 15

Day 15: Travel Home The day started early with some last minute pa ...

Updated: Jul 28, 2008 9:43pm CST

Belize - Day 14 : Day 14: Last Day in Belize – Final Exam and Free Time Most of the morning was spent taking the final lecture exam, and then we enjoyed an afternoon of free time. Some decided to go into town for a nice walk down the beach and some last-minute shopping, while others opted for one final snorkel at Hol Chan National Park. Those who decided on snorkeling managed to time the trip to the reef just right, as we were the only ones snorkeling in the park at the time. That evening, everyone got cleaned up for a pizza dinner and going-away party downstairs in the hammock garden. Mike and Matt played the guitar, and the vocally-inclined sang along. We soon learned that no one in the group knew all the words to any one song, but a good time was had by all. Tomorrow, we leave Belize and head back to Atlanta to resume our daily routines.

Belize - Day 14

Day 14: Last Day in Belize – Final Exam and Free Time Most of th ...

Updated: Jul 28, 2008 9:38pm CST

Belize - Day 1 : Day One: Arrival in Belize Everyone arrived at the Belize City Airport and then took a flight to San Pedro where we took a taxi to TREC. After having some time to unpack and swim in the pool, we took a golf cart tour of the island. Ambergris Caye has Front Street, Middle Street, and Back Street, and so we toured Front Street and Middle Street. Following the golf cart tour, we took a short hike through a bird preserve and saw a tree crab, sea grapes, breadfruit, and an inordinate amount of mosquitoes. We came back to the Center for dinner after which the TREC director gave us some guidelines concerning our stay. Following a short quiz on the history of Belize, we had a lecture covering everything we would see the next day. By: Amy Anderson

Belize - Day 1

Day One: Arrival in Belize Everyone arrived at the Belize City Airpor ...

Updated: Jul 28, 2008 9:27pm CST

Belize - Day 13 : Day 13: Mexico Rocks and Study Time After a full day at the zoo and cave tubing yesterday, the class went to the Lions Club beach BBQ last night. Following the BBQ, we all watched the famous “Chicken Drop” and Justin (intern from TREC) won the honors of cleaning up the droppings. We were scheduled to take a charter boat outside the reef today and snorkel the spur and groove region, but high winds and heavy seas prevented us from going. Instead we returned to Mexico Rocks for an enjoyable morning snorkel. After lunch everyone settled down to some good old-fashioned studying, as the final exam is first thing on Friday morning. Hopefully, the wind will die down tomorrow so we can get one last snorkel in at Hol Chan National Park before we have to pack and head home on Saturday.

Belize - Day 13

Day 13: Mexico Rocks and Study Time After a full day at the zoo an ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2008 11:28pm CST

Belize - Day 12 : Day 12: Belize Zoo and Cave Tubing Our group got an early start on the day as we boarded a speedboat and headed out to the mainland at Belize City. Our first stop was the Belize zoo, where we were amazed by the native animals. Some of the animals we saw were the beautiful Scarlet Macaw, the Great Curassow, the feared vultures, the Harpy Eagle, Howler Monkeys, and the ferocious jaguar. For our next excursion, we lathered up with bug spray, put on our guide lights, and battled the mosquitoes through the subtropical rainforest. Once we reached our destination, we hopped in inner tubes and floated down the “refreshing” river through the dark caves containing hidden waterfalls. Later tonight, we will attend the island’s beach barbeque for dinner and enjoy a night in town as we are nearing the end of an amazing two weeks in beautiful Belize. By: Ashley Weider

Belize - Day 12

Day 12: Belize Zoo and Cave Tubing Our group got an early start on ...

Updated: Jul 25, 2008 12:03am CST

Belize - Day 11 : Day 11: Lab Test Today was our much anticipated lab exam. I am happy to report that everyone made it through alive and unharmed. The first part was taken in the classroom, where we looked at slides and were asked to identify and state the taxonomy of the different organisms that we have seen during all our previous snorkeling ventures. The second part was taken at one of our previously visited sites, where we identified organisms in their natural habitat. On the way there, we encountered some pelting rain, which chilled us to the bone. The waves were pretty powerful also, but we bravely battled the weather for the sake of our grades and our arduous studying. Fortunately, the day cleared up, which meant some leisure time to engage in activities of our pleasure, whether it was shopping in downtown San Pedro, diving at a coral reef site, or styling in some old school tube socks and headbands to challenge the local Belizians in some basketball. We certainly are relieved to be done with the lab exam! By Shyla Stanley

Belize - Day 11

Day 11: Lab Test Today was our much anticipated lab exam. I am happ ...

Updated: Jul 23, 2008 8:57pm CST

Belize - Day 10 : Day 10: Caye Caulker and the Beach Today we altered our normal routine by going out on a small sailboat called the “Rum Punch” to take a trip to Caye Caulker, a neighboring island. On the way, we stopped to snorkel at a shipwreck, where we observed yellow goatfish, feather dusters, maize coral, and many other organisms in the crevices and holes. After this, we headed out to the channel in search of the main attraction of the area- the manatee! However, after swimming around the channel for awhile with no manatee in sight, we headed back to the boat and proceeded on to Caye Caulker for lunch at the “Happy Lobster” and some shopping. On the way back we again stopped to look for the manatee, but it was still nowhere to be found. On the long ride back many of us studied for the upcoming lab test, making word associations for organisms which featured characters from Hamlet and gyrating polyps, to name a few. The evening hours were spent reviewing even more for the test the next morning. We are all becoming reef experts for sure! By Angela Poole

Belize - Day 10

Day 10: Caye Caulker and the Beach Today we altered our normal rout ...

Updated: Jul 22, 2008 8:52pm CST

Belize - Day 9 : Day 9: Turtle Rock, Hol Chan and Shark-Ray Alley After taking a break from snorkeling yesterday and our trip to the mainland, it was back in the water this morning with stops at Turtle Rock, Hol Chan (for the second time) and then on to Shark-Ray Alley. Turtle Rock is a location used by local fisherman to clean their catch. The scrapings attract a lot of fish and other marine life, including a large Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Hol Chan was once again an impressive sight with schools of large jack, snapper, and grunts. One surprise visitor was a Spotted Eagle Ray which made a couple of passes by the class. From there it was on to the much anticipated Shark-Ray Alley. After chumming the water with sardines, we attracted a large audience of nurse sharks and stingrays. With some apprehension, the students gingerly slipped into the water to interact with the gathering group of elasmobranchs. Put your mind at ease, the students returned with all body parts intact. After a filling supper, the students presented their project results, which included a simulated attack by a Dusky Damselfish on a older Blueheaded Wrasse.

Belize - Day 9

Day 9: Turtle Rock, Hol Chan and Shark-Ray Alley After taking a bre ...

Updated: Jul 21, 2008 10:59pm CST

Belize - Day 8 : Day 8: Altun Ha Maya Ruins Today we all benefited from a much needed snorkeling break. We woke up extra early to board the speedboat for the Mayan Ruins. Our speedboat ride was extremely different from our usual calm rides on Goliath. As we headed to the ruins on the New River, we were able to get a close-up view of the Mangroves. The speedboat weaved around the tight corners and narrow pathway. We arrived at Bomba (Belize) with wind-blown hair and sore muscles from the bumpy ride. After looking around the shops filled with hand-made wood carvings, we boarded an old school bus for the 30-minute ride to the Mayan Ruins. Our tour guide gave us a very descriptive tour of the ruins (Altun Ha). We we able to climb to the top of the highest temple in the Ruins, the Sun Temple, where we got a bird’s-eye view of the Mayan city. After the tour, we boarded the school bus and headed for the Maruba Resort. This secret hideaway was nothing short of breathtaking. After lunch we headed back to Bomba. The group once again shopped around for authentic wood carvings where we tried our best to barter for the best price. After a long day, we returned to the speedboat for the thrilling ride back to San Pedro. By Teresa Pieklik

Belize - Day 8

Day 8: Altun Ha Maya Ruins Today we all benefited from a much neede ...

Updated: Jul 21, 2008 10:54pm CST

Belize - Day 7 : Day 7: Mexico Rocks, Cave, and Night Snorkel Today was the first stormy day we’ve had yet, but that definitely didn’t slow us down. Our first destination was Mexico Rocks, where we saw sea anemones, tons of stingrays, sea turtles and sharks! We also visited the 22 foot deep Cave! It started twelve feet down, so we snorkeled out to it, then dove down to take a look inside. Our last stop was at Tres Cocos, where each group took a different color glow stick out to mark their coral head for the night snorkel. We took notes of the sea life at our coral head in the daytime and then ventured back out to see how things had changed when the sun went down. The adrenaline was pumping as we all jumped out into the pitch-black ocean. Black spiny sea urchins, huge crabs, lobsters, and squids were just a few finds in the ocean’s busy nightlife. By Taylor Paul

Belize - Day 7

Day 7: Mexico Rocks, Cave, and Night Snorkel Today was the first st ...

Updated: Jul 21, 2008 9:00pm CST

Belize - Day 6 : Day 6 Mangroves, Coral Garden, and Hol Chan National Park After an invigorating evening seine of the turtle grass last night that yielded a Checkered Puffer fish, we woke up this morning to venture to the feared Mangroves. There we saw an abundance of organisms such as the batfish, which would not qualify as a pretty fish, and we even managed to completely avoid the biting Isopods. We then took a refreshingly cool boat ride to the Coral Gardens where we battled the currents to see some beautiful reef teeming with life. We finished the boat trip at Hol Chan National Park which is undoubtedly the most perfect and picturesque reef imaginable. We saw three Green Sea Turtles, a Nurse Shark, huge schools of Snapper, and giant Grouper. We felt like pros as we watched the ‘dopes on a rope’ attempt to snorkel around us. The afternoon finished with, believe it or not, more swimming back at the complex. It was probably the most fun day yet, and we are all excited about the next trip out tomorrow. By: Matt McCalley

Belize - Day 6

Day 6 Mangroves, Coral Garden, and Hol Chan National Park After an ...

Updated: Jul 18, 2008 11:33pm CST

Belize - Day 5 : Day 5: Projects at Tuffy’s and Night Seining Today we finished our projects at Tuffy and Pillar Coral and continued to target species. Although our start was a little difficult, we began to grow sea legs and successfully completed our tasks. While diligently working on our projects, some interesting organisms were spotted, including barracuda, large hound fish (my personal favorite), a spotted eel, spiny lobster, and more stingrays. We determined the results to our “edge of your seat” conch race. Conch are very pretty, but not what most consider fast. Matt slid into first place with the number eleven conch. And what would a victory be without a souvenir picture kissing his speedy Mollusk to remember the glorious moment?! Tonight we will seine the beach and see what kind of critters we can catch. There will be more on the screams of the night seine tomorrow, along with the happenings of the day. We are probably a little hotter, sweatier, and much damper than those in the States, but we are having a great time, and are thankful that we had such an opportunity. By Alexandra Levesque

Belize - Day 5

Day 5: Projects at Tuffy’s and Night Seining Today we finished our ...

Updated: Jul 17, 2008 10:43pm CST

Belize - Day 4 : Day 4: Pillar Coral and Project Day Today we went snorkeling at two locations, Pillar Coral and Tuffy. At our first site we saw, as the name suggests, pillar coral. This was an interesting sight because the polyps of the coral were actually out during the daytime and were flowing through the ocean waves. Also while we were there, we saw many other organisms, including many different colorful fish and coral types. The Diadema were also out during the day, instead of being hidden in caverns. We thought that was neat! After going to the Pillar Coral, we then collected Queen Conch and labeled them for an experiment. The Queen Conch were placed in the same general area and are going to checked tomorrow to see which one has moves the farthest. After spending time at Pillar Coral and collecting conch, we went back to Tuffy to begin working on our projects. Most of us seemed to have had some trouble getting started with our projects, but by the end of the day, I think all was under control, and we will be ready to finish them tomorrow. Everyone is o.k. and having a good time. It has been a great day! By: Brent Dunn

Belize - Day 4

Day 4: Pillar Coral and Project Day Today we went snorkeling at two l ...

Updated: Jul 16, 2008 8:58pm CST

Belize - Day 3 : Day 3: Playa Blanca and Tuffy’s Today we observed three reefs. First, we swam about a shallow reef known as Playa Blanca, where we saw many different fish and brittle stars. Then, we swam around patch corals in deeper waters. There we were able to dive down several feet to look into the coral’s crevices which house anemones and sea urchins. Last, we headed to our project site, Tuffy’s. There were many large Brain and Elkhorn corals there. We also familiarized ourselves with the area for our projects tomorrow. By: Tom Baldvins

Belize - Day 3

Day 3: Playa Blanca and Tuffy’s Today we observed three reefs. Firs ...

Updated: Jul 15, 2008 8:57pm CST

Belize - Day 2 : Day Two: Tres Cocos and Coral Gardens The morning started at 8am with breakfast and then a short lecture about the species we were covering that day. We headed towards the dock where we met Ken and Norman, who is the captain of the boat, Goliath. We started towards our first snorkeling site, Tres Cocos. At this site there were beds of turtle grass where we saw an octopus, sea urchins, and many kinds of fish and coral. The next site was Coral Gardens where we encountered a sting ray, soft coral and bonefish. After we returned to TREC, we had some free time, and some went to the supermarket and the internet café while others laid by the pool and read. Dinner was at 6:30 followed by a lecture about coral. By: Amy Anderson

Belize - Day 2

Day Two: Tres Cocos and Coral Gardens The morning started at 8am with ...

Updated: Jul 14, 2008 9:26pm CST

Belize test - Day 2 :

Belize test - Day 2

Updated: Jul 03, 2008 10:02pm CST

Belize test - Day 1 :

Belize test - Day 1

Updated: Jul 03, 2008 9:58pm CST

RSS Test :

RSS Test

Updated: Jul 02, 2008 2:07am CST

Berry College :

Berry College

Updated: Jul 01, 2008 9:44pm CST