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