Last night, after a traditional Belizean dinner in our open-air restaurant, watching the geckos crawl on the ceiling, we relaxed and caught up on journal writing, team planning, and preparing for our visit to Monkey River on Monday. The second substantial rains of our trip arrived, and we took shelter in our respective apartments, bungalows, and rooms. Soon the rains ended and we experienced a brief power outage. The total blackness we experienced while relaxing on porches made the ocean surf appear to pound much louder.

This morning we resumed our habitual bird walk. The highlight was a stop by a cinnamon hummingbird nest complete with two chicks (which are about the size of our thumbnail!). Talk about a photo opportunity!

The rains returned while we enjoyed Belizean teas, Creole French toast, and tropical fruits for breakfast. After waiting out the storm, we were able to depart on our second snorkeling adventure. Jason and Ivan, our snorkel guides and boat pilots, brought us to Lark Range Caye. It is a mangrove area, and we found the jungle of roots to be not only formidable but also somewhat spooky. The silt, occasionally kicked up from the shallow bottom, obscured the view. It was not uncommon to find oneself face to face with a barracuda!

A couple of hours later found us back on French Louis Caye savoring a lobster salad. We finished our day with another deeper water snorkel marveling at many of the same fish, invertebrate, and coral species of yesterday, as well as a few new ones, including a yellowhead, nurse shark, and eagle ray!