Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Caye Caulker Part 2

Day 11
5/11/13
Saturday!  It has been hard to keep the days straight on this trip.  Because of the choppy weather on the water, our patrol shadowing was delayed from 8:30am to 10:30am.  As we gathered, I realized I was in the wrong attire, so I was reassigned to the restaurant checking group first.  We went to a local hotel to look through their kitchen for anything that was violating regulations regarding marine life, such as conch, fish, shrimp, etc.  We then went to a fisherman docking site to observe shelling of conchs and to talk abut the limits of that activity.  After lunch, we went on the boat for shadowing patrols.  Fido's took us around and told us about patrolling.  It was interesting to see how the process worked out.  Then we had a free afternoon, which I used to relax and do some poking around the shops for gifts.  Dinner and ice-cream topped the night off.  Only two days left here in Caye Caulker.  Such beautiful sights everywhere you look.  It's a shame to have to leave.

Day 12
5/12/13
Free day until the evening, when a presentation from the Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary will be held.  I took this time to relax, explore the island, and work on my project from Las Cuevas before going to dinner.  After we learned about the volunteer-based organization on a  $100,000 annual budget to help preserve the native manatees, we celebrated Abbey's 21st birthday with a rum cake from Maurice and drinks at Enjoy.  Lina, Michelle, Abby, Heather and I sunbathed before lunch today.  Tomorrow's the last full day in Caye Caulker.  It's a completely free day, so I have no idea how we'll spend it, yet.  Probably just relax, repack, and reflect.  On to tomorrow!

Day 13
5/13/13
Sleeping in, no schedule, no plans - isn't this what island life is supposed to be?  This morning was well spent relaxing, enjoying the weather, culture, smells, sights, and sounds of the island.  I walked around, found a gift for my Grandma, ate lunch at the local sports bar with Abby, Michelle, and Heather, and then (finally) bought myself something - a purple bag, of course.  The afternoon was spend methodologically unpacking and repacking my duffle-bag to see what should go where to maximize the space available.  I joined Lindsay, Kara, John, Mike, Alex, Will, Lina, and Sam in Alex and Will's room for some camaraderie and reflection.  I tried to get to the shore of the island that was behind the hotel to watch the last sunset of our trip, but an unexpected downpour rained from the heavens sent me quickly scurrying back to my room for a quick shower before dinner.Maurice made awesome personal pizzas for everyone.  They were very delicious!  I planned on making a quick stop in my room to use the restroom before heading out and enjoying the last night of the trip with everyone, but my body betrayed me and I ended up falling asleep as soon as I got back into the room.

Day 14
5/14/13
5am and we're up to do any last-minute packing, showering, etc.  We all congregated in the courtyard of the hotel with all of our various baggage to wait for the luggage-taxi-cart guy.  Once he arrived and we loaded up, we made the short walk to the water taxi dock.  We sat in the sunrise and enjoyed our last looks at the water while we talked about our favorite (and least favorite, which actually didn't seem all that bad, in the broad spectrum of things) parts of the trip.  An hour's ride on the jam-packed boat and we were meeting Dr. Alegria at the water terminal to load up and board the van.  The 12-passenger van (there are 15 of us, by the way, not including the driver) bustled around Belize City for less than an hour before we arrived at the airport.  It was a short wait before we all got to check our bags and then make our way through security, which was pretty speedy!  While we waited for the plane, most of us got something quick to eat from the pastry shop and I stopped in a gift shop to get a Belize butterfly i.d. card for my mom.  (Don't tell her, it's a surprise...  Mom, act surprised when I give it to you.  I know you're reading this.)  Safely across the tarmak, through the plane, and into our seats, we all relaxed (or fell asleep), and waited for the 2-hour flight to land.  Once in Miami airport, we all hustled to get to our baggage claim, hit the restroom, and then get into the line for customs.  With directions being shouted in our right ear by a woman who didn't fool around, we all filtered into different lines to get through customs as quick as possible, shuffling through our submission to the inevitable herding of humans.  While I waited obediently and patiently in my line, I heard a woman behind me.  "Moo."  'Moo' indeed.  Once my passport was stamped and my form had some unrecognizable symbol scrawled over the face of it, I was allowed to walk down the hallway and into the line for security.  After the worker figured out how to set up the line so that the common maze-like pathway was achieved, we got to shuffle through the whole process for the second time that morning.  Finally allowed passage into the terminal, we found our tram and headed to the gate.  I sat and called everyone I needed to call to say that I had gotten into the States safe and sound before heading to the food court and seeing a gaggle of my fellow classmates eating there.  We sat for a couple of minutes before heading to the gate for boarding.  Our 2.5 hour layover had been primarily consumed by the baggage and security lines, so we only had to wait for a short while.  While walking through the tunnel to the plane, we all found out where we were sitting.  Funnily enough, the last plane ride we had together would be the only plane ride where all except three of us (two had different flights and one sat in the exit row for extra room) got to sit in a big group next to each other.  It was our last 45-minute hurrah.  We landed, exited the plane, hit the restrooms, and then went to meet our loved ones at baggage claim.  I found Nathan and my bag before saying goodbye to everyone that was still there and making my way to the parking lot.  A meager ending to an impossibly amazing trip.

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