First day of school for our students. Morning assembly.

The Wedding

We were invited to a wedding on the beach that was planned Monday night and held Thursday afternoon. The bride bought her dress on Wednesday. The setting was lovely and the refreshments were wonderful.

Fisherman Feeding a Sea Turtle

(Pardon the red tint on this pic-new underwater camera and I forgot to change the setting!)
During our first dive of trip we were treated to an amazing site at the Hol Chan Marine Park. A fisherman was cleaning the conch he caught. Several sea turtles were swimming around the boat, along with sharks and stingrays, to catch some of the scraps. We swam over and got to see him hand-feeding one turtle. The turtle climbed high up on the side of the boat to get the conch. As the turtle swam away, he nipped at one of the student's chest. Bitten by a sea turtle, it must be a first!

The Hol Chan Marine Park is a protected spot near the coral reef, about a mile off San Pedro. Nobody is allowed to fish there except a few fisherman who were fishing there before the park was formed. They retained their rights to continue to fish and clean their catch there. When they no longer fish, the permit expires, it cannot be passed on to other family members.  As a result of cleaning their fish in this area, fish, rays, turtles, and sharks stay close by and are spoiled by the remnants of the fisherman's catch.

Sammy flew us from Belize City to San Pedro

The Adventure Begins 2014

Starting the fifth Belizean Adventure has been a true adventure. Several students barely made the plane in time. Other than that, the flight into Belize City went smoothly and we were whisked to our connecting flight within 15 minutes of checking in. Maya Airlines got us to San Pedro in record time and we landed about noon in San Pedro. Check-in at Pedro's also went smoothly and we were settled in our rooms quickly. Then it was on to Estelle's for pulled pork tacos by the Caribbean Sea. Good to see Sam, our favorite waiter.  It was an early evening as most of us were up very early.  Our first full day in San Pedro began, as always, at George's Kitchen, where Maria, his wife, served us Belizean eggs (with salsa) and fry jacks. We completed a walking tour of San Pedro around 1:30 p.m.-the height of the mid-day heat (whose idea was that?).  Yes, it is brutally hot but it feels strangely good after the brutal winter-all relative as it was much better in Wilmington than other parts of the country. An impromptu wedding was planned the night before and we were invited to attend.  It was lovely and I especially enjoyed Forest as the maid-of-honor. Back to the hotel for Thursday Trivia where our team came in third-very respectful as trivia here is hardcore. Today, we will visit the schools and the students will meet their partner teachers for this experience.  This will be our last day week-day to relax before students report to their school on Monday.  I think today might be the end of Children's Stimulation Month in Belize that focuses on early childhood education. If it is, we will be treated to a wonderful parade of all the preschool children on the island and several drum bands later this morning. I am looking forward to diving this weekend.

Photos from Belize

http://2012fieldexperiencetobelizepics.shutterfly.com/pictures/72

Video Diary-5 Tony Goes Inland

Tony got to go inland with one of the high school groups to tour the country and visit different businesses. This is part of the high school curriculum.
http://youtu.be/ZVByu_FzD68