Greetings from San Pedro, Belize

Today has been off to a great start. A group of about 10 of us woke up and were at breakfast by 8 a.m. I enjoyed fresh fruit while overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, today has been cloudy, but the weather is still warm. After breakfast, we took of to go snorkeling. Wow! The last time I went snorkeling, I couldn't stop gulping salt water and ended up getting sea sick. I was excited, but a little aprehensive this time. I didn't have my hopes too high. This excursion blew all of my expectations out of the water. Our guides, Alfonse and Mario, were the best on the island. Alfonse was incredibly enthusiastic about the ocean and all of the sea life. He had tattoos covering both arms, both ears pierced, and I think he looked like he was living the life on the island.

After we picked up a couple other passengers, we went to a reef about 10 minutes away. Alfonse instructed us about the correct way to clean and wear our snorkels and then took us out into the ocean. I have never seen anything so beautiful. Fish were swimming all around us and coral covered the ocean floor. It wasn't deep and for most of the time, we could stand and the water would hit about chest level. There were fish ranging from the length of my finger to the length of my leg. Alfonse was clapping underwater and pointing at everything. He knew what each fish was called, all of the information about them, and of course, how tasty they were. We saw more than just fish too. I saw a giant green eel, which Alfonse swam down to and grabbed its tail. We saw a thing that looked like a mix between a crab and a spider that was living in a rock. We saw three turtles eating seaweed on the ocean floor and sting rays saw around the outer ring of the reef. My head couldn't stop swiveling back and forth. If I didn't have to stop so often to spit out salty seawater, I wouldn't have ever lifted my head out of the water.

Our next stop was called Shark and Sting Ray Alley and it definitely lived up to its name. We jumped into the water and immediately Alfonse brought a huge shark to the surface. It was amazing. The thing was atleast as big as he was. More sharks circled around us and swam directly under me. It was incredible to be that close to something. Sting rays also came around and once again, Alfonse would randomly pick them up so we could all touch it. It was the weirdest feeling. I was expecting the skin to be hard and rough but it was completely the opposite. It was almost spongy feeling and smooth when I ran my fingers over its back. Alfonse even let me hold one! It was huge!

Although I was so close to all of these creatures, I never once felt scared or nervous. There is something about being underwater that is incredibly serene. It was calm and so quiet and at times, I would stop swimming and just let myself be pushed along by the current.

I couldn't believe what a great trip it turned out to be. After we had finished at Shark Alley I was waiting next to Alfonse in the ocean to climb back onto the boat. Earlier in the morning, Alfonse had joked with me that sharks love pink nail polish because my toes are painted bright pink. Well, he swam under the water without me noticing and grabbed my foot. I about jumped three feet out of the water and into the boat. So I guess it's not entirely true to say I never once felt scared. He was a great guide.

We're planning to spend the rest of the day exploring the city. The sun's not out so no tanning. The water is still warm though and it felt like bathwater when we were snorkeling.

Last night we went to a small restaurant for some authentic food. Wow. I am not a seafood person at all, but I was willing to try it again. It has to be delicious if it's this close to the ocean, right? Of course. I had pananas and a tortilla with stewed chicken. A panana is fish and corn wrapped in a tortilla and fried. Sooo good. I could've eaten those for days. There was homemade salsa on the table also. This salsa wasn't like Pace that you can just pick up at the grocery store. This was the real deal and so good. It was incredibly hot and most people couldn't eat it with their food, but I couldn't seem to stop even though my mouth was on fire.

That's definitely something I'm learning a lot more about on this trip. You've just got to get out there and do it. If you want to try something, try it. There's no point in saying no and these experiences open your eyes. You're only in Belize once and you're only going to be in this moment doing this thing once, live it the fullest. We're staying in a hostel in San Pedro and it's very tiny. There's no AC, no TVs and a community bathroom with no hot water. The rooms are only big enough for two beds and a dresser and the walls are cardboard. I know they don't sound appealing, but why not? We're only in the rooms to sleep. Plus, we're functioning just fine without hot water or a TV. I actually enjoy it. There's no point in complaining because it's not going to change anything. It's an opportunity to embrace something new and learn from it.

I can't wait to see what else this trip brings. I hope you're enjoying reading about our experiences. There is so much that I leave out and I know other people are experiencing so many different things, it's so hard to fit it all into one post. Enjoy and I'll write again soon.