Our Un-Belize-Able Adventure

Krista and I were planning on leaving Belize around noon on Monday morning after getting in some snorkeling, but then we heard about this adventure Ryan was going on, and had to join in on the fun.  We decided not to leave until Tuesday morning so we could tag along. 

Our day started out at 8:00 when we met our guides (Amin and Zeez, two locals) for the adventure of a lifetime.  We jumped in their boat and headed off.  The first stop we made was an area where Amin pulled out some sardines, and we were instantly surrounded by nurse sharks and stingrays.  There were probably 8-10 sharks around out boat, though they assured us that these are not the man eating kind of sharks!  I had never seen a shark in the wild, and thought it was so cool! 

Then off we went to the reef where we snorkeled for a bit.  I LOVE snorkeling.  I think it is amazing what exists under the sea.  Don´t we all look so attractive in our snorkeling gear?

We went to one more snorkeling area, where Amin found a conch for us to enjoy for lunch.  I thought he was kidding.  I had no idea you could eat what was found inside this shell. 

After that they took us to a place where they taught us to hand-line fish, no fishing pole needed!  You just hook some bait (part of a sardine) on your line, throw it out into the water, and reel it in.  Literally, within seconds of hitting the water one of two things has happened.  Either 1)- you have caught a fish and pull it in or 2)- a fish has stolen your bait, and you have to pull in your line and put more on.  I was the worst of the three of us at fishing, I only caught 6 fish in the 20 minutes we were there.  The fish kept stealing my bait!  Even though the fish kept robbing me, hand-line fishing was SO MUCH FUN!  I LOVED it!  I successfully learned to bait to hook (yep, touched the bloody sardine parts, the heads worked best), throw the line, and pull the fish in.  Though trying to get the wriggling fish off the hook still eludes me.  I just can´t do it without squealing.  Amin was kind enough to help me with that part! By the time we were done we had a bucket full of snapper for supper.  (Cool side note, we also saw dolphins swimming in the wild while fishing.  SO COOL!)

By that time we had been in the sun for a while and were ready for a break.  We stopped at a tiny island in the middle of the ocean for lunch.  It was darling!  The only thing on the island was this small house, and a very interesting outhouse out back.

Amin cut up the conch that he had found, added tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and other things and whipped us up a civiche to enjoy.  I was skeptical (really, who eats conch?) and surprised myself when I really liked it!  It was very tasty!

After lunch it was back out to the ocean where Zees found us a lobster to add to our dinner feast.  

Zees uses a spear gun to fish.  It is exactly what it sounds like- a long spear attached to a gun like thing.  He would pull back a cord, and when he let go the spear would go flying.  It was amazing to watch!  He used it to catch the lobster, as well as this large black snapper:

It was enormous!  He let us take pictures with it, and told me I was welcome to claim it.  Though let´s be honest, if I ever caught something that looked like this I would turn around and run the other way!  I am a wimp like that!

By the time we were done it was 4:30 and we were truly exhausted.  We went home and washed up, then went over to Amin´s house for dinner, where his wife, Mally, had cooked up our catches.  We had lobster and snapper, as well as coleslaw and macaroni.  I have never been too fond of fish, but it turns out I actually really like it if it is fresh!  There was absolutely no fishy taste to it, just flaky goodness.  I ate an entire fish, and part of the lobster.  Who knew seafood could be so good?!

All in all, it was an incredible experience.  We were so glad we decided to stay an extra day in Belize!  It was a once in a lifetime experience!

Both Krista and Ryan got really sunburned on our trip.  I invested in a swimshirt last year after having one too many sunburns.  I have to say, a swimshirt is a genius idea and worth every penny I ever paid for it!  I didn´t get burned at all, and unlike a normal t-shirt, it doesn´t get weighed down when it is wet.  It is truly an inspired thing!  I might stick out a bit on the beaches of Belize, but at least I don´t come home in pain and looking like a tomato!