Belize Trip Recap

Hi All!

Welcome back to another blog post. In this one, I plan to recap my spring break, with a particular focus on an exciting school trip to Belize that taught me a great deal about tropical ecology and conservation.

The trip was a school outing with about 12 freshmen to seniors. At first, I was scared because I’d signed up without asking any friends, so I didn’t know anyone. I strongly considered dropping out, worried about being alone. Ultimately, I decided to go, seeing it as a chance to step out of my comfort zone and make new connections.

The day we were departing was an early Monday morning, when I had to leave my school at 4:00 a.m. to catch the van, which was going to drive us to Logan Airport. Then we had to fly from Boston to Miami, and then fly to Belize.

One funny story I have is that during our layover in Miami, my buddy and I got lost and ended up taking a monorail to get to our gate, which nobody else on that trip did.

So once we arrived in Belize, we started off our first day by meeting our tour guides, Roni and Renai. They were genuinely the most passionate and kind people, and I’m so thankful that I got to meet them. Oh yeah, another cool thing about this trip was that it was phone-free, and so it provided me with the first-ever opportunity since I got my phone in 5th grade to go a week without social media and connection through the internet in general.

Back to day 1, on the way to our site, we got to stop by a store and explore local Belizean snacks and also American snacks. I got to buy these Ceviche Plantain chips, which were the best chips I think I’ve ever had. After our quick stop, we continued by bus to our final destination, The Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (TREES for short). Once we arrived, we got to rest and unpack. Then we had a bit of free time to unpack, and all of us ended up discovering that there was a volleyball net and ball, and so we played volleyball (which I kind of sucked at until it was time for dinner). We headed to the canteen/socialization building, where we got a brief introduction on what TREES was and what batmist netting (which we were going to do the next day) was. Then we got in line for dinner, which was a traditional Mezzo American food (I’ve forgotten the specifics), which I remember, though, was pretty tasty!!! By this time, we had all gotten our phones taken, and I was already exhausted by nighttime, so we went back to our cabins and passed out.

The next day was one of my favorite days. A key memory was going into the tropical rainforest that surrounded TREES and getting to learn more about how the Mayans survived and thrived off the ecosystem. We went into the rainforest suited up in our knee-high rubber boots, long-sleeve shirt, and long pants, drenched in bug spray. What was really memorable about this hike was getting to try termites, our group said it tasted either like mint or carrot. I personally thought it tasted like mint. On our way back to the camp, our tour guide Will, a really funny guy, was able to find a coconut tree and got us all some fresh coconut water! That night, we were able to go into the bat mist netting station part of TREES to help them collect and measure data on bats, especially vampire bats, and also go on a night hike to go star gazing (they were really bright and pretty!).

On our third day, our group divided into two smaller groups to do separate activities. One of the activities was a scientific exploration of white-lipped mud turtle behavior and habitat using telemetry days, while the other activity was determining the biodiversity health of a nearby stream by counting the different numbers of bugs that were present. My group, which was called the Mighty Macaws, started off with the bug and biodiversity station, where I had to conquer my fear of touching bugs… Then we switched to the other station, where I had to track turtles with a radar, point an antenna, and follow in whichever direction was the loudest. I honestly didn’t really enjoy this activity that much, and at the moment would’ve rather continued with collecting bugs even if I really don't like them.

Our fourth day was the last day at TREES before we were supposed to go to a private island called Billy Hawke Eye. We spent the day preparing for what we planned to investigate on our island in small groups. We spent a bit of time drafting a research question, hypothesis, and methodology. This day was pretty chill, as for the rest of the day, we got to take a swim in their pond, which they called the swimming hole. At this point, I had been attacked by bugs at TREES and was pretty ready to go to the island and NOT get attacked by bugs.

Day 5 started off bright and early as we boarded a van to go to the beach to catch our boat on the island. During this van, looking out the window and seeing so much undisturbed nature really felt peaceful and is something I can still remember vividly to this day. I’m going to say, while there were many great parts to this trip, one of my top 3 memories is this boat ride because we got on like a gigantic speedboat, and so it felt like we were riding a rollercoaster, just minus the drops (which I think is the scariest and my least favorite part). Once we arrived on the island, the thing that caught me off guard the most was the pungent sulfur smell. Also, the island was like TINNNYY. You could walk from one end to the other in less than 10 minutes. Another thing about this island was that they have no freshwater system, meaning that they have to go inland on a boat to fill up tanks with water from the stream and bring it back to use. I think the fact that the island had no running water supply was one of the most impactful experiences of the trip, as it taught me the value of water. Like I’ve never had to think so much about how much water I’m using here and there as I did while on this trip. But for the rest of day 5, we just had a short snorkeling lesson where we got to go snorkeling at a local reef to just learn the basics. Once we came back, we got to eat some good Afro–Caribbean style dinner from the kitchen ladies who were both named Marsha.

Day 6 was our most jam-packed day. In the morning, we had a snorkeling session where we went on a guided snorkel to collect data on coral health using this underwater paper chart. This was honestly pretty challenging as I realized the coral looked way more dull underwater than above water, which made color matching feel impossible. We then came back to do some more planning for our project, like finishing up our idea and also finalizing our methodology. After lunch, we went on another snorkel, this time to learn more about the mangrove ecosystem and its integral part to the coastline, both on the islands here and just in general. We then came back and had a bit of free time, but then it was straight back to snorkeling. For our night snorkeling, it genuinely felt terrifying knowing that we were swimming in the dark in the middle of the ocean and knowing that if we got lost, we could be lost forever. But during this snorkel, I had to group up with my research group, and we went to collect data on our species, which was the 4-eyed butterfly fish. Oh, and also, this was the night when I remember I was taking a short shower with a group of people, might I say, but then the water started to run out when we were showering, which was genuinely terrifying. We also were showering like 95% of the time out of the shower and only 5% in the shower when we needed to rinse.

The next day, we just went on another snorkel during the day to collect more data for our projects, but for the rest of the day, we were focused on trying to finish up our posters, which our group ended up being the most aesthetic. Not only did we finish our projects, but we also slowly got ready to leave the island bright and early the next morning. We got a special farewell from the locals with a dance jam session to traditional Afro-Caribbean Drumming. I think it’s safe to say that if I go to a party in Belize, I will already be equipped with all the dance moves I need.

Day 8 was our very last full day in Belize. After a very emotional bye-bye to all the islanders and our snorkel guide, we headed back to the main island. On the boat ride back, I remember feeling so much thankfulness for this trip and feeling so melancholy about how it was almost coming to an end. Once we arrived back at TREES, we got to present our posters and enjoy some free time afterward. We got to see multiple toucans, which was pretty cool as we had not seen them throughout the whole trip. At night, we went back to the best mist netting site to collect more data, and this time we even got to see them microchip all the bats. It was honestly painful looking at the big needles being inserted into the small bats, but overall, it was really cool. PLUS, I went with the few students who wanted to experience another night hike and stay out later, and so I got to go see the stars again and see toads mate at night in a local pond. By the end of the night, I was pretty ready to get some good night's sleep and depart on the last day.

Day 9 was our last day in Belize. We said bye-bye to Renai and Roni officially at the airport, and then we were on our way back to school. Because this was right after all the storms hit the Midwest and north of the U.S., our layover in Atlanta got extended by 4 hours, meaning that we spent like 8 hours at the airport. I was honestly so upset about the layover just because I wanted to go to my family friend's house and sleep, but overall, I ended up having fun getting to connect with people one last time before I had to say bye to everyone.

To wrap up this trip, I would say it taught me mainly lessons.

Firstly, it showed me the beauty and interconnectedness of nature. Before this trip, while I had seen and experienced nature, I don’t think I’ve experienced anything as uninterrupted and preserved as Belize. Seeing this much nature showed me how beautiful it truly is and also how humans can coexist with nature.

Secondly, I learned about the importance of Freshwater and water scarcity. Being on an island without running water made me conscious of my water intake. I found myself taking fewer showers in general, conserving water whenever it was in the shower by showering in groups and only using the water when I needed it, and turning it off when we didn't. Overall, I just found myself being more mindful of my water consumption and just really learning to appreciate simple things like water. Even after I came back home, I still apply these water habits in my daily life.

Thirdly, I learned about the importance of making friendships. Going into this trip, I genuinely had nobody I was truly close with, but by the end, I had become way more comfortable with everyone. While I’m not going to try to lie and say that everyone is my best friend now, I would say that I had formed several meaningful relationships by the end, which I am sure was greatly facilitated by the lack of phones.

Fourthly, I learned the importance of being present. It’s so much easier to complain about activities and things in general when you’re immersed in your phone and not paying attention. But when you are forced to pay attention, it becomes so much easier to find the joy in these activities.

Overall, Belize has contributed so much to my journey of understanding the environment more, and I am so excited to continue this journey.