Day 7: Marine Biology+Research

Julia Tao
The rest of the group went on the marine biology mission while Natalie and I went to Golden Stream for the research again. When we arrived, we loaded the samples into the car to take them to the Punta Gorda lab and then worked on installing water filters onto the villagers' buckets. We also passed out parasite medicine to the families.

Nathan Lee
On Friday morning, the group was a lot smaller because people were tired and wanted to rest on the mainland. We still took the 4 speedboats (which were much emptier today) to Coral Caye to get our day started. Ms. Mariko announced there would be two different trips today: one to Laughing Bird Caye and the other to Silk Caye for snorkeling. 
​My friends and I went to Silk Caye because we wanted to see the whale sharks.  Since for many of us, it was our first time snorkeling with sharks, we were pretty excited. After a 40 minute boat ride to Silk Caye, we spent a few minutes taking pictures on a very small but beautiful island. Eventually it was time to snorkel and many of us were somewhat nervous to jump into the water after seeing a couple of sharks. However, Mr. Randy and his crew assured us that we would be safe and guided us to a place where we could see not only sharks, but sea turtles and stingrays as well. As time passed and we were all pretty satisfied with the experience, it was time to go back to the boat. Despite the long ride back, we were all thankful we were given the opportunity.
Our two days of fun were finally over, and I was both exhausted and pleased. I speak on behalf of the whole ABC student team when I say that each and every one of the activities during the two days were unique and rewarding experiences. We are all so grateful to have had these opportunities to explore all the wonders  Belize has to offer, and seeing all of the ocean life for myself encourages me to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.