Snorkeling Day

Today we went snorkeling!  We went on a full day snorkeling tour with a company called E Z Boys.  There were three snorkeling stops throughout the day with a lunch break in between stops two and three.  All of the stops were along the inner edge of the barrier reef that runs along the Eastern edge of Caye Caulker.  The first stop was called Hol Chan.  This trip was pretty cool as the "captain" was also our guide.  He hopped in the water with us and pointed out the various fish in the animal preserve.  Among my favorites were two types of rays, turtles, and moray eel!  Our second stop was called shark/ray alley.  Aptly named as there were at least six sharks and five rays hanging out.  The biggest shark was about six foot long and the biggest ray about five foot in diameter.  Our guide brought them in closer by chumming them with herring and sardines.  Again our guide hopped in the water with us and made sure we got the full experience.  At one point he baited a smaller shark in, flipped it upside down, and started rubbing it's belly.  You would think that the shark would freak out but it actually just relaxed and let us all pet it like a puppy getting it's belly scratched.  The guide also baited in the biggest stingray there and kind of "hugged" it to keep it in one place while we were able to pet it.  It was more slimy than I thought it would be.  The last stop was called Coral Garden.  Basically, we were on our own to explore the area.  Not too many bigger fish here.  More of the little guys.  Aquarium fish is what the guide called them.  After a long day on the water, a great dinner(Nicole had lobster again), and a few quick errands, we're doing our nightly ritual of blogging and reading then off to bed.  Tomorrow......Blue Hole!

Ciao!