Lily's Random Diversions...: Belize Trip: Snorkelling and Exploring San Pedro (Day 2, 12/26 Tuesday)

We got up at 7am, went downstairs and had a simple breakfast (fruit salad, cereal, hardboiled eggs, toast, OJ and coffee) in front of the porch. Palm trees were swaying in cool breeze. The sand on the beach had been combed and raked in neat patterns. There were boats zooming to and fro in different directions on the water. We walked down the Woody's Wharf to the pier where a boat would pick us up for a snorkel tour. There were 7 people in our boat.

Our first stop was the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. We each paid $10 to the patrol ranger for parking the boat in the Reserve. Our guide, Albert, emphasized that we should follow him closely in the water. After putting on snorkels and fins, one by one, we jumped into the sea. The water was pleasantly warm and clear! Schools of fish swam next to snorkelers. I could almost feel their touch when they swam by me. The coral reefs were not as colorful as what I had seen in waters near Thailand (Co Phi Phi). Then again, we only saw a tiny part of long barrier reef that Belize is famous for. There are many brain corals (they literally look like a brain except that it's hard!) and fan-shaped purple-colored corals. I got a couple of scratches when swimming too closely to corals. My favorite part was gazing down at a deep valley - I felt as if I was skydiving except that I was floating and supported by cozy, clear and warm water. There are a couple of holes in the valley and a couple of snorkelers dipped into the hole to see what's in there. Michael was doing quick dips into the deeper level of the sea to see better - something I haven't learnt to do. I wish our guide had pointed out some interesting marine life down there.

Coming out of the water, we shivered. It was cold out on the boat compared to being in the water! The second stop was Shark Ray Alley. For some reason, we only stopped for about 5 minutes. We saw a huge sting ray with the body as big as a 8-person round table and a long tail, and we also saw a shark. The water there was murkier than Hol Chan area. But before we could explore more, we were called out to the boat and headed back to San Pedro on a bumpy ride. It was so bumpy that the boat was literally jumping up and down above the waves and splashing water into the boat. I nestled next to Michael trying to stay dry. It was a wet, bumpy and funny ride!

It's about noon when we got back to our hotel. The sun was beating down glaringly. I could feel the heat and humidity crawling all over my skin. We went searching for a lunch place. The dry sand and dirt on Barrier Reef Drive, the main street in town, got stirred up into the air by golf carts, main transport means on the island, we wanted to retreat back into our AC-controlled hotel room for a siesta so we settled for a restaurant nearby and had fish tacos and a burger there.

We woke up from siesta late in the afternoon. Feeling energized, we went for a long walk exploring San Pedro. We had dinner at Celi's Bar and Restaurant recommended by other tourists and Lonely Planet Guide. The grilled fish was exceptionally good. Then, we ran into a Taiwanese women and chatted for a long time and then knocked on Rebacca's Clinic and had a long time chat with the Chinese woman we met the day before (more on that in my entry about Chinese in Belize).