11 Feb - Leaving Half Moon Caye :(

11 Feb -- Leaving Half Moon Caye    :(

some info on Half Moon Caye:
--1981 Belize got it's independence from Britian, no longer British Honduras
--1982 it created the first reserve under the National Parks System Act of 1981
--4 Mar 1982 Half Moon Caye was declared a Natural monument
--the protection of the Red Footed Booby Community was the primary reason
--1961 hurricane Hattie decimated HMC including the Booby Rookery
--the very first LightHouse was built in 1820, with bricks from Europe
--in 1930 present steel framed tower was added to brick base completed in 1948 .... --the Lighthouse is solar powered, and once stood in the middle of the Caye ... but is now on the shore
--there are 4,000 Red Footed Booby Birds living there now

The Belize Audubon Society manages Half Moon Caye now ... it was formed in 1969, and is interested in ALL aspects of Belizian natural heritage, and dedicated to the preservation of wildlife and natural resources.

Yoga again this morning .... shavasana, island style  ...  :)

 


then off to snorkel with a group from Island Expeditions .... i do really prefer to snorkel by myself  ....
we headed back to the same spot i went yesterday, ...Todd didn't think the current would be as bad ... but it was ... we continued and finally got through it (probably 15min)  .... and got out to Coral Gardens; but by then we were 'out of time'   ... i should have just stayed out there by myself, but i didn't   :(


there were a lot of patch reefs and lots of fishes ... but not really time to take many photos ...   this is a DamselFish

...looking at me  ... :)

a Squirrel Fish ... with big eyes to see you with  :)

and a Spotted TrunkFish...

i think this Anemone just had a Manicure  :)

when i got back to the cabins, Cliff was there looking through binoculars, he said he saw Aqua Scuba ... :(   ...time for me to pack .... if they didn't come today i would have been happy to stay, but .... go i will  :(

as i was cleaning up ... i saw this big bucket of SeaWeed that a guy was 'cleaning'  .... he was going to make a SeaWeed drink.     Laura had some on Caye Caulker and said it was really good ... but this batch has to 'ferment'... so i'll have to continue to look for it elsewhere ...

i said my 'goodbyes' and thanked everyone for their exceptional hospitality.   i made sure i didn't leave anything behind, and got on the boat ....

the Divers did The Aquarium, and Damian and i snorkeled above it.
 you can see the drop off to the 'wall' here ...

it was not a really good snorkel spot for me ... anything you wanted to see was pretty deep  :(    .... i dove down a couple of times and took a few photos ...

there sure is pretty coral down here, ... out of 'harms-way'  aka 'humans' ...

we did see a Spotted Eagle Ray in the distance ....

and i got another look at the prettiest fish .... the Queen TriggerFish ...

the ride home was pretty smooth ... we went right to San Pedro and then took the Water Taxi back to Caye Caulker....

i returned 'home' to find lots of new people, ..... and another girl in 'MY' bed  :(  

my little friend, Laura, was happy to see me and gave me a big hug  :)

i vow to return to my paradise someday  :)