Sunday, February 4, 2018: Snorkeling

We were signed up for snorkeling in the Southern Barrier Reef. The boat departed at 8:30AM, but we had to be there an hour ahead of time to pay and get our equipment, so we left at 6 AM.  We drove east on the Hummingbird Highway to the coast and then to Hamanasi Adventure and Dive Resort on the south side of Hopkins. The boat took us out to the South Water Caye Marine Reserve. On the way out our boat passed by Man-o-War Caye, an island of mangrove trees where Red-footed Boobies and Frigatebirds hung out. The Boobies would dive for food, and the Frigatebirds which were unable to go in the water, attacked the Boobies, making them throw up their food. The male Frigatebirds have a red gular pouch (a large red sack under their beak) which they puff up during mating season to attract females.  We also saw pelicans at the caye where we stopped.  I found the birds the most interesting part of the tour although we did see bottleneck dolphins swimming around the boat, lots of coral, lots of colorful fish, a stingray, a flounder, and a seahorse. We snorkeled for about 2 hours total, in 2 sessions with a snackbreak in the middle. 

After the tour we went to the Queen Bean Cafe which was right on the beach Hopkins. The cafe was right on the ocean, and the burritoes, filled with mixed veggies, were the best we had eaten so far.

 After that we drove back to Yaxche and went to bed early.