Shark Bait

Woke up early this morning for our snorkeling adventure. Just as we were starting to think that we were waiting at the end of the wrong tiny old dock, a boat came along and swept us off our feet. We spent some time getting to the actual site and putting on our gear, and then we jumped on in. Our first stop was at Hol Chan where we swam around for an hour looking at the most amazing array of coral and tropical fish. At one point we swam over the 'high coral' which was inches away from the surface of the water. We were told that we were only able to glide with our bodies over the surface and that there was "no room for error" lest we touch the coral, injure it and it (and its surplus of wildlife) injure us. Needless to say, getting back in the boar after that was a huge relief.

We then took the boat over to Shark Ray Alley, which yes, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a small area of water swarming with sharks and sting rays. We geared up again and jumped right on in (casually of course...) Our guide threw in large pieces of dead fish, summoning the enemy even closer and then continued to wrestle a 9 and a half foot shark. Yes that's correct. He brought it over to us underwater for everyone to pet it's belly. I looked at it's large teeth from my way to close for comfort location and politely declined. We saw massive sting rays and an spotted eagle ray (severely cool! It looked like a sting ray with spots and swam like it was flapping it's wings). After a sincerely terrifying half an hour, getting back into the boat was the second huge relief of the day. 

When we arrived safely on land we switched to our next location: the not so five-star hotel. We walked into our room to find our two beds with a TV in the middle of them, all facing the same wall. In order to watch it, we have to rotate the TV towards one bed and both sit on that bed. Hence: not so five-star.

We took a walk on the beach and decided to grab some coffee. I asked for an ice coffee and everyone in the place looked at me like I was psycho. Apparently ice coffee is not a common occurrence in all parts of the world. 

While we were sitting there, we were chatting with the waitress and a local man who were buddies. He asked us where we're from and what we do. (Cautiously and aware of the rules of stander danger) we told him that Avital just finished nursing school and that I'm in school for social work. He suddenly burst into a rap about Avital and I, of which we could only understand our own names and something about me becoming a socialist. We politely clapped...and quickly bounced.

We walked on the beach, sat on a dock with our iPods and books, and just chilled the rest of the day. Off to bed early tonight as we are waking up at 6 am to catch our river boat to the Lamanai temple.

Hasta luega!