Snorkling in Belize

Rauguana Caye in the Coral Reefs of Belize

Yesterday was lovely. We stayed moored off Rauguana Caye for another day, partly because it was a lovely spot, partly because the mooring buoy was good which allowed Bruce and Ryan to sleep at night, and partly because the tiny little island protected us from the wind.

We swam,

we snorkeled,

explored the island again,

had dance lessons,

and watched a lot of other boats come in.

I attempted to shoot more birds, but ended up deleting about one hundred pictures of just sky, or just water, or with a blurred wing. Just these three pitiful shots remained. All my shipmates began pointing out birds at the last minute just to watch me fumble with my camera and miss the shot.

We did our best to avoid Nelson and his video camera. We played Uno and took naps. Becky and Nelson did the cooking, as usual, and the rest of us took turns doing the clean-up.

I admit, I wanted to go to bed by 7:15pm. It is because I didn't take a nap, okay? And it was dark out. Really, really dark. And I was tired. I'd spent a good deal of the day dangling my feet in the water and that takes a lot out of a person. But I promised myself before the trip that I wouldn't fall asleep before 8pm, like on the last trip.

For forty-five minutes I sat in the salon, forcing my eyes open. Shipmates came and went, peering at me and asking, "How much longer?"

I'd look at my watch. "Another thirty-five minutes."

They'd nod and walk toward the door leading out to the cockpit, only to turn around. "You know, it is okay if you go now."

"No, I'm not going to bed before eight. I'm a grown-up."

A long time later, another shipmate would come in to get some ice, or a bag of chips. "How much longer?"

I'd look at my watch. "Another thirty-two minutes."

"We have discussed it and we won't tell anyone if you can't make it until eight."

"Nope," I'd shake my head. "I can do this, dang it."

At five minutes to eight, I decided it would be fine to go below and just get ready for bed. No harm in that, right? As long as I didn't get into it.

At 8:00, straight-up, I crawled into the bunk and at 8:01PM, I was asleep.