Ensworth Belize Day 9

Today is the last official day of the Belize trip.  This morning we got to sleep in until 7:30 for breakfast at 8. After breakfast we went snorkeling at The Belize Barrier Reef. The water was crystal clear and the fish and coral were beautiful. After a morning snorkel we went to see the manatees in the mangroves. We saw three big manatees. Then we snorkeled in the mangroves. Shortly after, we headed to South Water Caye. We had lunch then free time. We spent free time swimming and playing pool. We even saw a nurse shark. 

After lunch we went to The Smithsonian Research Lab, where we saw a new and unnamed species of porcelain crab. 

After the research lab, we snorkeled more and saw a six-foot long barracuda. Once we finished snorkeling we headed back to the island, where we played volleyball and chilled in the hammocks until dinner.

After the dinner, we had a candle circle, where we shared all of our trip memories and stories. That was our last full day in Belize.

P.S. I want to wish a very special 18^th birthday to my best friend and sister Maggie, I hope it’s a good one! I love you bro!

Love BridgeJ

-Bridget and Brooke

Ensworth Belize Day 8

Early this morning, we left on the bus to head to Tobacco Caye. On the way there, we decided to make a stop at Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods. This company makes the local hot sauce and jams. While we were there, we had to wear hairnets. We looked amazing in them.

 We all enjoyed the boat ride to Tobacco Caye. The water was very calm today. When we got to the island, we were all amazed at the clear water and beautiful scenery.

At the island, we had a snorkeling introduction. The water felt really nice and we saw all kinds of fish and coral.

Later in the day, we had free time. Some of the kids decided to play volleyball with some of the other vacationers. The Ensworth team beat the adults 2-1.

We had a great dinner, then headed out for night snorkeling.  We saw octopi, squid, eels, lobsters, crabs, and bioluminescent organisms. We had some more free time after night snorkeling, where we hung out on the many hammocks around the island.

-Chloe and Hayden

P.S. Chloe would like to wish her brother a happy 12^th birthday!!! 

Ensworth Belize Day 7

Today, we started off the day at the school with our community projects such as painting, sorting the library, teaching classes, and building swings.

We then took a break and played with all of our friends. After the break, we continued with our projects. At lunchtime, we had lunch with four local leaders. We ate, asked them questions, and discussed both of our schools.

Next, we had a couple of challenges to complete that had to do with teamwork skills. For example, we all had to cross a jump rope without making it stop. We then passed out ice cream to all of the standard five (7^th grade) kids. The ice cream tasted really good after a long day of working in the sun.

At the end of the day, we all had to say our hard goodbyes. We gave hugs to each other and took pictures together.

When we finally got onto the bus, we drove to a store called The Art Box. We bought some fun souvenirs for our families and enjoyed some cold drinks at the café.

We then headed back to the Tropical Education Center for the day. It was storming, which felt really nice after being sweaty and hot all day. We ended the day with some very good pizza and blueberry cake.

-Nell and Brooke