Farewell Belize!

For our final day in Belize, we spent the morning shooting some b-roll at South Water Caye.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and the scenery couldn't be more perfect. The beauty that surrounded us was truly incredible.  In the afternoon, we took the boat over to Carrie Bow Caye Field Station at the Smithsonian Institute, which is located on a tiny island not far from South Water Caye.  There we learned about the fascinating research they’ve been doing over the years to preserve their coral reefs. It was a very interesting place to visit and Bonnie, one of the island caretakers, was truly passionate about everything Carrie Bow Caye has to offer.  After leaving, we observed the reefs that surrounded South Water Caye and its inhabitants through the clear blue-green sea. http://www.ccre.si.edu/CarrieBowCay.html

  

That evening, a few students filmed the sunset and the “Super Moon”, while others brainstormed on our documentary’s timeline in preparation for the editing planned for the weeks ahead.  Lastly, we finished up on transcribing and logging footage from the previous day.

The last day in Belize flew by. After an amazing week filming, most of us went to bed early that night. The next day was our departure to head home and our water taxi was picking us up at 6:30am. It was going to be an early morning. 

We woke for a quick breakfast and all headed to the pier at 6:30am on a boat to Dangriga Town where we took the infamous bus that supposedly has nine lives. After loading up and getting on the road, not to our surprise, we had to pull over for yet another leak!  This time the bus was leaking a different fluid - oil. Rhonesh, our bus driver, quickly fixed the leak.  We all prematurely thought to ourselves, “What else can seriously go wrong?” During one of these pit stops, one student sarcastically asked if we were at the airport, but that was not the case. Little did we know this wasn’t the last pit stop. To stay on schedule, we knew we had no time to waste or to get stuck and within a few minutes, we were back on the road.

All of a sudden, BAM!, we heard a loud bang. Startled, many of us jumped out of our seats as the bus, without swaying, came to a complete stop. Much to our surprise, the hood of the bus released and the loud noise we heard was that of the hood smashing into the window. Although the window shattered, luckily it was only the top layer. Rhonesh, with much frustration, quickly locked the hood back into its appropriate position and we continued on to the airport for our 1:30pm boarding time.

With time to spare we – finally – made it to the airport, gathered our belongings, said farewell and started our journey back to the United States.