Day 7, Saturday May 23, 2015

On our last full day in Belize, we had a full day ahead of us, including the much dreaded field practical.  After another hearty breakfast, we boarded the La Gaviota captained by Louis who was assisted by first mate Mike.  Our first anchorage was at Tuffy, the same sight of the night snorkel.  Here, in small groups of four, we were required to identify fish, seaweeds, corals, and invertbrates by writing their scientific and common names on an underwater slate as each was pointed out to us by Dr. Smith or Maureen.  The consensus was that all those hours of study were well worth it. Nonetheless we were glad to have the last graded activity behind us.  Clearly the best was saved for the last:  We visited the magnificent marine preserve known as Hol Chan, Turtle Rock, and Shark Ray Alley.