Mangoes and Snorkeling

Mangoes are delicious fruits. Luckily Belize is chock full of them and they are dang cheap and even larger and tastier than what you can get at the supermarket. The only flaw to the fruit is its stringy-ness, which if you aren't careful can land you with teeth full of strings.

 Ivan fell in love with the mangoes. While on our trip he got to eat a lot of mangoes and drink a lot of water from our water bottles (in order to stay hydrated). Every time he'd see a mango or water bottle he'd start whining because he knew what they were all about.

 On our 2nd day on Caye Caulker we decided to go on a snorkeling tour. Micah read reviews online the night before and in the morning we went and talked to a couple of the shops to see what they had to offer. We decided on French Angel, and can't say enough good about it. I have yet to get online and give them the fantastic review they deserve, but I will.

Zach was our tour guide. There is an owner and a worker at French Angel who lead the dive, snorkel, and fishing trips. Zach is the worker - and I'm so glad that he was the one who got to take us out.

 Our guide had magical eyes and could spot things so easily. It was crazy! On the boat ride to our first destination we saw dolphins and tarpons, which are big fish.

We ended up doing a full day snorkel trip with stops at Shark Ray Ally, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and Coral Gardens. It was incredible! We saw and swam with rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, moray and spotted eels, billions of different kinds of tropical fish, and my all time favorite and dream come true....Manatee. I seriously still think about the manatee and think "seriously, did I really get to swim next to a manatee!?!?" As a kid I almost switched my favorite animal from a wolf to a manatee. That's a big deal you know, switching your favorite from one thing to another. I even did a report on them in elementary school, that's how fascinated I am with them. 

 Ivan came along in his floaty. He was a good kid. The other guided groups were snapping pictures of him. Our guide was so awesome. He pretty much forced me into letting him hold onto Ivan's floaty, insuring me he had 2 kids of his own and that he is good with babies, all so I could enjoy the snorkeling. Ivan would cry and Zach would give him his binky, shush him and tell him "Oh E-on, don't cry". Ivan's name was either pronounced I-Van, or E-On by the people in Belize, I liked both pronunciations :)

 Zach was even so kind as to force me into giving him Ivan to hold in the boat so I could go out snorkeling. If there was something particular that Zach wanted to find for us he would go find it with the group and then come back to the boat and tell me to go see it. I couldn't believe how awesome he was. Don't worry, we gave him a good tip, since he wasn't only a guide, but also a babysitter.

 This picture is totally fitting because Ivan and Zach are holding hands, they became good buddies. During the rest of our stay on the island, whenever we'd see Zach, or the owner of the shop, they'd say "Hi E-On/I-Van!"

By the way, Ivan is red in tons of the pictures, he wasn't burned, just super hot! It wasn't until the last couple of days that we all finally acclimatized and he was no longer a sweaty red baby constantly.