Lanie enjoys another boat ride. This time everyone else liked it, too.

A few days ago we went snorkeling on a coral reef. We took a boat out to where we were going to snorkel. The boat ride was really fun because it was so choppy. We climbed up waves and then slid back down. When we got in the water, it was so warm! Snorkeling was an amazing experience.

The reef was pretty close to the surface and the water was really clear, so we could see the fish really well. Most of the fish on the reef were pretty small.

We saw many more fish than we expected to see.

There were bigger fish in the gaps and alleyways in the coral. In the deeper water on the outskirts of the reef, there were huge schools of larger fish. Some of the fish in the schools were huge! Most of the fish in the schools were gray, but there were some colorful fish mixed in.

We saw so many cool fish! There were black fish with neon yellow tails and blue spots on their tails. The spots were so iridescent that they seemed to glow. My favorite fish was a greenish teal color.  It had lots of other colors on its tail and fins like blue, purple and red-orange.  We also saw lion fish, sea cucumbers, anemones, a giant hermit crab and a few sharks.

Cool coral. Our guide pointed out an octopus tentacle hanging out of the crack at the bottom.

There were also several really interesting types of coral.  Some looked like they had mazes in their patterns.  Another had projections that looked like a stag’s horns.

We found out later that the place we were snorkeling was part of an “underwater trail” connected to the nearby  Cahuita National Park. When we were in the water we  could still see the shore, and could swim in any direction and find things to look at.  Most of the fish were in the places where there was lots of coral.

This shark was resting on the bottom.

I can’t wait to snorkel again in Belize!