Today was our first full day on the island of Ambergris Caye! We started off our day with a delicious breakfast at Caroline’s. We had banana pancakes, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, and freshly squeezed pineapple, watermelon and orange juice. After breakfast we headed to a hyperbaric chamber within San Pedro! The chamber is used for scuba divers that ascend to the surface too quickly and develop a condition called decompression sickness or “the bends” when too much nitrogen is released from the blood stream too quickly. If left untreated, the patient can develop early onset arthritis, seizures, and even death. The chamber is used to treat this syndrome as well as carbon monoxide poisoning and wound healing.

We spent the afternoon at the local children’s shelter, Hope Haven. This was the first year our group has visited this shelter so it was a learning experience for everyone. We found out they provide a variety of services to the community such as domestic violence counseling, dance lessons, housing for women in transition out of difficult social circumstances (such as violence), and artisan classes to teach skills which would allow them to have better long term financial stability. At the shelter we were able to do wellness checks for all nine of the children currently residing at Hope Haven. These are required yearly for each child just like they were at L.O.L in Punta Gorda. All the children loved playing with and laughing at the Snapchat filters after we were done with their assessments. Overall, the visit to Hope Haven was very successful and the group plans on expanding on our work there in the coming years.

After our time at Hope Haven we celebrated the success of our day by snorkeling the Hol Chan Marine Reef, the second largest reef in the world. We were able to see a variety of fish, such as a rainbow fish and barracuda, sting rays, nurse sharks (very fitting), an eel, and sea turtles. We also found out while we were on our way that Belize is now eco friendly and banned plastic in an effort to conserve the beautiful reef.

As we are nearing the end of the trip we are feeling extra grateful and sad tomorrow is our last day on the island! We are ready for an awesome day on the catamaran tomorrow!

-Madi K and Holly W (ps. Miss you moms♥️)