Glad you have enjoyed this so far. I agree with you, Bear, and hope that the dive shops will stop handling the rays entirely, although I know it's what the tourists want and it's why it is done. I don't mind that crews feed them with the conch shells so they come around for viewing, but there's no need to touch the rays or any other fish.

This was a eventful day so I'll post it separately, as it's longer than I expected.

Wednesday

The Blue Hole day. The resort's security guard tapped on our door at 5am to make sure we were up, and it was still dark at 5:30am when Marco from Ecologic arrived at our pier. He took us back to the dive shop, where our group of seven divers and two snorkelers were provided breakfast and loaded into a dive boat for the two-hour trip to Lighthouse Reef. High winds and rough seas made for a very long and bone-jarring ride. Fortunately no one got seasick but my back was in pain by the time we arrived at our first stop. But that was quickly forgotten as we prepared to jump into the deep blue water of the Hole.

We snorkelers watched as dive leaders Marco and Clive and the divers descended, then Andy took us on a mesmerizing trip around the coral reef rim, observing a vast array of beautiful coral and sea creatures. Firsts for me: a reef shark that swam lazily below us around the reef and spotting several midnight parrotfish. We snorkeled nearly the entire circumference of the reef before being picked up by the boatful of divers for the next spot, along the shore of Half Moon Caye. Snorkelers were dropped off about 200 yards offshore; we headed for the shore while the divers went to their spot.

Once on shore, we hiked toward the beach for lunch, stopping along the way to view the red-footed booby birds' nesting spot. A delicious lunch was served by the dive crew, including a birthday cake for Clive. A little time for exploring, relaxing and digesting, and we were back on the boat for our final destination, the Aquarium.

This place was amazing, not for the sea life, which was pretty basic, but for the beauty of the water itself. As I swam out over the edge of the wall, the water turned from crystal blue to a deep, dark, bottomless purple. I floated over this with a sense of wonder as to what lay below. Climbing back on the boat, I had a rum punch (or three) to help with the rough boat ride home. Hubby and I were the first to be dropped off at our resort pier around 4pm. Overall, I'm very glad I took the trip -- hubby said the diving was a not-to-be-missed experience -- and the Ecologic crew was wonderful, but I would recommend others to find a larger boat when the seas are rough.

Back at Pelican Reef we relaxed for a while before leaving for Blue Water Grill for dinner. Unfortunately this place did not live up to expectations: my shrimp and pasta dish was tasteless, as if everything in it had been boiled for hours. Hubby said his lobster dish was OK, could have had more flavor. We did not bother with dessert. Once again, a rainstorm came through at the end of the meal, so we had to wait for it to pass before heading back to the resort and crashing early after a long and exciting day.