Day 6: Today we discovered a whole new world...one under the sea.

I'm expecting tonight's blog to be a short one.  Not because there was any lack of activities, but because there were too many for this guy.

We stumbled upon this sign today.  It's true.  I love Belize.

About 20 years ago, a much younger Mr. Lavoie quietly sat on a beach and watched the sunset.  He contemplated his teenage years and reviewed his dreams and aspirations.  He was turning 18 and would be graduating Saugus High School the next year.  The sun made its way down the horizon and Mr. Lavoie stood and made his way to the shore.  As he walked, he looked at the dreams he had as a younger man and wondered where his life might take him.  Slowly the water level crept up past his knees, his waist, his shoulders, and his head.  We was fully submerged in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean off of the coast of Rockport.

I often think of that night.  It was one of the most surreal moments of my life.  The peaceful serenity of SCUBA diving, at night, with only a flashlight and a compass to guide me.  When I put the pieces of the puzzle together, I recognize how transformative that night was for me.  Going into 6th grade I read Peter Benchley's JAWS.  It fueled a passion inside me to learn as much as I could about sharks.  I read, and reread, the book dozens of times.  I watched the film even more times than that.  I dreamt of becoming a Marine Biologist who would dedicate his life to the study of sharks.  Unfortunately, the dream faded away.  I entered high school and was told my math skills were not strong enough to pursue a career in science.  I eventually began taking lessons to SCUBA dive.  Those lessons took me to a night dive in Rockport.  While I could only see a few feet in front of me, it was very clear to me that my life as a marine biologist was probably not going to happen.  It was at that same time that a teacher of mine recognized that I was good at history...and another teacher recognized that I was adept at technology and explaining things to my peers.  These two gentlemen provided for me, something critical.  They gave me a new dream.  In me, they saw someone who could teach history and who could possibly help kids find their new dreams in the process.

Today, we snorkeled off of the coast of the Ambergris Caye.  We had two different spots.  The first was a surface swim that would bring us across the opening in the coral reef that runs parallel to Belize.  The second was at a spot called Shark-Ray Alley.  We met at the dock that is connected to our hotel and eventually say two boats headed towards the pier.  The first was titled, "Little Bubbles."  The second boat, a little bit larger one, was called, "Biga Bubbles."  We boarded our boats and took off for the barrier reef.         

Waiting to board our boats.

Little Bubbles.

The folks on Biga Bubbles headed to snorkel

Little bubbles is to the left, Biga Bubbles to the right.  I'm in the water. 

Thumbs Up from AJ

Kyle surfacing after investigating the ocean's bottom.

Some vegetation.  

Krissy and Kyle!!!

Ms. Usseglio posing for a pic.

 After swimming around for a bit of the morning, our boats took us to Shark-Ray Alley.  Upon arrival, we knew we were in for a treat.

Those are all sharks.  We swam with them.

A single shark and I shared a bit of a moment.  

Ms. Payne pretending to be the ray behind her.

I looked for the teachers, but I could only see a school.

Despite being blue, this fish made us all happy.

AJ attempting to touch a ray.

All is good according to Dan.

Ms. Usseglio posing underwater.

Thumbs up.

The view from the bottom.

Swimming in the open ocean among all of these species was quite stirring.  I heard many of the kids say it was the coolest thing they had ever done.  Many of them expressed their desire to do it again, and again, and again.  It was upon our arrival that we learned we would have the opportunity to go later on that night among the stars.

Before we could, however, we had San Pedro to explore.  We had a quick lunch.  It was cheeseburgers and fries.  We think the hotel knew it was the 4th of July and wanted us to feel at home.  We boarded a couple of local taxis and headed towards the city square.  From there, we looked through the vendors wares and scampered off looking for the perfect souvenir.

Our lunch.

A little bit of home in Belize.  A Red Sox bar.  It was locked up.  It would've been nice to talk to a Sox fan for a bit.

Ms. Payne found a library sign.

  After a few hours, we got back together and made our way back to the Banana Beach resort.  Those of us who decided to go back into the water changed into our swimming trunks and went to the dock.  Biga Bubbles came to get us at 6pm and we headed off into the deep blue sea.  Our guides gave us an amended safety lesson and told us what animals we might expect to see.  We took our plunge.

There were 17 of us in the water tonight.  It was a little colder than I expected and even though we were the only ones out, it was a little crowded.  The sea was alive, but it was different than what we had expected and what we had seen this morning.  We saw some familiar fish, but we saw new creatures too.  My favorite was the Octopus.  I also like the tiny little blue fish that swarmed around me throughout the dive.  It was during this swim, when my flashlight started giving out, that I went back to my night dive in Rockport.  I caught myself thinking about my dream of marine biology and what would have become of me if I had pursued that dream.  Dreams, like snorkeling at night, can be exciting, but they leave out the whole picture.  We could only see what we aimed our flashlights at today...and even when all of the beams were focused on one area, it still wasn't clear enough for a picture.

You can follow the beams of light to the bottom, but you can't make much out.

Submerged selfie.

The Octopus.

 The difference in the daytime is tremendous.  You see much more of what is happening.  You can look before you and behind you.  You can follow the direction of your friends or lead them to another great adventure.  Each view of the sea can serve as a metaphor of one's perspective of their life.

Petting a ray.

David petting the ray.

More Thumbs Up

Petting another ray.

As luck would have it, I didn't become the world's most knowledgeable shark expert.  Instead, I decided to try and help kids look towards their future and guide them to new dreams.  My failure at becoming a marine biologist led directly to my becoming a history teacher.  I often wonder about life under the water, but I come back to Saugus High School each day with a smile on my face.  I painted a quote from Mark Twain across my classroom wall.

This past week has been so refreshing for me.  I've overcome some fears and relived some dreams.  Along the way, I've helped some kids do the same.  We have all learned a little bit about Belize...but we've learned a lot more about ourselves.  Tomorrow, we will be leaving this island for one final night in Belize.  We will fly back to Boston and arrive late Monday night.  School is out for summer...and for some, it is out forever, but the truth is we never stop learning when we make the world our classroom.  This has been a great trip...Dare, I say it's been unbelizable.

Mr. Lavoie, currently smiling with the knowledge that he has finished this post on the 4th of July...even if only by 5 minutes.  Happy Birthday America.  I'll see you soon.