There is a reason Belize is sooo popular

We were skeptical of Belize before going but had a fantastic two weeks. We started out in the Garifuna- Chinese community of Dangriga where Courtney scared me high fevers and sweats. He quickly recovered and in 24 hours we found ourselves at a private campsite overlooking the Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary with a short walk down to pristine waterfalls fit for drinking. After a two days of hiking, floating on the river, and swimming in the waterfall we went for a day at Gayles Point. This tiny Garifuna community is sprawled out along a very narrow pennisula in a huge lagoon. The lagoon is a favorite breeding and hang out spot for the manatees. Our guides were quite literally the Grumpy Old Men of Belize. They were sweet old guys but had clearly been working together for a long time and loved to bicker. "Sticka da pole tha" the boat driver is demanding of the owner and he ignores him and waits until it is too deep and the driver gets frustrated and they go back and forth for awhile.They were really comical guys when I could make out what they were saying. In the end we saw 6 manatees, hung out in the magroves and took a dip in the ocean, which we hadn´t been in months (it was a relief to get wet). We spent a few hours with a rad drum teacher who called us over and chatted with us about life in Gayles point, drum making, drumming, coconuts, and even played for us. Really one of the nicest guys I have ever encountered. Back in Dangriga we stocked up on groceries and set out for Glover´s Reef Atoll. It was seven days of bliss. We had a secluded campsite on the backside of the coconut palm covered island that you could walk around in 2o minutes. The snorkeling just off of our site was incredible! Our first time in we saw a spotted eagle ray, two nurse sharks, and a plethera of fish and coral. All of this is in less than 3 m of water. One late afternoon snorkel we encountered and were checked out by a shark that made our hearts pound. It was either a bull shark or a black tip that measured well over 9 ft. and had some girth. I´ll never forget how fat that thing looked especially in about 10 feet of water and it was headed for shore! He slowed checked us out, I screamed, Courtney followed, the shark turned toward us, Courtney stopped following and then the shark continued on his way. Definitely a thriller and so were our dives. On three dives I saw some of the healthiest coral and sponges I have ever seen... so vibrant and diverse. Some of the highlights were an ooooold loggerhead turtle (a magestic slow swimmer with a thick neck and huge head and a barnacle encrusted shell) and a pod of dolphins in the distance. We were surrounded by some lovely people that were so generous and gave us their excess fish and even taught how to clean and prepare a conch...mmm coconut conch was incredible. Speaking of coconuts they were abundant and the only thing for free in all of Belize. We took full advantage and Courtney husked and cracked probably 50 coconuts and saved us a bundle on buying water. Overall Belize was far from a bust but we were happy to spend 2 days back in Guatemala on the Rio Dulce before arriving here in Honduras. Next stop is Utila to take the Rescue Diver course. Hope everyone is well and please keep us updated on what you all are up to.