Another week in the office…. well on a desert island in the middle of the Caribbean!
Monday morning Victoria and I had breakfast at a local cafe and went to the Hokey Pokey Water Taxi rank to meet the returning volunteers and new recruits. With all our belongings safely stowed away and Ragnor and Runkle bracing themselves for another bumpy ride, it turned out to be the smoothest one yet!
Tom Owens Caye is a 1½-acre island situated 25 miles from the mainland of Belize. It is surrounded by turquoise coral seas and situated on the Belize Barrier Reef; dive sites are 5-10 minutes away!
The reef in Belize is the second largest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996 it is 190 miles long with seven protected marine reserve areas making up 12% of the total area.
In 1842 Charles Darwin described the reef as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies.”
Bank on the island, once we had sorted out bedrooms, Frank gave the new volunteers an orientation and the returners headed out for the first dive of the day.
By Frances Singer
Frances & Victoria are volunteering through an organisation called POD Volunteer
