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Study Abroad in Belize December 2008
We will travel to Belize, Central America December 29th 2008 to explore discover and experience the tropical rainforests, Mayan ruins, mangroves and coral reefs of Belize. Join us!
Information on signing up can be found here.
Coral Reef Ecology, Belizean Culture , trip logistics and academic expectations.
Monday,
December 29th 5:30am meet at San Diego International Airport American
Airlines Ticket Counter to check in for our 7:15am flight to Belize City, Belize
via Houston. Instructors will use the time in the terminal to answer student
questions, review assignment requirements and acquaint course participants. We
will arrive in Belize City at 3:55pm, move through Belizean Customs and board a
regional flight to Ambergris Caye, Belize. We will be staying at The Neptune in
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, the headquarters of the Belize Marine Tropical
Research and Education Center (TREC). That evening we will have our first
meeting to have an island orientation, cover institute rules and get an
introduction to snorkeling on the Caribbean reef. 
Tuesday,
December 30th After breakfast we will meet in the common room to walk
together to the boat dock for safety meeting. After a safety meeting regarding
boat rules and boat safety we will board the vessel Goliath for a short cruise
to Tres Cocos where students will receive a short introduction to snorkeling and
the tropical reef community. Students will go in small groups and with buddies.
Each group will be lead by one of four instructors and field experts who will
lead them around the reef to show them reef creatures while they become
comfortable with their snorkeling gear. After lunch aboard the Goliath we will
continue to snorkel the Tres Cocos area until 4pm. Dinner is served in the
common room at 6pm after which we will have a presentation on reef organism
classification. 
Wednesday December 31st After breakfast we will meet in the common room to walk together to the boat dock; snorkel Mexico Rocks and surrounding reef until 3pm with a one hour lunch break. Students will be lead by one of four instructors and reef ecology will be discussed on deck. After dinner students will meet in the common room and walk to the beach to perform a beach seine, collect fish and discuss the ecology of near shore fish.
Thursday,
January 1st We will meet after breakfast in the common room to walk
together to the boat dock; Full day instructor-led snorkeling, Hol Chan and
Shark Ray Alley where the ecology of cartilaginous fish and sea turtles will be
discussed on deck. Students will receive lunch on board and return to shore
around 4pm. After dinner students will meet in the common room to listen to
student presentations regarding a topic in tropical reef ecology. 
Friday, January 2nd We will meet after breakfast with gear packed to travel to the mainland via ferry whilst looking for and discussing manatee ecology.
After arriving on the mainland we will travel in a bus to the Mayan Ruins of Xunantunich. Mayan culture and history will be discussed as well as tropical
rainforest ecology. Lunch will be served and time will be spent looking for rainforest inhabitants most notably trogons and other bold tropical birds.
The town of San Ignacio will be visited for a look at current Belizean culture as well as to accommodate any errands group participants may need to
accomplish. After dinner is served students will meet in the common patio to listen to an instructor presentation on tropical forest ecology.
Saturday, January 3rd We will board a bus after breakfast to travel to the mountains where we will hike to Cha Chem Ha Cave. Mayan culture and history will be discussed as well as tropical forest ecology. After lunch we will travel to the Panti Medicine Trail where scientists are currently doing research on medicinal plants as well as educating visitors on the uses of medicinal plants in historical and contemporary context. After dinner students will meet to listen to student presentations on Mayan culture or tropical forest ecology.
Sunday,
January 4th We will take a bus after breakfast to the mountains to
paddle canoes into Barton Creek Cave. Geology of the mountains will be
discussed as it relates to the overall ecology of the area as well as cave
ecology. After lunch we will take a bus to the Belize Zoo where native species
of animals can be observed and discussed. After dinner students will meet to
listen to student presentations on Mayan culture or tropical forest ecology.
Monday, January 5th We will meet after breakfast with gear packed to take a bus to Orange Walk where we will board a boat to travel down the New River to the Lamanai Mayan ruins. Along the way marsh ecology will be discussed and observed. At the Mayan site tropical biology is discussed as well as Mayan history and culture. After lunch we will travel via ferry to Ambergris Caye.
Tuesday, January 6th We will meet in the common room after breakfast to walk together to the boat dock for a full day instructor-led snorkeling of Hol Chan and Shark Ray Alley. Lunch will be served on board and reef ecology discussed. After dinner we will meet in the common room to walk down to the dock together for an instructor-led night snorkel of Tres Cocos.
Wednesday January 7th We will meet in the common room after breakfast to walk together to the boat dock for a full day instructor-led snorkeling a mangrove and Coral Gardens. Lunch will be served and Conservation Biology will be discussed on deck. No evening presentations will be given on our last night.
Thursday, January 8th We will meet in the common room at 9:00am for the final student presentations. Gear will be packed and ready to go at 11:00am after which students have some free time to explore San Pedro in groups. We will meet at Neptune to board taxis to the airport at 1pm. We will take a regional flight to Belize City international airport where we will board a 4:40pm flight to San Diego via Houston.
Friday January 30th 6 – 10pm We will have a post trip meeting to discuss our experience and share field notes. Some students will have the opportunity to do a slide show presentation as an alternative class assignment.