Laughingbird Caye

Tuesday was our trip to Laughingbird Caye for snorkeling, though we weren't sure in the morning whether it would be a go or not. Kate's left ear was really giving her trouble so I set out in search of a doctor early in the morning. The local clinic opened at 8am but the doctor wouldn't arrive until 9am, which is when our boat was set to leave, so we decided to go ahead with the tour and stop by on the way back around 3pm. We would just have to keep Kate on ibuprofen and out of the sun and water.



The boat to the caye (pronounced "key") was rough, about 12 miles out with a stiff headwind, but we did see two dolphins along the way. When we arrived at the caye it was amazing, like something out of a postcard, a narrow strip of land maybe 50 feet across and about 400 yards long. We got right to snorkeling and the camera worked great. Emma used a life vest for extra flotation and got the hang of snokeling pretty quick. In fact, she spent more time in the water than just about anyone.

When we got back to Placencia we headed straight to the clinic, only to find that the doctor had already left. Fortunately there was still a nurse on duty and she looked at Kate's ear. Good news, she was able to provide us with antibiotics and ear drops on the spot... and apparently at no charge! We made sure to give a donation though, we were very grateful. To celebrate we stopped by the ice cream shop on the way home.

By the end of the day we realized that even with all the sunscreen we had gotten pretty cooked. I think today we'll mostly stay out of the sun and just do a little shopping. It's our last full day in Placencia, tomorrow we'll be back on the road to Belize City. I'm hoping we'll have time to stop off an see Mayan Ruins in San Ignacio.