The first trip was "bc" (before camera).
On that first trip we stayed on one of the cayes - Ambergris. Perhaps the most romantic place I have ever been.
For a week we lived in a thatched roof hut, with a sand floor, mosquito netting around the bed and one light bulb so far up in the ceiling it was more of a "night light", than any kind of effective lighting at night.
We ate all our meals in a communal dining hall, getting to know many of our fellow travelers, as well as the staff, all of whom lived on-site.
Two of our fellow travelers were on their honeymoon, two of them got married on the dock at sunrise and "poor Raymond" came alone. Because his girlfriend decided, once she was all packed, to move out instead of going diving.
But that was the first trip to Belize. The 2nd trip we made 10yrs ago this month.
On this one, we stayed right in Belize City and dove with our friend Hugh Parkey. I will tell you more about Belize City (an interesting place) in a later post.
Today's pixture is a Golden Crinoid.
I have seen it many times over the years but have never gotten a better pixture of it than this one.
I took this with only the 2nd camera I ever took underwater - a Nikon point and shoot.
Crinoids are one of those things that look, for all the world, like a plant but are really a creature.
They are an ancient spiny-skinned animal, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. Arriving, in the underwater world, before Sand Dollars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers or Brittle Stars.
They come in a variety of different colors even though "golden" is in their name.
They will take on a feathery appearance once they have extended polyps to feed and at that point are often mistaken for plants.
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