Punta Gorda

Day three - big day! Maya sites in Belize then the first snorkel of the trip. Folks were excited!

And I missed it all. I normally have a stomach of iron, but not this trip. I'm not sure what it was, but this was a morning where I could not trust the long bus rides and the wandering. Of course, given my line of work, missing these two sites was crushing. Lubaantum and Nim Li Punit are not well known sites. The opportunity to visit them was something I had been looking forward to very much.

But, I thought it more important not to cause a problem for the group, and to get myself well. 

Unfortunately, I was reading in the lounge when I saw some of the early snorkelers headed upstairs. That was odd - they shouldn't have been back to the boat at all. What was up? 

Turns out the ship had a mechanical problem. Normally these ships can take on seawater and desalinate it, turning it to freshwater. Somehow the part had cracked and seawater had leaked into one of the storage tanks. The result? We were low on freshwater. The answer? Cancel the afternoon snorkel at Snake Caye so that we could head to Big Creek and get water. They needed to empty the contaminated tank, clean it, and fill it, and fill the other tanks. And a new part would be flown in from the States and brought to us the next day.

So, lots of unhappy people! I'm glad to say, none from my group, but I listened to disgruntled travelers for a couple of hours, trying to help deflect from the expedition leader and the crew. I was feeling better, and was planning to snorkel, but what can you do? Things happen. I thought all the staff did a tremendous job trying to find a solution that disrupted the schedule the least possible. The guides filled in with extra lectures, there was an extended and complimentary happy hour, and people relaxed and got to know each other. It was disappointing, to be sure, but I was surprised by how poorly behaved some of the passengers were. But the tour staff hung on, and worked hard to redo the next day's schedule, providing several opportunities to get people into the water.