An UnBelizable Trip!

12 April 2024Inara W, Hope ‘24

Over our extended spring break, Brentwood put on a lot of trips for its students, from service work in Eswatini to a rugby tour in Argentina and a cultural tour of Taiwan. I was fortunate to be on a trip to Belize, where we explored the biodiversity in the coral reefs and the rainforest.

Before we even left, this group had some ups and downs. The trip was originally proposed to go to the Amazon rainforest through Ecuador, but as our unfortunate luck would have it, the country entered a political state of emergency two months before we were set to leave. Good thing Mr Hacker Teper – A.K.A HT, teacher and biology whiz – was our trip leader and he pulled together an entirely different and equally exciting trip in a month.

Finally spring break hit, and after a week at home, we embarked for Belize.

After a redeye to Toronto and another 4-hour flight, we landed bright and early in Belize City. Our first stop was Calabash Caye, located within the Turneffe Atoll.If you don’t know what an atoll is (I didn’t before this trip), it is a ring-shaped coral reef sounding an island, or series of islets.

During our time at Calabash Caye, we explored the reefs by snorkelling: one of the highlights was going to the great blue hole, a giant sinkhole with amazing reefs around it. We also did some nature hikes and had some lectures about the different biodiversity in the area and the importance of protecting marine areas. After a long day of snorkelling, Nirva M, Hope ‘24 said she “felt like [she’d] lived a week in one day” – and if that doesn’t sum up our time in the Atoll, I don’t know what does.

Our next destination was Los Cuevas, a research station in the Chiquibul National Park, in the rainforest. After an hour by boat, a 5-hour car ride, and a pit stop to see some Mayan Temples in between, we arrived. Our time was filled with lots of day and night hikes to explore the jungle, the plants, insects and animals. To say we were completely immersed in the rainforest would be an understatement. On two separate occasions, there were scorpions in the rooms we were staying in, as well as some tarantulas. After one particularly long hike, Sophie S, Alex ‘24 said it felt like she “had the whole jungle in her pants” which wasn’t entirely untrue because of the number of ticks we were covered in.

This trip was an amazing experience, and I think everyone on it learned so much. I wanted to thank HT and Mrs Carroll for coordinating this crazy group of people in a foreign country, for organizing the trip in the first place, and for all the random knowledge that I now have.

Another big thank you to all the staff at both Calabash and Los Cuevas (Darrio, Josh, Marina and so many more) for cooking us delicious food, and being so knowledgeable and sharing these amazing spaces with us.

Inara W, Hope ‘24

Where Students Choose To Be