Belize- Thanksgiving Week 2019

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One week in Belize! One week of yoga, nature, and adventures! The yoga retreat was organized by Maya Valley Yoga Retreats and was held at Toucan Ridge Ecological and Education Society (TREES) in the Stann Creek District of Belize. I had my own cabin, with our yoga space a few steps away, and meals in a shared space prepared by a vegetarian chef! Each day we ate amazing food and practiced yoga morning and late afternoon. The yoga teachers were lovely and all of the other yogis were a special group!

Each day a different optional excursion was offered. My favorites by far were: snorkeling in Tobacco Caye (pronounced "key"), the Belize Zoo, and St. Herman's Cave. Our snorkeling day was a beautiful blue sky day. On our boat, on the way to Tobacco Caye, we saw birds gathered on other Cayes sunning themselves and fishing. There were dozens of frigates and yellow footed boobies among others. Snorkeling was along a reef where the water was never more than 6 feet deep so we were really close to the coral and the fish. The fish and coral were beautiful! In addition to all of the amazing, colorful fish, I saw a stingray and a pair of nurse sharks! Then, the Belize Zoo was an amazing place to visit! It seemed to be more of a rescue center. We saw spider monkeys, toucans, ocelots, and of course jaguars! Finally, St Herman's Cave was a special last day treat that our group happened upon near the Blue Hole Cenote. We went far enough into the cave that when we all turned off our headlamps the darkness was complete darkness. It was powerful! What a great vacation week!

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Photos

Jaguar at Belize Zoo
photo credit: Jean Phillipe

Stork at Belize Zoo
photo credit: Jean Phillipe

Toucan at Belize Zoo
photo credit: Jean Phillipe

Yoga!
Yoga on the beach! We were joined by some local kids and their puppy dogs!

Yoga
Yoga with a mountain/jungle view. We renamed "dancer pose" to "ice skater pose"!