The Final Update!
March 15, 2024
Hello one last time from Belize!
Our last kiddo has just taken off into the air and, although our time together was way too short, Ella and I are so grateful to have gotten to know each and every one of your kids this week.
We started off Day 4 of our trip with our third day of Scuba Diving as we ventured out to Silk Caye. About 1+ hours away by boat, our group laughed, joked, and sang all the way there as the sun began to peak out from behind the morning cloud cover.
We got a quick briefing from the Parker Rangers on the tiny island in the middle of the ocean and then we were ready for our dive along the North Wall. This was especially awesome because it was our first dive all together as a group! Additionally, Ella and I were so proud of the group’s perseverance and poise as the wind began to pick up making the surf and boat ride our to our dive site a little choppy. Avery and Lily looked like fish in the water as we swam alongside 3 nurse sharks and a couple of sucker fish for the entire dive!
Safe to say it was a great start to the morning! We then went back to our island home base for the day and ate another delicious lunch before laying out in the sun. The afternoon was also exciting because everyone who started their PADI certification this week was able to get certified after a few more skills and a short afternoon dive! We are so proud of all of them and their hard work. Meanwhile, Izzie led the certified divers in an epic dive at the White Hole that featured a rare sea turtle sighting! We wrapped up our day of Scuba with a snorkeling session led by Ella that featured lots of laughs, smiles, and some amazing views of both the manta, and eagle ray!! How cool!
After returning back to dry land in Placencia, the LODs-Tessa, Vivi, and Jamie-went shopping with Owen for snacks, sunscreen, and our dinner for the night: Ruth’s burritos! They also surprised the group with Gatorade which was a special treat and a huge hit.
Back at the Royal Rat, Mark and Sheila surprised us with a movie night! They set up a projector for us outside and we all gathered around, laid out, and watched Cars 2 after dinner + Moonup! A much needed chill and early night was one of the unexpected highlights of our trip so far.
Day 5 brought our last day of Scuba… and some unexpected challenges. The wind was still high and the surf was very high, so Splash called an audible from our originally scheduled Glover’s Reef dive and we went back to the much closer Laughing Bird Caye-where our journey started and we first learned to dive! The group took the disappointing news in stride as everyone was just excited to dive all together for one last day in the water!
The ride out was a little bumpy to say the least. Owen and Andrew sat up front of the boat and pretended to be on a roller coaster as they found creative ways to fight the bumps and talked all things golf for the whole ride out. A little foreshadowing for what was to come later that night….In the water, Lachlan and Jamie showed off their new skills and were leading the pack as they flipped and turned under water. It was another beautiful day under the sun and we headed back inland feeling extremely thankful for all of our diving instructors at Splash: Omado, Melvin, Nedia, Moses, Carlos, and more!
After we logged our last dives and said our goodbyes to the Dive Shop, we headed back to the Royal Rat and quickly regrouped before heading to Inky’s to spend the rest of the day playing pickleball, swimming, eating dinner, and taking our talents to the Mini Golf Course.
Hall and Lyle emerged victorious from the back and forth competitive boys’ pickleball tournament. While on the other side of the net, after some ice cream and swimming, Louise led by example and taught her friends how to pickle! Allie and Jamie decided to try their hand at the game and learn how to play for the first time! Our dinner of calamari, cheeseburgers, and pizza was absolutely delicious and fueled us up for the course. Before we teed off, we were treated to an awesome surprise by running into former legendary Moondance leader Beau Daniel and his family who were on Belize for Spring Break! After mixing up groups and getting to know different people, it was Andrew who showed off his golf skills and got the W over Owen and Baxter.
When we got back to the Royal Rat, our LODs-Allison, Louise, and Baxter-led our best Moonup yet! Allie posed the question of “what has impacted your life the most and why?” and our group really opened up and gave some great answers. It was the perfect way to end another incredible day in Belize!
As day 6 approached, the group was sad to admit that it was our last full day in Belize. We decided that while the crew has done such an amazing job getting their certifications and increasing their skill, it was time to move inland for a day in the jungle! We spent the morning hiking with our incredibly knowledgeable guide Melvin, who taught us all about the different wildlife in the area, and we even saw a skunk, something our guides had never seen before. What an experience! After a delicious lunch of our final plate of stew chicken with rice and beans. Afterwards, we embarked on our final and most anticipated activity, jungle river tubing!! It was indescribable. An hour long tube with birds singing in the background, and constant laughs going on as the group went down. Huge shoutout to Abigail for being the trips honorary videographer, and getting some crazy shots of the float! At the end of the tube, the guides led us to an amazing swimming hole set below a 20ft waterfall that the group swam to, and eventually all stood under! It led to an impromptu splash war with the girls vs. the guys, with Andrew and Hall making some of the biggest splashes of the entire group.
It was an incredible day, and who knew it would only get better with our final banquet night hosted at the Tipsy Tuna, with the long awaited…. Karaoke night!! The group had spent DAYS picking out their songs. Tessa and Jamie jammed out to some Zach Bryan, followed by Vivi, Lily, Avery, and Tessa singing some Bruno Mars. The whole group had some serious pipes. After an amazing final moon up and some final moments all hanging out together, Owen and I decided that there was no better way to end the trip than a day like today!
We also just want to say a quick thank you for allowing your kids to join us for the past week. It has been truly such a blessing to get to know each and every one of them! We had such an amazing time with this group, and would not have had it any other way. It was the trip of a lifetime!.
Signing off for the last time,
Owen and Ella
Trip Update!
March 12, 2024
Hello from Belize!
Belize Spring Break 2024 is off to a great start and we are so excited to have such an awesome group exploring this beautiful place with us!
Our journey together started at the Belize City Airport on Saturday where Ella and I welcomed 13 of our 14 students that afternoon! Unfortunately, Tessa experienced some travel issues that delayed her arrival until Sunday but arrived with such a positive attitude and excitement to meet the rest of the group.
After our last student of the day arrived, we piled into two vans with a couple of our awesome and entertaining diving instructors, Omado and Melvin, and made the drive to Placencia. Izzie and Allie led some great road trip conversations in their van while Ella’s van got to know each other through sharing fun facts—where Lyle holds the record for the most fun facts!
Arriving in our new home for the week just after a beautiful sunset, we picked up pizza and met our incredible hosts at the Royal Rat Hostel—Mark and Sheila! We enjoyed the pool, got settled in, and then got ready for our first Moonup. After introducing everyone to one of our favorite Moondance traditions, passing out some gifts, and sharing a little bit about ourselves we announced our first Leaders of the Day (LODs) for Day 1 of Scuba Diving—Lachlan and Lily!
We got fueled up for the day with breakfast at the Royal Rat and then departed for Splash (our SCUBA Diving Outfitter)—dropping Owen off at the Placencia Airport on the way to puddle jump back to pick up Tessa! The rest of the group arrived at the Dive Shop amped and ready to learn the bulk of their Scuba skills on Laughing Bird Caye, and let me tell you, there is not a more beautiful place to learn how to dive than this!
The group spent the most of them morning in the water, and by the early afternoon we shared stories from our first Scuba session over a lunch that consisted of a classic Belizean dish, Stew Chicken! Afterwards the girls decided to catch some rays and lay out in the sand while the guys got to spot a couple of nurse sharks and puffer fish right off the shore! If only we knew that it was just the start to such an amazing Scuba adventure.
The dive guides called all of us back to the boat for our first real dive, where we all went down to 40ft in depth!! Each member of the group spotted something different, we saw sting rays, jellyfish, a lemon shark, and SO many different kinds of fish. The group crushed it.
After such an eventful first day of our Scuba training, we all headed into the downtown area of Placencia where we sat down for a well-deserved dinner. Allie ordered the most delicious looking chocolate smoothie, and afterwards we finished off the night with a stop by famous gelato shop called Tuttifruitti right down the street! This led to what will probably be one of the highlights of the trip, a game of pick-up soccer and basketball with some of the Placencian locals. Lyle and Lachlan led the charge by testing their 2vs2 skills in basketball and even won their game! Lily, Vivi, Avery, and Tessa decided to challenge the other group in a game of soccer, where they gave it their all and had some stellar defense on the field. Once we all hopped in the vans back to our home for the week, we reminisced on the day’s events, and got some much-needed rest!
Day 3 of the trip kicked off with our second day of Scuba, a ‘fun dive’ for those currently certified and those already certified as well. HUGE shout out to those already certified, Baxter, Andrew, Izzie, and Hall who have been crushing it on their dives, they barely needed the refresher course!! They have all been such huge leaders in helping the rest of the group progress in their dives, and Owen and I could not be happier! Abigail killed the last dive by being one of the first to descend, it was incredible! We were also so proud of Louise, who struggled to equalize in the morning, but persevered with such a positive attitude and killed the last dive of the day with Tessa who was able to catch up with the rest of the group in one day!
Before dinner, the crew headed for the beach, to play several different games such as soccer, spike ball, and football. Who knew we had such an athletic bunch! Lachlan and I (Ella) dominated the field in a 2vs3 game against Tessa, Jamie, and Baxter. While Jamie had some strong defense, we came out on top! Some of the girls even got a lesson in football plays and passes from Owen.
After cooling off in the pool back at the Royal Rat, Loise led a spirited card game of ERS! We could not think of a better way to close out the day with some friendly sports matches, laughs, and…. Spaghetti!! Huge shout out to Vivi and Allie for leading the cook crew, along with Jamie and Baxter taking the charge on clean up crew.
These past few days have been absolutely amazing, and we could not picture a better crew to be spending the week with! It has been filled with lots of laughs, stories, LOTS of time relaxing in the pool, and the best part of all, getting to know each other! The trip has started off more amazing than we could have ever expected, and it will only go up from here! We can’t wait to share more about the trip soon!!
Until next time,
Ella + Owen
Safe Arrival in Belize
March 9, 2024
Hello Belize Spring Break Families!
We have heard from our leaders that the group has arrived and are on their way to Placencia! While they anxiously await Tessa’s arrival tomorrow morning, they are eager and excited for the scuba fun to begin in the morning!
Please remember that our leaders and students will be unplugged during the remainder of their trip but we will be posting up to two more trip updates throughout the week. This will allow you to get a glimpse into what they are up to this week and stay tuned to our Instagram, @moondanceadventures, for more!
– Moondance HQ
Helllo!
February 29, 2024
Hello families!
We will post spring break family updates here!
