March 6, 2026
Good afternoon SBB Families!!
By the time you read this, your kiddos will be well on their way back home! In the past two days since you heard from us, we got our last two dives in, attended a traditional Garifuna cooking class, and spent a day sailing in the Caribbean.
On our last day of diving, we were able to see some incredible coral, tons of species of fish, and finally…a sea turtle!! Near the end of our final dive, a hawksbill turtle swam up to us on the reef and hung out for about 10 minutes. Definitely a highlight of the trip!
After returning from diving and saying goodbye to our incredible dive masters, we headed to a cooking class to learn about the process of making hudut, a traditional Belizean soup. Everyone pitched in to make the soup that included a spiced coconut broth, fried fish, okra, and plantain mash. It was delicious, despite being a completely new culinary experience for everyone. After finishing our meal of hudut, we walked back to the hostel for a relaxing evening before a day of sailing.
Yesterday, we were able to sleep a little bit later before our host, Mark, loaded us up in his boat and transferred us to the sailboat we would be sailing for the day. We set sail, heading about 12 miles offshore to have lunch on a beautiful caye near the reef. After eating our fill and watching rays and sharks swim across the sand flats, we swam back to the sailboat before departing to the mainland.
Once we landed at Placencia boardwalk, we spent some time exploring the town before eating out for our final meal, a proper send-off banquet. We laughed recounting stories from the trip, each one funnier than the last. The night came alive as we danced to dancehall music, and we capped it all off with some incredible gelato; the perfect, sweet ending to an unforgettable adventure.
Today, we had an early wake-up to make it back to the airport for the kiddos’ flights. And while the excitement of returning home was written all over their faces, saying goodbye was nothing short of bittersweet. Leading this trip and watching these kids grow, laugh, and push themselves over the past week has been a true privilege. We already miss them!
Cheers!
Porter + Hannah
March 4, 2026
Greetings SBB Families!
After 5 days in Belize, all of your kiddos are dive certified! With 6 open water dives under our belts, we have seen everything the reefs of Belize have to offer, from angelfish to nurse sharks, grouper to schools of spade fish. Us leaders are so proud of their resilience and eagerness to pick up the skills necessary to go diving!
On Saturday, we met everyone at the airport and hopped in the van to southern Belize, anticipation high for the days ahead. We stopped down the road for an excellent lunch of traditional Belizean fare (stewed chicken, beans and rice, and fried plantains). Three hours later, we arrived in Placencia, our home base for the next week. Our hosts greeted us with a dinner of pizza, and we relaxed at the pool before our first Moonup, which is a nightly celebration of our day.
The next morning, we woke up early to meet our dive instructors and were whisked offshore to a remote caye to brush up on our SCUBA skills in shallow water. Meanwhile, our expert divers Hannah and Carys went offshore for some deeper dives and fish identification. Lillian and Parker led by example, helping everyone else gain comfort with the gear we use. After a lunch of stewed chicken, we hopped back into the water to finish up our shallow water skills before returning home to relax and recharge for our first day of open water dives!
On our second full day in Placencia, we ran out the reef for open water diving! Once everyone was geared up, we descended for our intro dive along a small shelf. Noteworthy sightings included lobster, a queen angelfish, blue tangs, and tons of schoolmaster snapper. Pippa and Leo excelled, showcasing all the skills we had learned the day before. At lunch, our guides showed us how to peel coconuts and we fed some to the hermit crabs living onshore. After another great dive, we headed back inshore for a relaxing afternoon and a dinner of grilled burgers back at the hostel. Jamison and Gavin led us in a lovely Moonup before we hit the hay.
Day 3 of diving off Silk Caye included some of our best diving of the trip! Holden showed up ready to dive, descending and ascending with ease. Our first dive off Silk Caye was one of the most incredible things any of us had ever seen. We descended a shelf to nearly 70 feet, following a large nurse shark as it guided us past massive grouper, massive lobster, a barracuda, and a plethora of yellowtail snappers. As we popped over the shelf, we were greeted by a huge school of Atlantic Spadefish that hung out with us for about 10 minutes. After saying goodbye to our new nurse shark friend, we headed to the surface and had a delicious lunch of short ribs and beans and rice. After everyone had their fill, we got back out on the boat to practice underwater navigation and taking our masks off and putting them back on underwater. Everyone crushed it! Once our skill checks were fully complete, we swam to a shallow flat to hang out with a massive stingray and some friendly nurse sharks. After an hour run back to Placencia, walked to the beach where everyone took group photos and got into a heated volleyball match. After a long day on the water, we went home to make loaded quesadillas and headed to bed early after a silly Moonup.
Today, all the students crushed their written tests before we head out to finish our diving section with two dives and the possibility of seeing new underwater species. It’s hard to believe that our time diving has almost come to an end, but the kiddos have made the most of every second. They encourage one another and make each other feel supported every step of the way. Us leaders couldn’t have asked for a better group, and we feel really lucky to be sharing this time in Belize with them. Until next time!
Cheers!
Porter + Hannah
February 28, 2026
Hello Spring Break Belize Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Belize City! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure! Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ