We had another day of relaxation planned, much to Christian’s chagrin. After some time walking on the beach and reading, we decided to take the kayaks out to “the tree”. The tree was a lone tree we could see in the distance near Placencia Island that looked to be a tiny little island all of its own. So wet set out in the 2 single kayaks. After probably 15 minutes of paddling against the current we discovered the tree was much farther away than we had anticipated. Christian pulled ahead of me and I encouraged him to go on ahead to the tree (hoping I could just turn around and head back without having to paddle all the way out there). We had both noticed how shallow the water was becoming as we neared Placencia Island, we could see the grassy bottom and also some rock like things in the water. Christian called back excitedly that he had found a starfish! I suddenly found my strength renewed in my quest to see said starfish. We soon discovered there were many starfish in the water. The water was so clear they were easy to spot once we started looking. I had my waterproof camera with me that I would thrust down into the water to take pictures of them. That’s how we discovered that the rocks we had seen were actually coral formations. We began to look closely in the water as we paddled. We just then noticed that there was a dark cloud right behind us. We began to paddle back as fast as we possibly could (being rained on in a small kayak is a different from walking in town) and just reached our porch in time for the first drops to fall. After another smoothie and some rest, we decided the rain was past and we would go starfish hunting again. The trip did not get any shorter they second time, but I was more motivated knowing that something more exciting than a tree awaited me. We had so much fun paddling around and discover some of the secrets the water held. When we finally made our way back to the cottage, we were worn out. A little more rest and we were ready for dinner and a walk through town. It’s fun that we are beginning to recognize a few people we have met and we stop and talk along the way. We have met some fascinating people on this trip. It’s been a bonus I never would have expected. People from so many different countries (and some from Belize). I’ve gotten a peek not just into the life of Belizeans, but of people of several different countries through those we have met. No one is in a hurry so we always have time to talk and learn a little about each other. We’ve even struck up a conversation with people we were literally passing on the sidewalk and stood and talked for 15 minutes before moving on. Building relationships, even 15 minute ones with people from another country, continue to be some of the most important things we do, location doesn’t change that.