We got the update on Tropical Storm Chantal at 7:00. The 6:00 position was 17.5N and 85.4W. She is moving WNW at 15 miles per hour. Her track puts her landfall a bit north of Belize City—good news for us and our island. Should land somewhere near Ambergris Caye and head toward Corozal.

We spent part of the early morning hanging out under the palapa. Around 8:00, Pam and I made up breakfast—eggs, rice, and beans. Breakfast finished up at 9:00 and we weighed our options for entertainment—scrabble, dominos, Spanish monopoly (all the cards, etc. were in Spanish), a hike or maybe something else entirely.

At 10:00 we broke into the Spanish Monopoly game and by noon, Jack had bankrupted Dalen and me. Pam was the only other one still in the game.

Tropical Storm Chantal is still moving WNW. Looks to pass north of us into the Orange Walk area. Current position (as of 9:00) is 17.7N and 86.3W and moving at 15 mph. The winds are 65 mph at the center.

Through the rest of the day the storm continued to move WNW. We never saw much activity at Howler Monkey Lodge. We had a bit of rain followed by sun, then another batch of rain. Little gusts of wind, never exceeding 15 to 20 miles per hour, accompanied each band of rain that fell.

Pam and I cooked chicken and rice for dinner and went for a walk with Junior. Junior is Miss Mar’s son and is called Tweety by his friends. He is studying to be a tour guide. Junior took Pam and I for a walk through the jungle pointing out trees and plants and explaining why they were important to Belize and what medicinal properties they might have.

The evening was passed talking with Junior about life in Belize. Especially about growing up in Belize City. He could have been any young American man describing life in a small city in America. Junior has spent some time at the Programme for Belize and has a huge appreciation for the natural beauty and resources of his country.

By 11:00, the lateness of hour had reaped its toll and I headed off to bed. Tomorrow, if all goes well, we’ll head back to Spanish Lookout Caye to resume our manatee studies.