|
<Click on Picture Thumbnails to view larger images in a new
window>
<Home Page>
<Gallery Home Page>
Friday 31st March 2006
It’s hard to believe that March is over now and we have been away for
almost 9 months already – the old adage that time flies when you’re
having fun is certainly true! So, another month another country – we are
now in stunning Belize, after a fun packed journey from Tulum in Mexico.
We got the bus down to the border and met a couple of Canadian guys, Rob
'n' Ritch, who were on a short ‘vacation’ and latched onto us as we had
our trusty copy of Lonely Planet and they couldn’t speak a word of
Spanish and basically hadn’t got a clue where they were going! However
we soon realised that they were as beneficial to us as they persuaded us
to fly from the coastal town of Corozal, just over the border of Belize
to Caye Caulker, a tiny island famed for it’s Blue Hole and laid back
Caribbean vibe. When we say flying, we don’t mean any old BA city-link
type flight, but chartering our own prop plane between the four of us
for US$70 each! The alternative would have been to have stayed a night
in Corozal then a ferry ride early the next morning to the neighbouring
Caye Ambergris, then another ferry ride to Caye Caulker – with all our
baggage in sweltering heat…not much of a choice really, especially when
‘Junior’ (see photo) took us to the airport (read dirt track in middle
of field) in his 1970’s Cadillac, just run in after it’s 690,000 mile,
with the luggage literally hanging out of the open boot/trunk.
The views over the Belizean
coast full of mangrove swamps contrasting with azure Caribbean seas and
Cayes were well worth the marginal extra cost, and the captain would
even have flown us over the Blue hole if he hadn’t already have been
late for the return flight home. Things carried on in a bizarre fashion
when we were met at the airport by a local taxi – a golf cart! There are
no cars at all on the island except one police car and a tractor, so
everyone travels around in golf carts or on bicycle – rush hour is total
gridlock man J
<Click on Picture Thumbnails to view larger images in a new
window>
|
|
|
|
Our very own plane
|
|
|
|
Eeeek!
|
|
|
|
Leaving the mainland
|
|
|
|
|
Caye Ambergris
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Caye Caulker international airport!
|
|
|
|
We made it!
|
|
|
Belize is a little slice of Caribbean paradise sandwiched between Latin
American Spanish speaking Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Its history is
mixed but has basically been colonised by the British, either by pirates
or government (what’s the difference?) until it’s recent independence in
1981, which Guatemala still refuses to acknowledge on many of it’s maps.
With it’s close proximity to other Caribbean countries such as Jamaica,
it’s developed a bizarre mix of reggae culture mixed with Spanish food
and a Caribbean dialect of English as it’s first language. You really
have to visit to understand it. After a day spent soaking up the sun and
cool vibes, and walking the whole 15 mins from one end to another, we
finally got round to booking some diving.
<Click on Picture Thumbnails to view larger images in a new
window>
|
|
|
|
South island view from Tom's Hotel
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catch of the day
|
|
|
|
|
For sale?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Front Street (south)
|
|
|
|
Best dive shop on the island!!
|
|
|
|
Front Street
|
|
|
|
Chill
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rental accommodation
|
|
|
|
Dusk
|
|
|
|
Rob and Ritch from Canada
|
|
|
|
Time to go.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Belize has the second largest
barrier reef in the world after Australia and is renowned world wide for
it’s amazing diving, especially the famous Blue Hole. So today we did
two dives; Eagle Ray Creek and Cypress Tunnel. Although the sea was
incredibly rough as soon as we jumped in the first thing that surprised
us was the amazing visibility, and the second was that there was a shark
right underneath us! We soon realised that it was a friendly nurse shark
though and carried on through beautiful soft corals, gorgonia fans and
sponges. We saw numerous turtles and a beautiful Eagle Ray. However the
second dive far outshone the first as we descended literally into a
school of sharks chasing jacks and divers around the coral canyons.
Giant groupers were more intrigued by us than the sharks and kept coming
up for a closer look, until we submerged into a 30foot tunnel through
the coral. We also saw lobster (out of season now so allowed to swim in
peace) and a large green moray eel, plus a couple more leatherback and
green turtles. It’s probably one of our top 5 dives, up there with the
Cenotes and hopefully the blue hole, which we are doing at 5.30am
tomorrow!!
<Click on Picture Thumbnails to view larger images in a new
window>
|
|
|
|
Barracuda
|
|
|
|
Spotted Eagle Ray
|
|
|
|
Shark!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nassau Grouper
|
|
|
|
Open Wide....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Travellers
notes: it’s not cheap here…..optional chartered plane included. Cost of
flight USD70 although you need to have strength in numbers as the flight
normally only goes to Caye Ambergris. Accommodation varies hugely here
on the island, both in cost and quality – not necessarily inter-related!
We finally opted for Tom’s Place (no sign of Tom though), at a
reasonable 55Bz$ (£17) per night for a large double room with en-suite
on the beach benefiting from the refreshing and cooling on-shore breeze.
Diving also expensive – prices vary according to the dive site; average
dive is about £30 if you go for a package and that’s also after a 10%
discount for having our own gear.)
Sanity note for ourselves. We
have fallen in love with this place and are seriously considering
investing in some property/business here – any investors interested??
J
Sat 1st April -
Blue Hole, Belize
Just back from a 3 dive trip out to the world famous Blue Hole on the
Lighthouse Reef. Really early start and then a 2 hour boat trip out over
the barrier reef towards the dive sites. The Blue Hole was first. We
arrived to find only a single other boat on the site and were soon in
the water after the dive briefing. This Blue Hole is bigger than the one
in Dahab, Egypt, some 300m across and 800m deep. Our dive took us down
to approx 40m down under a ledge where you swim through a series of
stalactites where we spotted a couple of black tip sharks further down
into the gloom. The construction of the Blue Hole is amazing when you
consider that it used to be an enormous cave system well above sea
level, hence the stalactites and stalagmites. The land then dropped and
the roof then fell in creating the hole. On our return to the surface we
were surrounded by large groupers and Caribbean angel fish taking a
closer look.
The next two dives were close to
Half Moon Caye, and were both stunning and we saw numerous sharks,
turtles, eagle rays, sting rays, eels, lobster, barracuda and snapper –
not to mention the thousands of other Caribbean fish and amazing soft
corals.
All in all, life’s a beach at
the moment! It’s really hot here (already managed to top the tans back
up) but cool enough in the evenings still to get a good nights sleep. We
stayed on the island for a week and then decided that since we’re so
close to Guatemala that we should do some more exploring…….
<Click on
Picture Thumbnails to view larger images in a new
window>
|
|
|
|
Barrel Sponge
|
|
|
|
Spotted Moray
|
|
|
|
Angelfish
|
|
|
|
Lunch?
|
|
|
|
|
Stingray
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sargeant majors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lobster...safe for now......
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Harlequin Shrimp
|
|
|
|
<Home Page>
<Gallery Home Page> |
