So, I could whittle on about how amazing the Mayan ruins were at Xunantunich (pronounce that if you can) and that Kyran and the guide compared ancient Egyptian religion to the Mayan religion (Rick Riordan thank you for bringing Greek and Egyptian mythology to this generation) or talk about the scerenity of black cave tubing (we got there before the cruise boats) but the big highlight in Belize was snorkelling the barrier reef.
If you like the ocean then a stay on one of the islands dotted over the reef just to the east of mainland Belize should be on everyone's to do list.
We stayed on the main island of Ambergris Caye. Two 15 minute plane rides from the furthest point on the west mainland had us arrive at San Pedro, the main town on Ambergris Caye. It's a pretty small town, where the local priest also doubles up his role playing professional basketball in his spare time for the Ambergris team ! and the way to get around is via golf cart. Easy enough even for us who have avoided driving on the left while in the States.
Our accommodation was at Ramons. A stunning location on the beach with thatched roof bungalows. Our own bungalow, sat on the beach front, but the downside of this was that the pier, from which Ramons' boats leave was very close by and each morning we were suffocating in the fumes from the boats and had to keep the doors shut. While driving around the island we found very similar style of bungalow at half the price with bigger beach front and no boats at Captain Morgans accommodation. We didn't move but it's worth remembering.
The Belize barrier reef is the largest in the northern hemisphere and is not naturally as colourful as the Australian barrier reef.
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However, I have to say that in the 25 years I've been going to the barrier reef it is no where near as colourful as it once was due to the changing climate and sea temperature). There are multiple opportunities to see the barrier reef from via snorkel, snubber or scuba. We took the snorkel option which meant we discounted the option of seeing the Blue hole which which is pretty famous (undersea cave system) and only available to scuba. We booked sting ray and shark alley (SRSA) and Mexico rocks as two half day trips. I thought the SRSA trip would be similar to the many dolphin trips you can do. You know, the ones where you sit in a boat for hours and see one if you are lucky. Not this trip. Unbelievably, the boats throw bait out the side which encouraged about 12 nurse sharks and some huge sting rays to the side and then tell the people in the boat to jump into the sea. I couldn't believe what I saw. I have to reiterate that these are nurse sharks not the toothless kind!! I think I must have had enough of talking to only Steve and the kids for the last 6 weeks because I positively threw him into the water and encouraged the kids to do the same. I stayed in the boat ( someone had to be cameraman!) There were several boats in the area and each did the same - therefore encouraging the swarming mass of shark and stingray to it's side. I'm not to sure if I agree with the process and know this would never be allowed in Australia but at least felt comfortable that the sharks were already well fed and not encouraged to take a nibble out of the kids feet! I got Kyran to write up a piece on the snorkelling which is below. If you are on Facebook you can see the video I took. I'v now hung up my fins for good but think the kids want to learn how to scuba!
Snorkelling in Belize by Kyran
22/4/16 Hol Chan Marine Reserve: This was our first snorkeling stop in Belize. We took an 8-minute boat ride to get there and to put on our gear. Once we put our heads underneath the water it was like an underwater city, with fish swimming in every direction. Some of the marine life we saw there were: stingrays, a nurse shark, a green turtle, puffer fish and a lot of sergeant majors (black and white striped fish). There was also a whole lot of coral. I loved every second of it and have even memorized a few different types of fish myself.
22/4/16 Shark and Ray Alley: This was definitely my favorite snorkeling trip. It was another 5-minute boat ride from Hol Chan Marine Reserve to get there. Once we got there, our captain threw in a load of fish to attract the nurse sharks and rays. Dad was the first to get in the water, but I was a bit reluctant once I saw all the sharks gathering around the boat. Once I eventually got in, I was instantly amazed at all the sharks. There were at least 12 just crowded around the boat. Then I saw all the stingrays come and I must admit I got a little bit freaked out. Around 5 minutes in, we saw a massive 3m wide stingray heading straight for us! My sister was so scared that she scrambled right back into the boat. Our captain then got into the water and stared feeding the massive stingray. I got to feel it and it felt so weird and smooth. It was a frightening and awesome experience, and I recommend it for kids who aren’t afraid of rays, sharks or the ocean.
24/4/16 Mexico Rocks: This was our last and most recent snorkeling trip in Belize. It wasn’t as exciting as the others because we saw a lot of the same stuff. We saw two turtles, which was quite cool. Some new marine wildlife we saw was some squid and a massive green moray eel. My snorkel came loose in the last 5 minutes so I couldn’t see anything with salt water all in my eyes. I had to swim back to the boat and wait for them to swim back slowly, looking at all the other fish. It was still fun even though some bad things happened. I’m just glad that I can now sit back and relax.
