Belize web album

If you're interested in ways to help preserve coral reefs and ocean ecosystems, you can Donate to the Project AWARE Foundation, the dive industry's leading nonprofit environmental organization that works to conserve underwater environments through education, advocacy and action... and you don't even have to be a diver to contribute or take action! If you're a shark lover like me, you may even be interested in adopting a shark.

Congratulations! You've made it to my Belize page. Belize was so much fun and so beautiful. It's pretty undeveloped, which I liked. It's not like a Cancun at all, at least not yet. We stayed at this cute resort called Belizean Shores Resort on Ambergris Caye, an island inside the barrier reef, which runs down the coast of Belize. Click here to see a map of Belize. Our resort had this really gorgeous pool with a cute, convenient bar in it. Everyone there was so friendly and the event staff were so great. We saw alot of brown pelicans, frigate birds, egrets, blue herons, bright yellow oreoles, lizards, and fish around the resort. The beach there was lovely, too. We'd walk to nearby resorts and have dinner. One night we went to Captain Morgan's for a pool/beach buffet with live music. Very Belizean! Ya, mon...

Belize has the largest coral reef in the Northern Hemisphere and it is impressive, to say the least. You'd just glance east from Ambergris Cay and you could see the surf breaking upon it as far as the eye could see. And when we snorkeled and dove in it we were pleased to see how healthy it looked. I had heard that Belize has a healthy environment and a fabulous ecosystem to explore... and it's true! It was the perfect place to learn scuba diving with its warm, tropical water and abundant marine life. My first day diving I filmed this spotted eagle ray, (see here), and we swam with tons of fish and nurse

sharks among other aquatic cuties. When our boat pulled up first thing, the sharks came right up to it and let our dive instructor touch them. They were used to him and knew who he was, by the look of it. Apparently, he really missed them, too, and it was a sweet reunion... so, how do we greet nurse sharks? See here. My sweetie had dove before in several places, so he was helpful to me. He has this natural confidence around water and sea life. I loved scuba diving!!! We didn't get certified so we were only allowed to go as deep as 65 feet or so. I accidentally went to 80 feet... does that make me certifiable? Naturally, my dive instructor was not happy with me. Getting the third degree underwater sounds pretty hilarious, indecipherable, and bubbly. I didn't get pressure sickness... I ascended slowly. We got to interact with all kinds of terrain and marine animalia (I just wanted to use 'animalia' in a sentence). I got real close to this cloud of porkfish (see here) and it was such a delightful feeling! I also bumped into this moral eel at the ocean floor. He didn't seem happy to see me, so I just shot my footage and floated away... (see 1st and 2nd eel videos). The ocean terrain was amazing and rich with color and motion... the current created this undersea surf ballet and all the corals and fish were riding it. View seascape here. It was really something to be in the middle of a group of sharks, too! Wowee!!

Some of them looked like they were 7 or 8 feet long and they were so beautiful! I love the way they swim with that graceful, wicked side to side glide. Want to see some shark footage? Photos are one thing, but seeing them in video is quite another. Here's my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shark video. I know it looks pretty dangerous but the sharks actually seemed pretty docile and gentle. We got to hold and pet them, which felt like holding a muscular tube of rough sandpaper. We dove at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Mayan for "little channel". Established in 1987, the entire reserve focuses on a cut through the barrier reef which is little more than 25 yards (23 m) wide and 30 feet (9 m) deep. It covers approx. 3 square miles and is divided into three zones clearly marked by buoys.

We did a day trip out to the Blue Hole, probably Belize's most well-known feature. It's a 480 foot deep sink hole in the ocean floor with a diameter of over 300 feet. Here's a good photo. Part of the Lighthouse Reef system, it's a perfectly circular limestone undersea mountain with an array of bizarre stalactites and limestone formations inside... In various places, massive limestone stalactites hang down from what was once the ceiling of air-filled caves before the end of the last Ice Age. When the ice melted the sea level rose, flooding the caves. Diving the Blue Hole, one can see bull, reef and hammer head sharks, sponges, barracuda, corals, angelfish, and probably alot more than that. We didn't dive it, we just snorkeled that day. But it was still great to be there, see it, and behold the hugeness of it. We stopped at this 1,000 foot drop-off near Half Moon Caye, which was interesting. We snorkeled in gorgeous 35-40ft deep water. As I approached the edge of the drop-off I recall feeling a bit freaked out knowing that if there wasn't any ocean there, I'd be falling 1,000 feet to my death! So I swam back to the boat and we just floated in the fish clouds. See fish here. See fish feeding. Our boat rides that day were really bumpy in some areas, almost like riding a mechanical bull! See here. I think that's the only time I thought I might get sea sick. It was kind of funny, but then I wasn't the one puking.

We also went out to Half Moon Caye. It's an island on the Light House Reef Atoll protected by national law and it's the outermost coral atoll lying beyond Belize's Barrier Reef. The water around Half Moon Caye, as in all of Belize, is pregnant with sea life. The Natural Monument consists of about four square miles of Lighthouse Reef, part of its inner reef lagoon, some much deeper water beyond the reef, and the entire Half Moon Caye. The island is particularly important because it's home to one of only two nesting colonies of the Red-footed Booby in the entire Caribbean. The island was gorgeous and the palm trees were so bright green. It felt like being on the edge of the world. We snorkeled right off the beach as the fish and coral reef were right there when you stepped into the water. We saw baracuda, bluehead wrasse, butterfly fish, yellowtails, and parrotfish (see here) among others. It was so exotic! The water felt so good on such a hot day, plus there was a nice, cool breeze.We walked along this dreamy beach trail and under forest canopy to get to the bird sanctuary, which was very interesting. Many of the Red-footed Boobies had their red neck sacks inflated so they quite literally looked like a bunch of balloons someone had lost in a tree. In fact, that's what I actually thought at first. I loved just walking around and exploring... so much landscape variety on one island.

The boat rides to these various sites were also breathtaking because all you could see for miles around was perfect, turquoise water (see here) and sometimes coral sticking up out of it. We saw dolphins, flying fish, and lots of big waves in certain parts! We spent a day in San Pedro, which was really fun and different. It sort of reminded me of Isla des Mujeres, Mexico... a small town feel with quaint and intriguing energy. We ate lunch at 'Caramba' (yummy!... and make sure to ask for purified water everywhere you go), did some shopping, dodged a few golf carts and vans, and loved it. The streets in San Pedro have a tiki feel to them and you never know what you'll see. Also, walk east through most of the alleyways and you'll find yourself on the beach!

Toward the end of our stay we went to visit the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich inland in western Belize within sight of the Guatamalan border. Xunantunich, Mayan for "Stone Woman", is pronounced "Shoo-non-too-nich". The ruins are believed to be inhabited by a woman's ghost. Some claim they've seen her. One of it's structures, a 130 foot high pyramid called El Castillo, is the second tallest structure in Belize... the tallest being the temple at Caracol. Click here to see the spectacular view standing at the top of El Castillo. Our tour guide was really knowledgable, too. She showed us how the acoustical design of the pyramid works with it's various focal points. Here's the 1st and 2nd demo.

After our magnificent tour of Xunantunich, we headed out to the Belize zoo where certain animals were very good at setting boundaries... sounds ridiculous? See for yourself. Doesn't it make you wish we could be this direct in our relationships with others? Just imagine... establishing male social rank and property rights would be so freakin' simple! The Belize zoo is unique in that it only has rescued animals, no captured ones. It's kind of an animal rehab-sanctuary. Their enviroments were pretty spacious, actually. We saw all kinds of animals like howler monkeys, jaguars (a black one, too), coatis, parrots, harpey eagles, toucans, alligators, otters, tapirs, anteaters, and javelinas, to name a few.

Belize was one of the best things we've ever done... it's so gorgeous and there's so much to do! And Belize is not that expensive, we found. We're definitely going back there and I've already got a list of places to explore! So much beauty and adventure! What's a girl to do?

Photos are below. Just click on any image to make it larger.