June 2007

BELIZE TRIP REPORT
A huge thanks to Trip Leader Bill Nelson for the following Dive Addicts Belize trip report:

It has been reported that more than half of the world's population has never made or received a phone call. I suppose a good portion of those people live on Ambergris Caye. But they certainly don't seem to mind; and neither did we after our first few hours on the island.

Our large group of 25 arrived in Belize City after seven hours in the air leaving the normal cramped muscles and a yen for that comfortable chair in front of the TV. Our connecting flight to the Caye, was a commuter plane that accommodated 12. The pilot set down across the street from the Sunbreeze Resort, where we were delighted to see that our accommodations were very comfortable and clean. With one of the island's nicer restaurants on the premises, we knew that we were in the right place.

After being briefed by the dive master (dive shop also on the premises) we arrived about 9 AM each morning for our first descent of the day. If you think no one cares if you are alive, try being late for a dive! Most of our group was suited up and sweating for 20 minutes before entering the water because we soon learned that each dive was more thrilling than the last! The boats were comfortable and new; the dive masters assigned to show us around were wonderful.

For those of you who did not keep a journal, I have borrowed some notes from Edd Thorpe.

Date: Dive Site Comments:
Mon. May 21 Tuffy Canyons This was a "check out dive."
(I think the idea was for the dive
master to see who the experienced
divers were and who needed a little
more attention. As for me, it was a
chance to see who I had to out-swim in
the case of a shark attack.)

Cyprus Tunnels We saw nurse sharks and 2 swim-throughs

Tues. May 22 Tackle Box There were 3 good swim-throughs

Cyprus Gardens

Hol Chan (A night dive) Lots of stingrays and
large eels

Wed. May 23 Blue Hole For most of us, this famous site was
our deepest dive. A collapsed cave, we
saw stalactite formations that we swam
beneath to a depth of 135 feet.

Half Moon Caye Large grey tip reef sharks swam nearby
but the dive master assured us we would
not be molested as sharks are used to
seeing divers in this area. (I thought
that this was fairly useless
information.)

Boobie Bird Sanctuary (And you always wondered where to find
them!)

Eagle canyon to the "Aquarium"

Thurs. May 24 Esmerelda Here, we chummed for nurse sharks. They,
and other fish swam with us, sometimes
so numerous that we could not see the
other diver next to us. We were able to
play and touch the fish and the sharks.

Abyss We took our pictures with a sunken
statue of Christ.

Fri. May 25 Shark Ray Alley Eagle Rays, Spider Crabs and nurse
sharks

Hol Chan We snorkeled in 8 foot water to see
sting-rays while waiting for our surface
interval.

Boca Cica A drift dive, with slow moving current
(3-5 knots) nurse sharks, eels

On Saturday, we shopped, slept and packed while a portion of our group went back to the mainland to explore the ruins and experience the local attractions. On this last outing, one of our ladies unfortunately arrived back at the hotel in a wheel-chair. It was feared that her leg was broken and this began a nightmare trip home for her.

We were loaned a new mask by Aeris, complements of Dive Addicts to test dive on the trip. It has a computer display in the lower right corner of the window. You can't imagine how amazing it is to look at your gauges with literally no effort! They're right in front of you all of the time.

Our return flights were not as smooth as our trip to the Caye, but nearly everyone went back with a new awareness of the beauty off the coast of Belize and a desire to return again.
...and I finally figured out why my dive computer doesn't run "windows."