Belize
Trip Start
Jul 24, 2007
1
6
12
Trip End
Jan 18, 2008
Placencia, Belize
Monday, October 1, 2007
Location: Placencia, Belize
I am lying in a hammock on the balcony of our sea front condo, my body tired yet my mind euphoric after diving the Great Blue Hole. The palm trees rustle in the warm breeze blowing in off the clear turquoise Caribbean Sea. In the sandy street below the odd electric golf cart whizzes by interspersed with locals bantering in a pidgin english familiar yet foreign sounding Creole tinged with the melodic Caribbean patter. As the light starts to fade the breeze carries a hint of lobster being grilled on the beach and a distant reggae CD starts to play. Welcome to Belize.
After glancing at our Spanish phrase book I was intrigued to see that Belize is an anomaly in an otherwise all Spanish speaking region. A British colony until 1981, the Spanish conquerors didn't take much interest in this territory, frustrated by the shallow coral reefs which line the coast, and by the English and Spanish pirates who used to lurk within them, ready to pillage the homeward bound Spanish galleons laden with the New World's treasure. Now a constiutional monarchy and member of the Commonwealth, the Queen remains as Head of State.
After crossing the border from Mexico we took a short flight from Corozal on a 12 seater Cessna, taking off from a runway which more closely resembled a garden path. Our first stop was San Pedro, the main town on the island of Ambergris Caye. We spent a few days in this laid back small town and I sampled a few dives on Belize's world class coral reefs, the 2nd longest reef system in the world (after the Great Barrier). Far from being a wealthy country, having an interest in boating I was starting to wonder how Belizians could afford to furnish the majority of their boats with brand new twin 200 horsepower V6 outboard engines. Then one night in a San Pedro bar a local enlightened me that as the last stopping off point before the U.S., the Colombian drug-runners often left some of their equipment on these islands in exchange for the Belizians' 'hospitality'. And I wasn't about to protest after the next day one such launch whisked us the 15 miles to our next stop Caye Caulker in under half an hour.
Aside from being another wonderfully laid back place to spend a few days, populated with colourful local characters, Caye Caulker was the launch point for the two hour boat trip east to the Blue Hole. Explored by Jacques Cousteau and a mecca for divers, the Blue Hole is a collapsed limestone cavern, a sinkhole 400ft deep and 900ft wide. After a fast descent to 130ft, over 30ft deeper than I'd been before on a PADI advanced deep dive, we only had 8 minutes at this depth before nitrogen narcosis could get too established in our bodies. This was just enough time to swim beneath an overhang laden with 40ft long stalactites whilst sharks circled beside us in the dim eerie light. Probably coupled with some effects of the narcosis this was an out of this world, out of body experience. The highlight of the trip so far and possibly of my lifetime. Followed by two further dives on spectacularly colourful coral reefs which for me ranked as the best I'd done in the world. Divers, book your next trip to Belize.
Advised to skip over Belize City with its gun problems we caught a flight to the beach town of Placencia in the south of the country. It's claim to fame being a entry in the Guiness Book of Records for having the narrowest main street in the world - a concrete path just a few feet wide. Belize isn't all about beaches and coral reefs, inland you'll find Mayan ruins, mountains, jungle, rivers, waterfalls and nature reserves for the Tapir, Jaguar and Toucan. We figured we'll be getting our fill of the eco-tourism later in the trip so from here we'll head to Honduras, aiming for the Bay Islands. Not sure yet if we'll catch a boat or fly, but I am sure of one thing. If I had to sum up Belize in a word... unbeliezable! Come on, I had to get that in somewhere.
Photos on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58076&l=1ec3d&id=799845526
