Belize Baby! fish, fish and more fish.

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Back on the bus, but did have the excitment of my first chicken bus (the old US st lye school buses) I'm sure I´ll be sick of them pretty soon but all good for now. On getting off the bus we were greeted by the only mean nasty and rude Bedizen person I met, he was trying to rip us off for a taxi and then when we said no went off at us like he had turret's, so we walked all the way- I am a hardcore backpacker now after all. So after the trek down and the water taxi we arrived at the small island of Caye Caulker, bliss. Its a tiny place that with a real Caribbean feel. the island is tiny, so small that the tree streets over are simply called front, middle and back street being all of three streets wide. Its very strange as at the locals speak English as well as Spanish and the local language Creole and the money has good ol Queen Lizzy on it. The island is pretty much made up of sand, yet there isn't actually a beach, so everyone goes down to The Split to sunbathe and snorkel. The split is where a hurricane came through in the 60s and cut straight through the land splitting it off to make the island. now all that's left is a single strip of concrete that is used as a makeshift beach. All the debris from the hurricane is still in the water so it makes foe really good snorkeling as all the fish, and even small sharks take shelter, so many types of fish can be seen including huge puffer fish. Basically all daytime activities go on here, sunbathing, swimming, socialising, drinking, fishing and even some nighttime activities on your last drunken night including swimming. Although it was good to be in the sun, the main reason I went was to dive the famous Blue Hole, its a huge sinkhole in the middle of the ocean 305 m wide and 122m deep, sadly you cant get a good photo of it but you can look at this link I found

www.geocities.com/dhlin/belize/bluehole.JPG

So after a long journey out to the reef with flying fish flying all around the boat we arrived. Feeling slightly nervous we geared up and in we plopped and down we sank. Deep down. for anyone how knows diving 30m should be the recreational limit, we went to 45 meters! That's a long way! It was awesome, all dark and creepy and eerie. The side of the hole is coverd in huge stalactites and stalagmites that you an swim through and when you look down, nothing but blackness, that is until the sharks appear. Huge 15ft Carri bean reef sharks just cruising around us gracefully. A truly awesome site and experience, but sadly as its so deep you can only stay down for 8Min's for both safety and the fact you chew thought your air, 25 Min's and I was down to 50 bar. Awesome
With a nice break we set out to the next spot, just off Half Moon Island at Half Moon Bay Wall and back to a nice shallow 24m reef dive. Wicked the coral was amazing, bright clear and unbroken with stunning fish, lobsters and stingrays. I didn't get too close out of respect for Steve RIP.
We then had a break for lunch on the tiny beach Paradise of Half Moon Island, just palm trees sand and boobies (the birds), beautiful I really didn't want to leave but dive number three was calling. Another wicked dive on a huge reef wall at the long Caye Aquarium, stunning. A long boat ride back was rewarded with a beer or two in a bar with sand on the floor, will I ever get used to drinking without sand at my feet again?
The plan was to shoot the next day, off to Guatemala, but the draw of the sun was just too much so when Dutchie left I head for the split for one more day of sun. Luckily as I left in the morning the weather had turned so I choose the right day to leave, otherwise it would have been hard! Back on the bus and over my last border and penoltimate country Guatemala.

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Photos

Caye Caulker = Go Slow
Life on Middle Street

The Split
Where much time was spent with surprising comfort

Paradise
Half moon bay

Ive become a swingger
My last night on Caye Calker was as chilled as the rest