Ambergris Caye for 30 Days

[leadweight]

As this is being written, I am on Ambergris Caye. I have been here for 18 days and have 12 to go. 32 dives so far, including my 500th logged dive.

Nurse sharks, the fish formerly known as the Jewfish, Grouper, snappers and other large edible fish have been keeping me dompany underwater, along with an occasional big turtle or spotted eagle ray.

It is my fourth time using Protech Belize and the shop just keeps getting better. The same guys are here that have ben here all along including Gilbert, Juior, Brian and Adolfo. Uttah,a German lady is wrapping up her divemaster training, and I must say that the shop has turned out a very fine DM. She will be on her way home soon. Roni is back in action, having recoverd completely from his disasterous bicycle accident back around new years.

This trip was made possible because I have the time and got a realy greate monthly rate at Banana Beach. I have been eating lunch frequently at Monkey Bites. It is about 100 yards south of the BYC dock where Protech is located. IMHO, it is the best small restaurant on the island. The owner's chocolate chocalate chip cookies are to die for, I just ate one right out of the oven.

Got to run now, the internet costs $12 per hour here, but they give you a free drink every 15 minutes. Rum is $7 per bottle, causing my ruin. Off to a barbecue/jam session at the hammock just north of the cut tonite (sunday)

 

[LeFlaneur]

Hey.... how the heck did YOU end up with MY life?

 

[leadweight]

Hey.... how the heck did YOU end up with MY life?

Wishful thinking?

Its day 21. Yesterday produced the most spectacular of the 36 dives so far. A swimming green morey at the start, the usual following nurse sharks and Jewfish, about halfway through the dive a big eagle ray flew by fairly close. About two minutes later an even larger one flew by very close. Five minutes later a turtle and five minutes after that another turtle. Both of the turtles hung around for a while. That as at Cyprus Canyon, my favorite dive site, and Uttah was leading. The water has been rough at the surface, but the visibility was at least 80 feet yesterday. However, it is not as good as some of the dive sites near the breaks in the reef.

Last night I had a lobster salad at Caramba's, only $7.50 us. This is my favorite dinner spot. The owner is Belizian and is there every night.

I am taking the day off, my son comes in for the weekend tomorow.

 

[gdenny]

Enjoy your time on the caye. Ambergris was my honeymoon spot last year, Portofino resort. Another good restaurant you may want to try is El Patio. It's about a block off Front street and maybe two blocks south of Fido's, under a big Palapa. Mmm...Lobster.

Congrats on your 500th dive!

I guess my saving grace is by the time you go home I'll be in Curacao!

 

[leadweight]

I am home now, 47 dives later. The last 5 dives resulted in the completion of IANTD Advanced Nitrox, tought by Roni at Protech. More about this great experience later in a different area of these forums.

 

[pris wiblin]

Why is it that people like Turneffe Caye and shun Ambergrise? I like very little current, medium depth 40-65 ft, lots and lots and lots of fish. Coral watching is not as important- we've been to Ambergrise Caye and want an EXCELLENT dive shop like Amigos del Mar. Protech may be too technical for us. 6 yrs dive experience has been varied. We LOVED the shore diving experience and hated the rough sites at Roatan from a live aboard (which I'll never do again).

 

[DandyDon]

Why is it that people like Turneffe Caye and shun Ambergrise? I like very little current, medium depth 40-65 ft, lots and lots and lots of fish. Coral watching is not as important- we've been to Ambergrise Caye and want an EXCELLENT dive shop like Amigos del Mar. Protech may be too technical for us. 6 yrs dive experience has been varied. We LOVED the shore diving experience and hated the rough sites at Roatan from a live aboard (which I'll never do again).

Don't let the name confuse you. I got to dive with Pro Tech only one day, but there were what I reference as "vacation divers" happily on the same boat. It was nice diving, to be sure; they just took a little different approach, shallower, on the reef than my buddy and I did.

Nice boats, nice facilities, professional crews - good for newbies thru Techs. I understand that Amigos is the other good operator on the Caye, but check out Pro Tech, still. There's some freebies and discounts available if you dive with them.

Have a good trip. I think they're finally bricking main street.

 

[pris wiblin]

Leadweight,
We'll be in Ambergrise Nove 6th for diving. We just can't decide on the place to stay. We want to dive w. a distinctive operator, not a touristy operator with boats not quite large enough or safe enough and divemasters who hurry you along and who do not know the ecology of the place you are diving. WE have two tech divers who are master divers, a novice, and us the intermediates who love to watch FISH - pristine is what we like - great vis - safety is utmost of course. I don't want our novice to frustrate the divemaster/captain. We are considering Banana Beach, Belize Yacht Club and Coconuts.

What'e the story on Amigos del Mar operation? They are right in town. I googled them and it says they are the #1 operator on Ambergrise. Opinion???They'll pick up at just about any dock.

 

[Got2dive]

I'll direct this response to pris wiblin:
My husband and I were on AC in May this year and I dove with Amigos for 10 dives. They came highly recommended by my LDS and I was well pleased. I am certified RD and found their op to be top notch. I took the trip to the Blue Hole with them and it is a bumpy one, so if that's your cup of tea, the bigger the boat the better. It was a 2+ hour trip out there. They picked me up right at my pier every morning, and I was able to leave my gear w/them for dives on subsequent days (they rinsed it and had it ready to go the next morning).
As far as accoms, we rented an adorable 2-bedroom house (Brianna's Beach House) and loved it. For more specific info on AC, check out their message board http://ambergriscaye.com/message/ultimatebb.php
I found it a wealth of info in planning our trip.
Hope that helps....

 

[leadweight]

Hey Pris,

I have not been on Scubaboard lately. If you want a distinctive dive operator then go with Protech Belize. They ae the only shop down there that can properly take care of technical divers. I have used them four times in a row, that should say enough.

As for hotels, The BYC is nice and so is Banana Beach. I have stayed at both. BYC is very convenient because Protech is located right there. BYC is also a very short walk to town. Banana beach has a very low monthly rate, so that is why I stayed there last time. I would go back to either hotel gladly. Coconuts does not appeal to me that much, so I never stayed there. I don't know much about Amigos, only that they are very large.

-Leadweight (Ron)