LdyLwyr
Registered
My husband and I just returned from an incredible week in Ambergris Caye, Belize. It was our first trip there and it truly was Un-Belize-Able! My only prior dive experience was the Gulf of Mexico and Cozumel.
First, our accomodations: We stayed at Ramon's Village. What can I say . . . in my opinion there is nothing more charming than staying in a room with a thatched roof? We had not a single complaint about our accomodations, staff, dive operation, or restaurant . . . and I tend to be quite particular!
Second, the town of San Pedro: It was a nice change of pace from my everyday hectic life. In fact, it was a nice change of pace from any other place I have ever visited. Being on this tiny island gave a whole new meaning to the term 'island time'. I have never spent an entire week disconnected from television, computers, and telephones. I don't think I would have even needed a watch had I not needed to know when I was due at the dive boat! The town is charming and totally untouched by commercialism.
Third, and most important, the diving: We did thirteen dives, namely, Borderline, Cypress Reef, Hol Chan Canyon, Victoria Canyon, Tacklebox, Esmerelda Canyon, Hol Chan Cut (night dive), the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye Wall, Aquarium, Devil's Canyon, Barry & Dixie, and Mermaid's Lair. Diving off Ambergris Caye is really easy. In the boat and at the site in 5 minutes or less. Surface intervals are on the shore. The dive shop at Ramon's is top notch and they couldn't be more helpful. The visibility was not as nice as we enjoyed in Cozumel but it was really, really nice. And of course, some days were better than others. One highlight for me was the amount of nurse sharks and their high actiivity level. In 14 dives in Cozumel, I only saw one sleepy little nurse shark. Here, on two occasions I was swimming in close proximity to at least eight active nurse sharks at one time. And I have never seen so many turtles . . . and one especially curious one. Eels . . I always wondered what they looked like out of their crevices . . . I saw three free swimming on this trip. I could write paragraphs . . .
One down side: at the Blue Hole we saw no sharks. The dive master explained that a Guatemalan fishing boat had been spotted a few days prior and no sharks had been sighted since (even with chumming). I was sadly disappointed but maybe others will have better luck than we did. One day I will get to see a hammerhead!
Bottom line: This is definitely a repeat trip for us. If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer.
First, our accomodations: We stayed at Ramon's Village. What can I say . . . in my opinion there is nothing more charming than staying in a room with a thatched roof? We had not a single complaint about our accomodations, staff, dive operation, or restaurant . . . and I tend to be quite particular!
Second, the town of San Pedro: It was a nice change of pace from my everyday hectic life. In fact, it was a nice change of pace from any other place I have ever visited. Being on this tiny island gave a whole new meaning to the term 'island time'. I have never spent an entire week disconnected from television, computers, and telephones. I don't think I would have even needed a watch had I not needed to know when I was due at the dive boat! The town is charming and totally untouched by commercialism.
Third, and most important, the diving: We did thirteen dives, namely, Borderline, Cypress Reef, Hol Chan Canyon, Victoria Canyon, Tacklebox, Esmerelda Canyon, Hol Chan Cut (night dive), the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye Wall, Aquarium, Devil's Canyon, Barry & Dixie, and Mermaid's Lair. Diving off Ambergris Caye is really easy. In the boat and at the site in 5 minutes or less. Surface intervals are on the shore. The dive shop at Ramon's is top notch and they couldn't be more helpful. The visibility was not as nice as we enjoyed in Cozumel but it was really, really nice. And of course, some days were better than others. One highlight for me was the amount of nurse sharks and their high actiivity level. In 14 dives in Cozumel, I only saw one sleepy little nurse shark. Here, on two occasions I was swimming in close proximity to at least eight active nurse sharks at one time. And I have never seen so many turtles . . . and one especially curious one. Eels . . I always wondered what they looked like out of their crevices . . . I saw three free swimming on this trip. I could write paragraphs . . .
One down side: at the Blue Hole we saw no sharks. The dive master explained that a Guatemalan fishing boat had been spotted a few days prior and no sharks had been sighted since (even with chumming). I was sadly disappointed but maybe others will have better luck than we did. One day I will get to see a hammerhead!
Bottom line: This is definitely a repeat trip for us. If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer.
