H20Bubbles
Contributor
So we have just got back and settled from our trip to San Pedro over Christmas. It was our first time to Belize so we didn't quite know what to expect. We dove with Ecologic Divers and Amigos del Mar and will give our thoughts of both.
Operators:
Ecologic Diving
It was truly a pleasure diving with Ecologic. We chose this operation due to the reviews here on ScubaBoard and after having a couple of e-mails back and forth with Steve. The operation that they are running in San Pedro is truly top notch. We did have a slight mix-up in our communications with the office which resulted in not being on the last day's roster but what can you do. We enjoyed the time kayaking, snorkling, and sailing instead.
We got onto the island late on the 22nd and placed a call to let them know that we had arrived and were told that a boat would pick us up at the resort at 8:15am the next morning. Needless to say, right on time at 8:15 the boat was there - there was no such thing as island time. We were escorted to the dive shop down town, quickly filled out the liability forms and showed our c-cards and were ready to go.
Day 1 (12/22):
Our first dives were done in a group of four (two other divers) and Abbi (?) our dive master. The pre-dive briefing was clear, and focused on making sure that everyone was comfortable and safe. You can tell that both the diver's enjoyment and safety is a top priority.
It was our first time in the water in just about a year so we were both a little goofy for this first dive. The site was Mermaid's Lair which was a 60 second boat ride from the shop. On the dive, we saw a number of nurse sharks, a free swimming green moray eel. The spur coral formations were quite impressive with the tops of the reef at about 45-50 feet and the grooves (canyons) dropping down to probably 120-130 at various places. The dive master was good at checking everyone's air as the dive went on and was good at letting people vary depths but stay down with the group rather than forcing individuals to surface.
The second dive was done at Esmerelda, and we had a slightly larger group and another DM (Marco) for this dive. The DM's loaded up a chum tube for the dive and upon entering the water had 8-10 nurse sharks of varying sizes following in a line as we went to the feeding area. Once we got to the sandy area, they dropped the tube and we got to spend 10-15 minutes up close and personal with the nurse sharks. It was a great experience being able to be less than a foot from the sharks as they wiggled on the tube. The diving continued with a tour over the coral heads. A great dive.
Day Two (12/23):
Again, the boat was right on time with no delays. We dove on Cypress Garden/Tunnel, and Paradise Canyon. Both very nice dives which showcased more of the spur and groove coral formations and allowed swimming through the canyons. Got to see several spotted eagle rays on these dives.
Seems that mask leaks were the challenges of the day. On the second dive, one of the divers went to replace her mask to fix the leak and started ascending towards the surface. The DM's were quick to be right there and keep here from making an uncontrolled ascent.
We also did the night dive at the Hol Chan Marine Park in the cut. Again, the pre-dive briefing was very clear and they outlined very clearly how we would handle ensuring buddy teams and diver counts (more on this later).
This was a different dive. The first 10 minutes of the dive were spent at depths less that 10 feet and neither of us were weighted quite right for this depth. After getting that corrected the dive continued and we descended to around 20-25 feet for the rest of the dive. We saw a ton of southern stingray bedded down for the night in the sand, 5-6 green moray eels, crab, lobster. The highlight of the dive was definitely the octopus along the reef who had a lobster's head tucked under two arms looking for a place to eat.
Towards the end of the dive, my wife started having mask leaking problems and was having to continually try to clear her mask. Within one mask clearing, she managed to get separated from the group as we swam through a small swim through in the coral head. Her mask was full of water, she was dealing with the problem, and when she turned to look - the whole group was no longer there. After about a minute she surfaced. On the other side of the swim through, I turned to look for her and noticed (as did the DM) that we were now one lower in the diver count. They quickly gathered the group and had one of the two DM's go back and look for her. They quickly noticed her light on the surface and less than 2 minutes total had her back with the group completing the dive.
So we have to say a BIG thanks to both Abbi and Marco for their diligence, awareness, and quick resolution when the problem arose. The plan underwater was executed exactly as the pre-dive briefing said and is another testimony to the safety awareness of the Ecologic team.
Day 3 (12/24):
This day was spent diving with Amigos del Mar on their trip to the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef (Halfmoon Caye Wall and the Aquarium). They were right on time with their 5:15am pickup. Due to the loss of their larger boat, we did the 2.5 hour trip on one of their larger boats that they have - but it wasn't the 45ft luxury model. We had 13 divers on the boat and we all managed the two crossings and trips without two many woes.
The Blue Hole dive was definitely a unique experience. The DM's (Mike & Alex) led a great deep dive with the fully allowed bottom time at the 130-135ft depth and a nice ascent back up ensure that everyone had a controlled ascent and proper safety stops. The dive ended up at 28 minutes. The stalactite formations were impressive and it was quite interesting to see. Some of the group managed to see 3-4 sharks though I somehow missed all of them.
The next two dives at Lighthouse Reef are definitely the can't miss dives of the trips. They are two typical wall dives starting at about 50 feet and descending to 70-80 feet on the wall. We saw a number of turtles, eagle rays, large schools of fish, schooling tarpon, and abundant coral formations, sponges, and gorgonians along the walls.
It will be a definite must return to do more diving on both Lighthouse and Turneffe atolls.
Overall
Thanks go out to Steve and Suyapa at Ecologic for making it a great diving vacation - when we had limited diving time. We would definitely recommend both Ecologic Divers and Amigos del Mar to those looking for recommendations.
Operators:
Ecologic Diving
It was truly a pleasure diving with Ecologic. We chose this operation due to the reviews here on ScubaBoard and after having a couple of e-mails back and forth with Steve. The operation that they are running in San Pedro is truly top notch. We did have a slight mix-up in our communications with the office which resulted in not being on the last day's roster but what can you do. We enjoyed the time kayaking, snorkling, and sailing instead.
We got onto the island late on the 22nd and placed a call to let them know that we had arrived and were told that a boat would pick us up at the resort at 8:15am the next morning. Needless to say, right on time at 8:15 the boat was there - there was no such thing as island time. We were escorted to the dive shop down town, quickly filled out the liability forms and showed our c-cards and were ready to go.
Day 1 (12/22):
Our first dives were done in a group of four (two other divers) and Abbi (?) our dive master. The pre-dive briefing was clear, and focused on making sure that everyone was comfortable and safe. You can tell that both the diver's enjoyment and safety is a top priority.
It was our first time in the water in just about a year so we were both a little goofy for this first dive. The site was Mermaid's Lair which was a 60 second boat ride from the shop. On the dive, we saw a number of nurse sharks, a free swimming green moray eel. The spur coral formations were quite impressive with the tops of the reef at about 45-50 feet and the grooves (canyons) dropping down to probably 120-130 at various places. The dive master was good at checking everyone's air as the dive went on and was good at letting people vary depths but stay down with the group rather than forcing individuals to surface.
The second dive was done at Esmerelda, and we had a slightly larger group and another DM (Marco) for this dive. The DM's loaded up a chum tube for the dive and upon entering the water had 8-10 nurse sharks of varying sizes following in a line as we went to the feeding area. Once we got to the sandy area, they dropped the tube and we got to spend 10-15 minutes up close and personal with the nurse sharks. It was a great experience being able to be less than a foot from the sharks as they wiggled on the tube. The diving continued with a tour over the coral heads. A great dive.
Day Two (12/23):
Again, the boat was right on time with no delays. We dove on Cypress Garden/Tunnel, and Paradise Canyon. Both very nice dives which showcased more of the spur and groove coral formations and allowed swimming through the canyons. Got to see several spotted eagle rays on these dives.
Seems that mask leaks were the challenges of the day. On the second dive, one of the divers went to replace her mask to fix the leak and started ascending towards the surface. The DM's were quick to be right there and keep here from making an uncontrolled ascent.
We also did the night dive at the Hol Chan Marine Park in the cut. Again, the pre-dive briefing was very clear and they outlined very clearly how we would handle ensuring buddy teams and diver counts (more on this later).
This was a different dive. The first 10 minutes of the dive were spent at depths less that 10 feet and neither of us were weighted quite right for this depth. After getting that corrected the dive continued and we descended to around 20-25 feet for the rest of the dive. We saw a ton of southern stingray bedded down for the night in the sand, 5-6 green moray eels, crab, lobster. The highlight of the dive was definitely the octopus along the reef who had a lobster's head tucked under two arms looking for a place to eat.
Towards the end of the dive, my wife started having mask leaking problems and was having to continually try to clear her mask. Within one mask clearing, she managed to get separated from the group as we swam through a small swim through in the coral head. Her mask was full of water, she was dealing with the problem, and when she turned to look - the whole group was no longer there. After about a minute she surfaced. On the other side of the swim through, I turned to look for her and noticed (as did the DM) that we were now one lower in the diver count. They quickly gathered the group and had one of the two DM's go back and look for her. They quickly noticed her light on the surface and less than 2 minutes total had her back with the group completing the dive.
So we have to say a BIG thanks to both Abbi and Marco for their diligence, awareness, and quick resolution when the problem arose. The plan underwater was executed exactly as the pre-dive briefing said and is another testimony to the safety awareness of the Ecologic team.
Day 3 (12/24):
This day was spent diving with Amigos del Mar on their trip to the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef (Halfmoon Caye Wall and the Aquarium). They were right on time with their 5:15am pickup. Due to the loss of their larger boat, we did the 2.5 hour trip on one of their larger boats that they have - but it wasn't the 45ft luxury model. We had 13 divers on the boat and we all managed the two crossings and trips without two many woes.
The Blue Hole dive was definitely a unique experience. The DM's (Mike & Alex) led a great deep dive with the fully allowed bottom time at the 130-135ft depth and a nice ascent back up ensure that everyone had a controlled ascent and proper safety stops. The dive ended up at 28 minutes. The stalactite formations were impressive and it was quite interesting to see. Some of the group managed to see 3-4 sharks though I somehow missed all of them.
The next two dives at Lighthouse Reef are definitely the can't miss dives of the trips. They are two typical wall dives starting at about 50 feet and descending to 70-80 feet on the wall. We saw a number of turtles, eagle rays, large schools of fish, schooling tarpon, and abundant coral formations, sponges, and gorgonians along the walls.
It will be a definite must return to do more diving on both Lighthouse and Turneffe atolls.
Overall
Thanks go out to Steve and Suyapa at Ecologic for making it a great diving vacation - when we had limited diving time. We would definitely recommend both Ecologic Divers and Amigos del Mar to those looking for recommendations.
