T2 in San Pedro

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leadweight

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Hi everybody. I am sitting in a rented condo at Paradise Villas in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. We didn't do too much today because TD2 blew through. We had 5 very good days of diving with Rudy of Island Divers. I was going to take today off anyway because all the activity was making me a bit sore, but the storm really sealed the deal. I don't know what the weather will be tomorrow, but I hope to go out diving on Wednesday. For a while today the wind really howled.

I think Paradise Villas is pretty good. There are just two of us here, but there is a fold out couch in the living room so the place could accommodate two couples. We are near food stores wich came in handy today because it was hard to go anywhere.

Rudy and his Island divers was very good. Either you will run out of air or bottom time around here. There have been lots of nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays and sea turtles. I can also recommend Chuck and Robbie's. Although I have not had a chance to go out with them, this is based on their employment of Gilbert, a scuba professional who I have done a bunch of diving with here over the hears.

I an an avid photographer, above the water line. You may find photos from the trip here:
Caribbean | Ron Scubadiver's Wild Life

This is my seventh trip to AC in 14 years. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Be aware, my outlook is a bit different from most around here.
 
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Be aware, my outlook is a bit different from most around here.

In what way?
 
Hi,

I'm currently explore dive operator options for mid-August (I started a thread a day). Is there anything more you can say Island Divers. Why do you recommend them? Is it the dive master-client ratio, number of people per boat, safety consciousness, price, quality of equipment, experience, etc?
 
If you are looking for an operator, check out Chuck and Robbie's.. They also have a ton of great reviews on tripadvisor...
 
Island divers gives good service and does not make stupid mistakes. They run small boats with 6 divers. I was very happy with them.

I cant say that eating out here was as good as the diving. I have been eating at Carambas for 14 years, and regularly on this trip. On Monday evening we ordered two steamed lobsters after watching customers served huge lobster tails. When our dinner came after a long delay we received two tiny lobster tails each that did not add up to half of a big one. When we complained to the owner he laughed at us. Not only were we shorted on size but the small lobsters are worth less per pound as they are cut up to make burritos and other lower priced dishes. This was the biggest dining disappointment that I have suffered in many years. I mentioned this to a few locals and they all said that Carambas had a reputation for doing this sort of thing.

If they had run out of the big ones, they should have told us when we ordered, but frankly, what they brought out was a travesty. If they did this at a location that did not have huge numbers of transient tourists as customers, they would be broke in a month.

---------- Post added June 18th, 2013 at 08:43 PM ----------

In what way?


Well many members on this board prefer places where they can do 5 dives per day, I rather do two. I don't do underwater photography, but shoot extensively on land. I think DIR means doing it ridiculously. I have actually done two gas deco dives and can't understand why anyone would really need a two gas computer for their first computer. The list could go on forever.
 
...Well many members on this board prefer places where they can do 5 dives per day, I rather do two.

Well, FWIW, I only like doing two dives per day as well!

Glad you had a great time!
 
Thank you J. We have returned to Houston. The plan was to do 7 days of diving but that got waylaid by TD2 and only 5 days were completed. Wind blew and s*** flew. I have noticed some changes in San Pedro. The streets in town are now paved and there are a lot more vehicles. Gasoline engine powered buggies have replaced the battery powered golf carts. The engines are very noisey and people down there drive like they are nuts. The reefs are not as good as they used to be. This is a problem all over the caribbean and probably the result of warmer water and lionfish devouring the young of the native fish. Rudy mentioned there is now a second invasive species, a type of shrimp.

The divers are doing a pretty good job at managing the lionfish in the dive sites using short spears that are not suitable for spearing larger fish. They are trying to get the nurse sharks to hunt them, but so far the nurse sharks will eat the dead lionfish but not hunt.

I got to know Robbie while I was down there. He is a really nice guy.

I have one other bit of dining advice. Do not order ribs anywhere. What you get will be disappointing. It is a matter of what is available to the restaurants and not their skills.

Those contemplating diving in the area should take note that the seas outside the reef are usually on the rough side and most of the dives involve a lot of swimming. The water is entered by back roll and exited by climbing a ladder over the side of the boat. The better operators like Island Divers will take your gear before you climb the ladder. I used to climb up the ladder on a 26' boat with a twinset. Those days are over.
 
...I have one other bit of dining advice. Do not order ribs anywhere. What you get will be disappointing. It is a matter of what is available to the restaurants and not their skills.

If I remember correctly, much of the meat in Belize comes from the Mennonite communities in Belize. I've had great meat but it does seem to run in cycles, meaning you might not find what you want when you want it. I was told meat can be imported, but of course there are duties that get paid for that.

I dove with Robbie for a week a few years ago and a had a great time. My other times have been with Ecologic.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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