caseywilson
Registered
Just back from a ten-day dive adventure based from Ambergris Caye, San Pedro, Belize, with my two sons, Phil and Geoff. I did 12 dives and they logged 17 each. Because of the less than good weather, I have to give the overall trip an eight out of ten score.
. We landed at the San Pedro airport between downpours and made our way to our lodging at the Sunset Beach Condos, a bit south of town. The condo is an older building, but comfortable and very well maintained. No complaints there at all. I did wonder about the name since the condo faces due East. Geoff is a professional cook, actually Cordon Bleu certified, and gave the kitchen a thumbs up. Over the ten days we only ate four evening meals out. The Lone Star Grill and Cantina and Black Orchid Restaurant were within walking distance. The food was great, if pricey.
. We settled in on the first day. And, on the second, started diving exclusively with Ambergris Divers. It’s easy for me to give the operation five-stars, thumbs up, and 10 out of 10. Joey (DM, and sometimes Captain), Manuel (DM), and Gerald (Captain) made every trip safe, and except for a couple dive site choices, excellent adventures. Wilfred was DM for our one night dive and also did a great job. White Sands, Amigos del Mar, and AD were the top three on my list. I chose the latter based on talking to each of them on the telephone. Just one of those vibe things people talk about.
. We got to Belize as a tropical storm passed a couple hundred miles away. We had rain and high winds sporadically for the first six days. The first three were the worst. Timing a giant stride off the stern with three to four foot swells was one thing, but getting up the ladder after returning to the boat was a bitch. After two days of nice sunny and mostly clear skies, the rains came back, but not as hard – mostly drizzles.
. Those couple dive sites I mentioned were swim-throughs. I have no problems with swim-throughs, neither physically nor mentally. I just find it boring finning through tunnels with few visual attractions except for maybe a crab or two hiding in holes in the walls. Especially when divers ahead of me stir up the muck. That, and protecting my camera and lights make it more of a chore than an adventure.
. Phil had his wife and daughter (nondivers) along. They and Geoff did one mainland excursion for a combined “Zip Line and Cave Tubing” adventure. The report on that was thumbs; up although the scheduling was sketchy. The aforementioned drenching rains weren’t limited to the Caye. The whole country got a serious soaking. The winds resulted in some necessary safety repairs to the zip-line and the river running through the caves rose to hazardous levels — like banging folk’s heads off the overheads. It turned out to be a day-by-day check in. That in turn caused domino problems with dive scheduling. But, Karen, the Ambergris Divers honcho, did a great job accommodating our flighty schedule so we never had to stand down any day. I also skipped out on the glass-bottom boat trip but it rated thumbs up by the others.
. Early on one of the first trips Joey took along a chumming tube and attracted a literal school of nurse sharks. A couple green morays came out of their holes for lunch also. One of which came over and aggressively butted my camera lens a few times. Geoff got the same treatment with his 3-D camera rig. That was a first for both of us and I have to admit a bit of adrenalin jolt the first time it happened.
. Some of the doofus divers were both entertaining and annoying. Like the one who followed closely behind the DM in a vertical position, bicycling with the fins and rowing with the hands. Then there was the young guy that insisted on a 100CF tank and ran down to 900 psi on a 40 foot dive in 35 minutes.
. I’d post a few of the 800+ images I captured but sadly my external hard drive disappeared. That is the only grief I have to share about the entire trip. DAMN!!
By the way-----the concensus was Ambergris Caye is number two on our next dive destination list. Only because Phil is itching for Bonaire.
. We landed at the San Pedro airport between downpours and made our way to our lodging at the Sunset Beach Condos, a bit south of town. The condo is an older building, but comfortable and very well maintained. No complaints there at all. I did wonder about the name since the condo faces due East. Geoff is a professional cook, actually Cordon Bleu certified, and gave the kitchen a thumbs up. Over the ten days we only ate four evening meals out. The Lone Star Grill and Cantina and Black Orchid Restaurant were within walking distance. The food was great, if pricey.
. We settled in on the first day. And, on the second, started diving exclusively with Ambergris Divers. It’s easy for me to give the operation five-stars, thumbs up, and 10 out of 10. Joey (DM, and sometimes Captain), Manuel (DM), and Gerald (Captain) made every trip safe, and except for a couple dive site choices, excellent adventures. Wilfred was DM for our one night dive and also did a great job. White Sands, Amigos del Mar, and AD were the top three on my list. I chose the latter based on talking to each of them on the telephone. Just one of those vibe things people talk about.
. We got to Belize as a tropical storm passed a couple hundred miles away. We had rain and high winds sporadically for the first six days. The first three were the worst. Timing a giant stride off the stern with three to four foot swells was one thing, but getting up the ladder after returning to the boat was a bitch. After two days of nice sunny and mostly clear skies, the rains came back, but not as hard – mostly drizzles.
. Those couple dive sites I mentioned were swim-throughs. I have no problems with swim-throughs, neither physically nor mentally. I just find it boring finning through tunnels with few visual attractions except for maybe a crab or two hiding in holes in the walls. Especially when divers ahead of me stir up the muck. That, and protecting my camera and lights make it more of a chore than an adventure.
. Phil had his wife and daughter (nondivers) along. They and Geoff did one mainland excursion for a combined “Zip Line and Cave Tubing” adventure. The report on that was thumbs; up although the scheduling was sketchy. The aforementioned drenching rains weren’t limited to the Caye. The whole country got a serious soaking. The winds resulted in some necessary safety repairs to the zip-line and the river running through the caves rose to hazardous levels — like banging folk’s heads off the overheads. It turned out to be a day-by-day check in. That in turn caused domino problems with dive scheduling. But, Karen, the Ambergris Divers honcho, did a great job accommodating our flighty schedule so we never had to stand down any day. I also skipped out on the glass-bottom boat trip but it rated thumbs up by the others.
. Early on one of the first trips Joey took along a chumming tube and attracted a literal school of nurse sharks. A couple green morays came out of their holes for lunch also. One of which came over and aggressively butted my camera lens a few times. Geoff got the same treatment with his 3-D camera rig. That was a first for both of us and I have to admit a bit of adrenalin jolt the first time it happened.
. Some of the doofus divers were both entertaining and annoying. Like the one who followed closely behind the DM in a vertical position, bicycling with the fins and rowing with the hands. Then there was the young guy that insisted on a 100CF tank and ran down to 900 psi on a 40 foot dive in 35 minutes.
. I’d post a few of the 800+ images I captured but sadly my external hard drive disappeared. That is the only grief I have to share about the entire trip. DAMN!!
By the way-----the concensus was Ambergris Caye is number two on our next dive destination list. Only because Phil is itching for Bonaire.
