Trip Report To Ambergris Caye As It Happens 4/29-5/8

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erincherie

Registered
Messages
46
Reaction score
12
Location
Monroe, Louisiana
# of dives
500 - 999
Day one. 4-29-16
Monroe, La to Houston to Belize City to San Pedro. Easy flights, no issues. . Made it to San Pedro and Yvette met us at the airport. Loaded up the luggage and a short golf cart ride later we were at Belizean Reef. Third floor condo is nice and clean. Not luxurious, but well maintained and has everything we need. Ran to the grocery store for coffee and snacks and stuff for sandwiches. I was really surprised at the lack of selection on produce and fresh foods but maybe there is a bigger store somewhere. Watched a little tv, unpacked and headed to bed.

Day two. 4-30-16
Woke to heavy cloud cover and high winds at 22 mph. Didn't know if we would dive or not. Island Divers picked us up at the dock in front of the condo and we went to their shop to do paperwork and gear up. The boat ride out to the reef was crazy. We had 12 foot swells. It was like a roller coaster and one big wave broke over the bow and we all got unseated. We made it out, geared up and back roll into the water at San Pedro Canyons. On my decent there was a pretty nurse shark right below me. Probably 6 feet. A couple more showed up and all three shadowed us the whole dive. I could tell someone has been giving them treats because they weren't afraid of us at all. I also saw a big green sea turtle and a little one, a stingray, caught a glimpse of a couple Dolphins. Saw some fairy basslets which are my favorite little fish, parrotfish, a nice sized silver grouper, gray angelfish, queen triggerfish, a big crab, a box fish, squirrelfish and lots of little reef fish. We hung around the mooring line for a while and more nurse sharks showed up. While at our safety stop there were 9 circling below us with the largest being about 12 feet. It was tricky getting back in the boat with the huge swells, but we all made it. Even with taking Dramamine Andy barfed up his breakfast of course. In those seas I would have been shocked if he didn't. I was fine. No feeding the fish for me. Coming back in wasn't as harrowing since we kinda surfed the big swells back rather than hitting them head on.
We stayed inside the reef for dive 2 at Hol Chan. Deepest I got was 20 feet, so the whole thing was a safety stop . Still saw tons of grunts and snappers another stingray. Rudy saw a sharp nose bat fish but I missed it. Still a decent dive. Any day on the dive boat is better than one at the office! Will post an update tomorrow. Stay wet and salty my friends!
 
There's a greens grocer on middle street. That's where I buy most of my produce and they have some other nice items in there too.
 
Day two 4-30-16 continued
Shower, nap and big uh-oh…. The underwater housing leaked on our 2nd dive and the camera isn't working correctly. We walked back down to Island City to see if they had a small screwdriver to take apart the camera but no luck. Headed back to the condo and the wifi to see about locating a hardware store. Found one about a mile away so back out on another trek. Got exactly what we needed and headed back to the condo. We passed Pepperoni’s on the way and pizza is smelling good so stopped in for a pie. We ordered a supreme/carnivore split and it was delish! Hot and gooey pizza goodness! Had some left so I'm sure it will be a late night snack or breakfast for Andy. Also saw a produce stand so may pick up a pineapple and some bananas tomorrow if they are open. We hadn't planned on renting a golf cart except to do some exploring for an afternoon or two, but seriously considering getting one for the rest of the week. I prefer walking but the main road seems a bit dangerous where there is no sidewalk. Got some maniac drivers around here!


Day three 5-1-16
I almost typed 96 instead of 16. Guess it's because someone asked me how long I'd been diving and I realized it was 20 years now. Wow. Time flies. We weren't sure if we were going out this morning or not but we got ready anyway and waited to hear from Rudy. Yep, but Hol Chan again due to weather. More of the same as yesterday. We braved the cut and went outside the reef for 2nd dive at Esmerelda. Swells weren't nearly as high and it was a much easier journey. The canyons were beautiful and three of our shark friends joined us for the first part of the dive. They reminded me of a pack of friendly dogs just wanting a treat or maybe a belly rub. Rudy found me a big green moray and we saw a huge loggerhead turtle. Andy took the camera housing sans camera to see if it still leaked and sure enough it did get some moisture in it. He said he would take it apart and grease all the seals and around the o rings and try it again tomorrow. I'm gonna be pissed if we don't get any pictures or video other than the first day. I will add those when we get home. Will just have to plan another trip soon. I already had my post dive nap so I imagine we will go in search of some eats in a bit. Will post an update tomorrow. Stay wet and salty my friends!
 
Great stuff! Keep it up.
 
You'd have been hard pressed not to find a hardware store, lol. Once you start driving around in the golf cart, you'll see what I mean. :)
 
thnx for the reports. hope you get better conditions
 
thanks for sharing..hope you get your camera problems solved.
 
Me too.

When you return home, if you have time it would be great to see some top-side photos of AC, the dive op, your hotel, etc.
 
OP----hope ya'll have a better latter half of the trip.......Now maybe you can understand why I've not been back(diving anyway) to Belize since ~ '89.......
 
Me too.

When you return home, if you have time it would be great to see some top-side photos of AC, the dive op, your hotel, etc.

Will certainly post topside shots when back to the real world. Not giving up on the underwater housing yet though. Here's a link to my Facebook Belize album. I'll be adding topside pics throughout the trip so check back daily.

Erin Davis Hicks | Facebook
 
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