Diving blue hole

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  Lighthouse Reef, Belize
Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Our blue hole trip was fascinating.   The story begins before the crack of dawn.  at 4.30am we get up to greet the day.  we have decided to dive (Kirstin) and snorkel (Shane) the blue hole* with a dive shop called Aqua Divers.  The cost is $200 usd to dive and $165 to snorkel.. This price includes the 2.5 hour boat ride to and from the blue hole, breakfast, lunch, $40 park fee, 3 dives, gear rental, and pick up from our hotel.  So at 5.00 am we are at the end of the dock at our hotel (Costa Maya Reef Resort) waiting for our 5.15am boat. 
In San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) there are only 2 snorkelers and 1 diver for the blue hole, so we must stop at Caye Caulker for 8 more divers - the joys of slow season.  Then off to Lighthouse Reef via Turneffe Reef - 2 hours.
Right when we are getting to the blue hole rains started pouring - the boat had to go slow through the reef because visibility was bad in the rain

ready to dive the blue hole

.  We got to the buoy, tied up, donned gear and jumped in.  The first glimpse through the mask reveled a 7 foot Caribbean reef shark who had come to check out the commotion and a bunch of 3 foot large grouper.  Then 10 of us descended into the hole...meanwhile....
Shane snorkeled the reef rim of the blue hole.  it was like snorkeling in a dentist's aquarium, except the dentist aquarium doesn't come with three 7 foot sharks. 
the descent to the bottom was as rapid as we could go considering the levels of all the divers, from the time we started our descent to 140 feet until we started the ascent was a total of 8 minutes (due to no decompression limits).  we all made it down in about 5 minutes, which means we had 3 minutes to check out the stalactites.  also checking out the sharks that were swimming around and the large groupers.  i also saw some very large blue parrot fish on the way back up.
then back to the boat and off to Half Moon Caye wall.  the dive was fantastic. tons of fish - large and small, bright corals, a few stingrays, sharks, and turtles.  i love diving in protected areas :) ... meanwhile...
Shane dipped his head beneath the water as the dive boat was pulling away to see a 3 foot barracuda watching him with one unmoving eye.  apparently this particular fish is a common sight during this snorkeling excursion

feeding fish

.  i snorkeled about for about 1/2 hour around the reef then went ashore with my guide. we trekked up the Caye through mosquito infested palm forest to an outlook to clearly see the only nesting area in the world for the endangered (blue or red) footed boobie.  I've forgotten which, red or blue... I've seen boobies before, these just looked like a bunch of birds.  then we met up with the dive boat for lunch and a little more looking around....\
after lunch we were off to another dive site in Lighthouse Reef - Eagle Ray Alley, this was a drift dive to the site called Aquarium.  both sites lived up to their names.  In Eagle Ray Alley we saw 3 Eagle Rays.  A beautiful one glided right past us through a large school of blue fish... i really need to get an underwater camera.. meanwhile...
Shane was snorkeling with the guide and the one other snorkeler, a Spaniard from Barcelona, through an azure blue sea that was populated by about 100 chubb.  urged on by the left over rice from lunch being launched into the air to the water right in from of the Spaniard and I.  The fish where everywhere. one bumped into my mask and i inadvertently kicked one with my shin.  i could see our diving counterparts about 50 feet below us, skirting the reef wall.  my mask was leaking so i was starting to play with the appropriate adjustments when the boat came over and picked us up.  a feast of watermelon was waiting for us as we re boarded the boat.  the fish loved the watermelon rinds.
then back onto the boat for another 2.5 hour boat ride back to Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye.  upon arriving in San Pedro (5pm) we chocked down the price- no AMEX - so my debit card had to do, then off to the bank for some more cash.  Belize is expensive, we have gone through a lot of $ here.  We had a fantastic dinner in San Pedro at Fido's (not the chain) and headed back toward the island ferry to take us back to the hotel - quite a long, but enjoyable day...

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1-feeding fish	more fish	shane snorkeling the blue hole	half moon caye video
half moon caye	diving	kirstin looking at fishys	random house
the boat trip...

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