For one thing, one of Belize's national languages is English...which instantly makes it feel a bit weird. It's like a tourist attraction of a Central American country for English speakers. All the people speak near-perfect English, the signs are all in English, and American money is good anywhere. It's weird.
However, as soon as you leave the airport (in the amazingly named "Ladyville") the first sight is the Belikin Brewery - self-proclaimed beer of Belize. Says so right on the bottle. Later we learned that this is a major source of employment for a lot of people in Belize City and the neighbouring towns.
The cab from the airport to the water taxi was pretty telling however, as we rode through the town full of construction site, torn down homes, empty lots, bits and pieces of places...and brand name banks, gas stations, and restaurants that wouldn't be out of place back home. It's a weird dichotomy...Shell station! Gravel pit. Scotiabank! Half-built house with corrugated steel roof. Our driver took the backroads to avoid traffic, trying to get us to our ferry on time...we went through an awfully poor part of town (though it looks like most of it is really poor) and it shows as soon as you're off the beaten track even slightly. People filleting fish at the side of the road, barbecuing in half an oil drum...it was definitely eye-opening.
We got to the water taxi terminal and everything changed. Suddenly, we were surrounded by white people, and cheerful native Belizians offering us beer and passage to San Pedro, on a little caye called Ambergris, where we were headed. I had a beer in the terminal, which I was told I could take on the boat as long as I poured it in a styrofoam cup. Beer is fine at sea, but not glass. A whole pile of us crammed into the busy water taxi.
It was nice. Everyone was bustling and talking. The day was hot but the boat breeze was nice, and with us sitting right in front by the open window, it was not bad at all.
Going back in the day a bit...we'd started this endeavour at 3am. Left for the airport at 3:30, flew out of Toronto at 6:45, got into Atlanta around 10. After a quick layover, and a short jaunt a gate or two over, we jetted off to Belize City from Atlanta, getting in for around 12:45 Belize time (which is an hour back of us). Then the cab to the water taxi, then the water taxi for two hours, then finally a short walk through town to our hotel. It was a long long long day. We were exhausted, but we managed to haul ourselves down the beach for a quick bite to eat and a check-in with the scuba powers that be, to find out when we'd be diving.
The answer - was on Day 2!!!
Day 2:
Early night's sleep plus late morning start = nice full-length sleep, for the first time in AGES. Woke up, put my underwater housing together, and sauntered down to the dive shop. We got kitted up and then waited...we were supposed to leave at 9:30, but everyone was on island time. We waited.
Met some nice folks who were coming out on the boat with us. Lo and behold, they turned out to be from Sudbury, of all places. We connected as Canadians and shared dive anecdotes before boarding the boat.
It was Michelle's 3rd dive ever, and 1st one in the ocean. 1st time in warm water, 1st time on a coral reef, 1st time around marine life...it was a big dive of firsts for her, but it wound up being a lot of firsts for me to...because as soon as we got in - we were surrounded by sharks!
I've always wanted to dive with sharks! I've seen one or two here and there, but it's always a big event...this was mind-blowing! First thing when we got in the water, there they were! Not one, or two but five or six! Nurse sharks, mind you, not real sharks, but still! It's still so amazing to see them gliding through the water all graceful and dangerous. They're like dogs though...they'll come play at your feet, and come up and say hello, but as my Dad is fond of saying, "You're not on the menu."
Nurse sharks are really docile and are more like catfish than sharks. I'm not even sure they have real teeth [citation needed]. Anyway... it was pretty amazing. Some of the girls we were with were tickling the sharks. I got some cool footage of them swimming around. They make it look so easy.
The trip was full of awesome sights though, including giant underwater canyons...
Bright green barrel sponges...
Brain coral...
and big grouper!
All the sea life was pretty friendly, and willing to let us get right in there with our noses, and cameras if applicable. Michelle even spotted a lionfish! But it was too quick for me to get a good shot of it.
For Michelle, it was an epic first sea dive...and an unbelievable third dive ever. For me - it was unbelievable to finally get to see sharks up close, and in great numbers! That, coupled with the amazing canyons we could swoop through...it was a pretty excellent pair of dives.
Toward the end, we saw a massive nurse shark, just sitting on the ocean floor, taking a nap. He or she was just chilling on the bottom, being cleaned fastidiously by a little remora. After we stopped to look for a bit, it decided it'd had enough of us eyeballing it and got up...swam right towards me! I got a cool shot of it shaking out the cobwebs and cruising along right underneath me, off to...wherever it is that sharks go.
After our dives we wandered inland, dropped of our kit, and had a peek downstairs in our hotel's little plaza. We were sadly too late to get in on a trivia night that had started already, but we had some beers anyway, went for a quick dip in the pool, and picked up some late-night falafel from a spot called "Ali Baba's". We were both exhausted and full, so after a short bite and a quick stay, we were back to the hotel to catch a nap before tomorrow's long day...exploring the Mayan ruins of Lamanai!
We'd packed a lot in the first full day...and it certainly took a lot out of us. But more adventures await!
Catch you tomorrow!
-Jeff
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