Today (Tuesday) I woke up promptly at 6:45 AM because I wanted to be sure Kirby and I didn't miss hitching a ride on Mike and Amy's golf cart. They were heading over to Chuck and Robbie's Dive Shop for their daily dose of scuba diving. Kirby and I thought we would tag along and see if Chuck and Robbie's boat captain might have space on the boat for a couple of snorkelers. We found that the scuba boat was full for the morning dive, but the young man behind the front desk got on his cell phone and called his father-in-law. Within minutes, the father-in-law was standing next to us, ready and willing to take us out on our snorkeling adventure on the western hemisphere's longest and most amazing barrier reef! Our guide's name was "Hill" and he was a real sweetheart. Kirby and I had our own private boat and our own private tour guide to boot! Hill had been on the Caye almost his entire life (I believe he said 62 years) and he was a highly experienced fisherman, scuba instructor and reef master. He said he had been a dive guide for about thirty years before he "semi-retired" to taking tourists fishing and snorkeling. At any rate, Kirby and I knew we were in good hands! We rented our mask, fins and snorkel from the dive shop, and we were off! On top of everything else, it was (as usual) a perfect, sunny day. The water was calm and that special tint of aquamarine blue reminiscent of the old James Bond movies filmed in the Caribbean. The visibility in the Cayes - especially in the water along the reef-- is sick!
Hill asked us if we wanted him to take us anywhere special and we told him that we were totally new to the area and that he should just bring us to the best place he knew of for snorkeling. The first place he headed out to was the famous Hol Chan Marine Reserve. "Hol Chan" means "little channel" in Maya, and it has the destinction of being the first marine reserve established in all of Central America. On the way to Hol Chan, Hill stopped to do a little net fishing for some bait to attract some nurse sharks and jacks. When we got several hundred feet from the dive shop, Hill pulled his boat in closer to shore and threw out his net a couple of times, pulling in a nice mess of small fish that would make excellent shark bait for sure. When we pulled up at one of the many buoys marking the entrance to the marine reserve, we were visited by a couple of park rangers who made sure Hill had a valid guide license and we paid our US$10.00 (each) park fee. Then we strapped on our gear and followed Hill out into the reef. Everything under the surface of the water was beyond amazing! It is as if you hare suddenly entered an entirely different world! Crystal clear blue water (with 200 feet visibility), amazing colorful and multi-shaped coral formations, hundreds of different fish (small ones, medium sized and large ones), water turtles, sting rays, and more was ours for the taking.
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| Snapper |
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| Grouper |
Our first excursion lasted about two hours, at which point I was getting just a little chilled so I was ready for a break. We basked in the warm sun for a little while, and then Hill started the boat again to get ready for our trip to the nearby- and equallly famous- "Shark-Ray Alley".
Shark-Ray Alley proved to be just what its name implies. With the help of a nice trail of fish chum supplied courtesy of Hill, we had a following of nurse sharks and hard-hitting jacks encircling our boat for quite some time. It is a little spooky to jump in the water after watching these sharks and jacks attacking from all directions, but they apparently leave divers and snorkelers alone. Or at least I hoped they did! Hilll, Kirby and I slipped in the water again and followed Hill's lead along the best path through the reef to see the optimal viewing of fish and coral. During the dive we saw grouper, snapper, barracuda, tarpon, jacks, angel fish and a lot more. In Shark Ray Alley we saw some additional rays swimming effortlessly across the bottom as well. Some of the rays look EXACTLY like the stealth bomber! I saw black ones and spotted ones. And the coral reef continued to amaze me.
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| Blue Spotted Sting Ray |
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| A Swarm of Nurse Sharks Attacking |
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| Sting Ray |
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| More Nurse Sharks |
After another couple dives it was time to head back in time for lunch. It had been an absolutely
perfect morning. Mr. Hill charged Kirby and I US$50.00 each for his services, which even included the US$10.00 park fee and all the gasoline he used to drive us around all morning. It was a hell of a deal for sure!
Kirby and I were famished after snorkeling all morning. We finally had some chicken tostadas at about 2:00 PM, and after that I had an afternoon siesta at a nearby Internet cafe where I had a chance to check my e-mails. Later that evening Kirby and I found Marco-- the "male supermodel" from Germany -- and he went along with us to a place I had been wanting to visit in "downtown" San Pedro called (appropriately) "The Reef". I had grilled snapper -- perhaps one of the brothers of some of the snapper I had seen out at the reef that morning. After dinner Marco went off by himself (probably to a late night photo shoot) and Kirby and I headed back to the old reliable -- Pedro's Inn. We got back just in time to join in a little low-key pool party with Mike, Amy, Tyrone and a couple other guests. The pool party only lasted until about 10:30 PM, but after another busy day I was ready to hit the rack. Since Kirby and I would be shoving for the mainland (San Ignacio Town) early tomorrow morning, tonight was our farewell to Mike and Amy. At least for now. I have a feeling I will be seeing those two crazy cats again!
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