Sun burnt in Paradise

I watch the water from the window of the single engine Cessna Caravan, looking for signs of the barrier reef. The water is shallow and a brilliant green/blue color. As we approach theCaye I see the lush vegetation of the island and the resorts lining its beaches.

We are flying from Belize City to Ambergris Caye, the largest and most popular of the 200 islands that lay off the coast of Belize. The barrier reef parallels the island for almost 30 miles (48 kilometers) granting access to some spectacular diving and snorkelling. Best known as Temptation Island, from the popular TV show, the Caye really is a tropical paradise.

Our plane lands and we engage a taxi to take us to our hotel. The drive gives us a tour of downtown San Pedro. It is the last day of Carnival, a week of Caribbean style celebration. Everyone is covered in paint; hair, clothes, bodies various shades of pastels. Dancers block our passage and the driver must pay a fee to pass. Hands reach through his window and now his face bears the mark of the Carnival.

Our hotel is south of the town center, nothing special like the new ultra modern resorts further south on the island. There is a beach but the water is shallow and weedy. At least our room has air conditioning, which I am sure we will come to appreciate over the next week.

We head for the hotel bar. It is one of the most popular spots along the beach for locals and guests. I know Jimmy Buffet says everyone goes to Ramon’s, one of the more expensive hotels just down the beach from where we are staying, but actually only tourists go to Ramon’s, all the locals hang out at the bar in our hotel. The crowd at the bar is a mixture of Americans, Canadians, and Belizians. Most of them are sun burnt. Doesn’t anyone on this island use sunscreen I wonder? Our white skin identifies us as new arrivals. It is a friendly group and when asked what would they recommend for activities, snorkeling at the marine reserve and Shark Ray Alley are the number one answers.

The barrier reef, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, is just a short boat ride from the island. The reef is part of the protected Hol Chan Marine reserve, a three square mile (7.8 km) underwater park located at the south end of the Caye. Established in May, 1987 to protect the coral reef, it offers divers and snorkellers a fascinating underwater world that is hard to resist. There are over 160 types of fish in the reserve and nearly 40 coral species. Other marine life includes sponges, algae, seagrass, marine mammals and three species of sea turtle. Shark Ray Alley has been named one of the Caribbean’s seven best “animal dives.”

At the hotel, we are able to arrange for a half day snorkeling trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley.

The boat picks us up from the neighbouring hotel pier at 9:00 am. We make a few more stops at other piers along the beach and then start for our first snorkeling stop at the Hol Chan Marine reserve. Enroute we see a conch fisherman who is feeding a sea turtle. The turtle is fairly large, over 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter and appears tame. He takes food from the fisherman’s hand and allows himself to be lifted from the water. Our boat lines up behind two others to take photos. The fisherman seems to enjoy the attention and makes a show of feeding and displaying his turtle.

We arrive at the start of the barrier reef and our group leader, Alphonse, has us all in the shallow water trying out our snorkel equipment. We see several fish as soon as we are in the water. They swim around the boat and keep us entertained well we acquaint ourselves with the sport of snorkeling.

We swim as a group, our own little school, towards the reef. Alphonse stops to point out a vibrant green eel living in a rock just underneath us. The depth of the water increases as we approach the coral. There are several divers in the deeper water, whom I watch with envy and fascination, wishing I were adventurous enough to try diving.

The coral is fantastic. Various shapes, colors and sizes. Fish swim amongst it. There are tiny fish at the bottom, hiding from the larger ones, which swim around us as we pass over. Alphonse regularly calls us to the surface to identify the coral and fish we have just seen. His vast knowledge of marine life is wasted on me. I do not need to know the names of the fish, seeing them underwater is enough. I watch the other snorkellers, like hump back whales, they seem to glide up and down in the water, the sun glaring off their backs.

We snorkel over a large bank of coral and the sea bottom drops dramatically but the depth does not scare me. There is a large hole in the coral, one of the other snorkellers swims through it. It is an underwater playground that I can’t seem to get enough of. Then I see the stingray. It appears to rise from the bottom of the ocean floor in a cloud of sand and then gracefully swims off. Alphonse signals that it is time to go back to the boat.

Our next stop will be Shark Ray Alley, where we will swim with nurse sharks and stingrays. Alphonse assures us that the sharks are harmless. They are used to the snorkellers and will even let us touch them. Nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) are bottom dwellers that eat fish, coral, shrimp, and other marine life. They have rows of replaceable teeth that are fan shaped and serrated. They can grow to 13 feet (4 m) long  but most of the sharks here average 4 – 8 feet (1.2 – 2.5 m). They are considered harmless unless provoked. I haven’t heard of any attacks on humans by nurse sharks but like everyone else on the boat, I am a little nervous. Sharks of any kind are not known for their friendliness.

The sharks immediately surround the boat when we arrive at Shark Ray Alley. They come at the sound of the motor, looking for handouts. Back into the water, a few eager people jump in while the rest of us cautiously join them. Alphonse catches a small shark (about 3 feet or 1 meter long). We take turns holding it and having our pictures taken by the people who have brought cameras. The sharks are not threatening and soon I find myself comfortable swimming in the water with them.

Then the stingrays arrive. Several of them, in various sizes, some up to 4 or 5 feet across (1.2 – 1.6 meters). The stingrays circle the boat and slowly the sharks move off. Alphonse catches a stingray and we all gather around to feel it. It is smooth and soft to the touch. There are several kinds of fish as well, big silver snappers, others with yellow and black stripes and brilliant blue fish that swim right up to you. All too soon it is time to leave