My friends,
I have done you a great disservice by not bringing my camera with me on the boats while diving. Please take my words as a poor substitute.
Sadly, our first planned dive on Friday morning didn't happen. Sandra and I decided to stay on the island close to some bathrooms, if you know what I mean. And what better place to hang out than a waterside bar called "Lazy Lizard?"
The weather changes so fast on the island. The sun quickly disappeared behind cloud cover and the wind picked up. Coconut palms waved wildly on the shore. We huddled at the bar away from the wind and soon the bottom fell out. Oh, how I have missed a good storm! Several others joined us on the dry side and we started a pretty good party. By the time the rain disappeared (in twenty minutes?) we were all great friends. The bartender tossed Sandra into the water and we drank beers with the fellows from the dive shop. Once the "no-see-em" bugs chased us out of our spot, it had been maybe six hours! I can't remember the last time I sat around and did absolutely nothing all day. Brilliant.
The next day we went diving to Cypress Tunnel and Esmeralda, about 30min from Caye Caulker. It was the two of us and the dive master, which was perfect for Sandra's first boat dive and my 'refresher.' The first dive included a little crawl through a cave/tunnel of coral, which was really really neat. We saw a moray eel and five or six nurse sharks, with their wide mouth and little fishes swimming alongside. One curious fellow even followed us throughout the dive.
The next day we got to the dive shop at 5:30am for a bit of breakfast and to load up the boat. Sixteen of us were headed to the Great Blue Hole!! I highly recommend you google the blue hole if you're not familiar with it. It's a 400ft deep limestone 'hole' in the ocean surrounded by reefs. Because I received my advanced certification in Thailand, I was separated from Sandra to go even deeper. First we swam over some shallow coral and started making our way down. The coral fell off into a wall formation and then the famous limestone walls appeared. I was struck by how much it reminded me of the limestone karst I saw throughout SE Asia. We descended all the way to 130ft for a total of eight minutes swimming through limestone stalagmites. It was a surreal experience.
The next dive was Half Moon wall outside of the Half Moon Caye atoll. We spotted a Caribbean reef shark, which looks suspiciously like a smaller Great White. Then our dive master pointed out a barracuda. The fish stared at Sandra and me, and I swear it deliberately turned toward us. As it got closer I started getting nervous and swam fast away while Sandra shot up a few feet to escape. I glanced over at the dive master and he gestured for us to calm down, that barracudas don't bite. Yeah, sure...
We spent lunch on the atoll, which was utterly gorgeous. Here's where I deeply regretted not bringing my camera. Clear green water lapped the white sand framed by wind whipped coconut palms. The atoll even hosted a red footed booby bird colony, and it was so funny to see them fly through the air with bright red feet. The frigatebirds nested in the same trees with huge, bright red inflated sacs on their chests to attract mates. To each her own, I guess!
Our last dive was at Lion's Den, where we leisurely swam over coral formations. We spotted a few more eels and at least three lion fish. Y'all should google these creatures. Their fins on the top and sides have evolved with long strands that undulate in the current. They look so extravagant, with colors and patterns that change based on their background. A fantastic trip, for sure.
Now off to Guatemala for Tikal!
PS We met a friend from Seattle who filmed the dives and took footage at the atoll. I'm hoping he'll post something soon on his YouTube channel - BobGrouber1 in case you're curious. I'll link back if it comes up.
With all my love,
Katie
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