And the day everyone had been waiting for arrived. More importantly, it arrived with clear blue skies, and a calm wind out of the east. Not only was it the day of the famous Blue Hole, it would be a good day to be IN the Blue Hole.
Not my photo, but from the trip site. Amazing, no? That's about what our boat looked like in the hole, and then we snorkeled around the inside rim. I still can't believe it.
Lighthouse Reef Atoll is the farthest from Belize's coast, about 50 miles. It was going to be a long day in tender boats, but rumors were that it was worth it.
The Blue Hole is actually a collapsed limestone shaft. It's actually collapsed over three separate occasions. Jacques Cousteau made it famous with his dive films. The waters are stunningly turquoise blue, coral rings the top of the atoll, and, if you dive, you can share the depths with all manner of incredible creatures while exploring the stalagmites of the "cave." It's more than 900 feet across and about 400 feet deep. We wouldn't have time to snorkel all the way around, but we'd go about half-way in our 50-minute time periods. As usual, when visiting national monuments, we had licensed guides with us.
We divided the group into two -- all experienced and intermediate snorkelers went out first, directly to Blue Hole. The novices, those only going to Half Moon Caye, and those going to Blue Hole just to watch, went second. The mood on the Blue Hole boat tender was excited.
And here it is!! We are in the hole, on the boat. The dark line is the top of the atoll. The blue beyond is the Atlantic Ocean.
Not my photo, as we know, but thanks to the ship's guides! Several groups got to swim with this school of fish. Yellow snapper, perhaps?
I was in one of the groups that swam with this juvenile bull shark. A few other groups saw a reef shark, and some saw a nurse shark. We also saw barracuda, the first groups saw a manta ray, and the last group back onto the boat saw a hawksbill sea turtle. Some of us also saw more reef squid! But hey, now I've swum with sharks. You can also see the "hole" in this image -- that dark blue is where it drops off -- and goes down, down, down. The shark was about 10 feet below us.
Beautiful! And we saw all kinds of angelfish, butterflyfish, sergeant majors, grunts, wrasses, parrotfish, etc. And then, I saw it. We were out with Yvette. It took me losing it and finding it again a few minutes later before I could get her to see it. About eight inches long, not flat like a flounder, but squat. Alternating chevron-like stripes of dark and light. Sitting on the sand, then darting away. Yvette didn't know. She asked the other guide nearby with the rescue kayak. He didn't know. They asked the other guide as we neared the boat. He didn't know. They had to look it up. A sand diver! Our fish guide on the boat was very impressed.
Then, it was another 45-minute tender over to Half Moon Caye National Monument. This island is renowned for its nesting magnificent frigatebirds and red-footed boobies, birds I'd seen in the Galápagos last summer, but beautiful and incredible creatures. Surprise, it was yet another lovely spot.
Our tender boats. After we arrived, the novice and watcher groups headed out to Blue Hole. Some of our group and the bird watchers then headed back to the ship. Karen and I set out to explore.
Not a big island, but lots to do and see.
Magnificent frigatebirds, flying above.
Ah, the picturesque Caribbean.
Local Belizeans. They were disappointed that I was photographing something else -- I don't take people's pictures without their permission, as a rule -- so I took theirs.
The color's off on this one, but shells litter the island.
And coconut palms! One thing I missed -- the first lunch we had the option of fresh coconut water with lunch, but I went with the local beer. The water, as it turns out, was served as a straw in the coconut! I vowed to get it the next time, but we never had the chance.
Too bad, there were plenty of coconuts just sitting around.
Dried brain coral. I love looking at this coral, it's so beautiful. And aptly named, I think.
At Half Moon Caye, you can rent single or double kayaks, or surfboards. Lots to see and do.
Then up the viewing platform to see the nesting birds. We had snacks waiting for us when we got to the island, and I duly ate mine. I started feeling strange while waiting to climb the platform. I got up top and thought I was going to faint and be sick, all at once. Once it cleared, I took just a couple of quick shots and went back down -- I did not want the guides to have to worry about getting me down. We walked slowly back and it passed. I then proceeded to drink about two liters of water in the next hour. I'm sure it related to all the seawater and sun again. No fun. But, the birds were amazing and I'm really sorry that I couldn't spend more time! The red are the enlarged throat sacs of the males. White birds are often chicks; some are boobies. While they can compete for food on the water, they are content to nest nearby on land.
When you aren't trying not to pass out, and when you have a good lens on your camera, you can get close up shots of the boobies like this one. Thanks again to the guides. Stunning color, no?
The island also has some large iguanas. We were looking for one we knew was on the path, but nearly missed this one anyway. We also saw lots of little geckos.
Pretty flowers lined the path too. I really do wish I could have enjoyed this walk a bit more. Next time!! I had great company though, and I felt badly about being poor company myself.
While waiting for the tender back to the ship, a close-up of the coconut palm by the table.
View along the rocky beach side of Half Moon Caye. Can't imagine living here.....
Back on the ship, folks were relaxing -- and packing. I wasn't ready for that. I had folks I still wanted to talk with and exchange contact information with. We had a nice Captain's reception and dinner, where part of the SI group was asked to sit at the Captain's table. Folks sat with friends new and old from the trip. We had a lovely dinner.
After dinner, most went to pack and retire. I sat on the sun deck under the stars with a new friend, and we talked until midnight. Then, neither she nor I could put off packing any longer. I still had people to connect with in the morning, folks I didn't reach that evening. So the morning was equally busy, and mixed between the excitement of the trip and new friends made and the sadness of leaving. Smithsonian had another group coming in; I really wanted to stay and take care of that one too, and hang out with my new friends among the guides and the ship's crew. Oh well.
Flights home were uneventful -- just the way I like them. It was cold in DC though -- 30 degrees is not like 80 degrees. But I sorted photos and sent them to those new friends. Some are still working, so I haven't heard back yet; others replied right away and have been in touch several times already. And really, isn't that what it's all about?
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