Belize has a reputation for being some of the best reefs the Caribbean can offer, especially around the Turneffe atoll. It goes without saying when I found out I would be leading the Turneffe tour, I was excited. Not only for snorkeling, but the opportunity to visit Mayan temples. Belize was a hub for the Mayan civilisation, leaving plenty of ruins and temples to observe. Altun Ha was a great example of the Mayan stonework and ancient ways. For those that have not been definitely a great experience. After a big lunch it was time to head out to the boats and meet the crew for Turneffe. Turneffe atoll is famous for its marine biodiversity. With regular sightings of dolphins, sharks, and turtles (Even manatees and crocodiles) just to name a few. Not to mention the beautiful reef fish in abundance. With all this on the doorstep of the Turneffe island resort. Heading out with our infamous guide JV and crew we were in good hands and plenty of laughs to be had. Having always lived and worked in the Pacific you always feel very spoiled with how good our reefs are. I can only say that Belize was certainly living up to its reputation. Stunning soft corals everywhere with gigantic elk horn corals. It was incredible. Not only that, it was so colourful and pristine. The few times I had been to the Caribbean i was always “oh this is nice, but not amazing”. This was fantastic. Full of fish and soft fan corals waving in the motion of the ocean. One day leaving the resort, within about two minutes the boat was being pursued by dolphins. With no hesitation the crew got us ready and we went. Normally interactions with dolphins are pretty fleeting. Here they kept coming
Belize has a reputation for being some of the best reefs the Caribbean can offer, especially around the Turneffe atoll. It goes without saying when I found out I would be leading the Turneffe tour, I was excited. Not only for snorkeling, but the opportunity to visit Mayan temples. Belize was a hub for the
These weird and wonderful creatures are always a treat and cool to see. Real crowd pleasers. Probably the closest thing we have to aliens on earth. With the ability to change colours, Shape, and texture makes them fascinating to watch. Living predominantly on the reefs, we are lucky to find them on most of our tours. The most common species we see are the Octopus, Cuttlefish, and squids. Cephalopods can be characterised by their arms and tentacles, incredible camouflage and impressive level of intelligence. Octopuses or octopi, squid and cuttlefish are the most well-known members of the Cephalopoda class of animals. They have all evolved from a common, hard-shelled ancestor (more similar to a nautilus). The word “cephalopod” comes from Greeks and means “head foot,” which perfectly describes animals that have eyes just above their many limbs. Octopus There are around 300 species of octopus and they are found to be in every ocean. known for their high intelligence and their amazing ability to blend into their surroundings. They are some of the most fascinating creatures to observe. The octopus is equipped with three hearts: one that pumps blood through the body (including the 8 arms), and two that pump blood through the gills. It is an interesting fact to know that the octopus does not have tentacles. They are in fact arms. Octopus are the only marine animals, apart from the Cetacean family (Whales & Dolphins), that demonstrate primitive problem-solving and pattern recognition skills. But whatever kind of intelligence they possess, it's different from the human brain, probably closer to a cat. The skin is covered by three types of specialised skin cells, these can quickly change their colour, allowing them to easily blend in with its surroundings. While it is very intelligent they can also be very inquisitive.
These weird and wonderful creatures are always a treat and cool to see. Real crowd pleasers. Probably the closest thing we have to aliens on earth. With the ability to change colours, Shape, and texture makes them fascinating to watch. Living predominantly on the reefs, we are lucky to find them on most of our
If you had asked me 10 years ago, while I was finding my way in the world as a diving instructor. “Do you want to be a snorkel guide?” I most likely would have laughed and said NO. 10 years on and I could not imagine doing anything else. Like most people who choose this career and lifestyle, you start out with a lust for travel and the ocean. Even better to combine the two together. As I was making my travels and wishing I could stay in all these exotic places longer. But instead having to go back to the UK to save money for the next adventure. I kept meeting all these people that were maintaining a life I wished for. living by the sea, great tans and having a great lifestyle. Not to mention spending their days at sea looking for beautiful marine creatures. All of them were working as dive instructors or dive masters. Without too much hesitation I decided that was the life for me. In 2009 I packed up and moved to Thailand to embark on my not so certain career in the diving industry. I was informed the best way into the industry was to do a 4 month divemaster internship. I joined a dive centre on a small island in the South Andaman sea, and began my 4 month internship. Once completed I was hooked. The ocean, and working in the dive and travel industry was my new home. I would spend the next 4 years working as a divemaster in Thailand, gaining a wealth of experience on the sea. After 4 years it was time to transition into becoming an instructor. Again I decided a great way to gain experience as an instructor was to do another internship. I was very
If you had asked me 10 years ago, while I was finding my way in the world as a diving instructor. “Do you want to be a snorkel guide?” I most likely would have laughed and said NO. 10 years on and I could not imagine doing anything else. Like most people who choose this
One of the great natural wonders of the world has to be the perfectly symmetrical blue hole that sits in the middle of a vast reef off the coast of Belize. From an aerial perspective, this one-thousand-foot in diameter sinkhole fringed by lush reef and iridescent white sand looks like some sort of abstract art. It's absolutely stunning. This fantastic natural wonder iconic to Belize has of course attracted a lot of attention from foreign tourists and diving and snorkeling in Belize. That being said, what's the snorkeling actually like in the Blue Hole? What might be easy to advertise as a tourist attraction because of its unique aerial appearance might not actually equate to a fulfilling snorkeling experience. Luckily, we just ran a whole string of Belize snorkeling safaris in March of 2022 from resort-based tours to liveaboards, to snorkeling photography workshops, all of which spent a day snorkeling in the Blue Hole. Here's what it's like. Upon arrival to the Blue Hole by boat you will barely notice any changes to the topside scenery, it's just varying shades of blue water for as far as the eye can see. However, once you jump in the water it's a very different scenario. With the exception of the two gaps in the coral-fringed ring, one of which is natural while the other one was deliberately blown open by Jacques Cousteau so he could march his giant boat into the center of the Blue Hole, the entire inner ring of the hole is a dense forest of sea fans, hard corals, and sponges that reach right up to the surface. With regards to fish, there might be a bit more fish life in the outer reefs, as is typical when comparing inner reefs with outer reefs, there was still plenty of
One of the great natural wonders of the world has to be the perfectly symmetrical blue hole that sits in the middle of a vast reef off the coast of Belize. From an aerial perspective, this one-thousand-foot in diameter sinkhole fringed by lush reef and iridescent white sand looks like some sort of abstract art.
Our Belize Snorkel Safaris have quickly become some of the most popular we offer, for several reasons I suspect. Belize's close proximity to the States makes it easy to get to, particularly for those traveling from the eastern parts of the United States. A surprise to some, Belize is also an English-speaking country as a result of the country being a former English colony. What's more though, Belize is an incredibly beautiful country above and below the water and offers some of the best reefs in the entire Caribbean Ocean. Starting in February of this year we were finally able to run four separate Belize Snorkeling Safaris back to back, welcoming nearly seventy happy snorkelers over the period of four weeks to the turquoise waters of Belize! Two of these tours were our new “Belize Snorkel Week” safaris which take place at the beautiful Turneffe Island Resort in the southern section of the Turneffe Atoll. The other two snorkel safaris took place liveaboards, one of which was the Belize Aggressor III, which we've run a number of snorkeling safaris with over the years, and the other was a snorkeling photography workshop which was run on the Belize Aggressor III's big sister, the Belize Aggressor IV. While all four of these safaris took place around the Turneffe Atoll as well as Lighthouse Reef where the Great Blue Hole can be found, no two trips were the same. All were magnificent, but different in many ways. So, knowing full well that I'm not great at being concise with my blogs, particularly when I'm meant to share the details of the trips I've just come back from, I'm going to break these Belize Blogs into three sections, with the first being all about our time at Turneffe Island Resort. Part II
Our Belize Snorkel Safaris have quickly become some of the most popular we offer, for several reasons I suspect. Belize’s close proximity to the States makes it easy to get to, particularly for those traveling from the eastern parts of the United States. A surprise to some, Belize is also an English-speaking country as a
