12 replies to this topic

[fairfield59]

Well, someone had to start this thread, so having nothing better to do at the moment, I will.

Everyone showed up more or less on time, albeit some bags were late, I think.

In a word, the weather here has been WINDY. Relentless, neverending, wind. Outside the reef the seas are big, and we are doing flimsy ladder recovery, sans gear. Have learned to take Meclazine (sp) to combat the rocking.

The surge has its expected consequences on visibility, which is a lot less than what I remembered from the last time I was here. First few dives were pretty average, and not a lot of opportunity to get any pics due to being tossed around and too much stuff in the water.

Of course, the group here diving is great, as on all the trips I have done with SD in the past.

Most of the group went to Blue Hole today, several of us did shallow Marine Park dive this morning.

I will add more detail when I get back, but for now just wanted to rub it in that I'm here and you're not.

[ScubaSis]

I'm glad ya'll are having a good time!

What is up with the wind every where?? Our trip was rough as well last week.

[divzac]

I will add more detail when I get back, but for now just wanted to rub it in that I'm here and you're not.

Rub it in, my Grenadan Dive Buddy, rub it in....

PPM

...WHAT HE SAID!....Have a good one!

[peterbj7]

"lilmermaid" and friends a couple of nights ago, with the necklace that Elise bought from Johanna.



Another quick scene.

Edited by peterbj7, 07 May 2009 - 04:54 PM.

[dustbowl diver]

Thanks for posting the pics Peter! Always great to live vicariously through those that are in the water!!!

[georoc01]

Belize Trip Report
5/2-5/9/09

I just returned from Ambrigis Caye, Belize. It was my first dive trip to the island, and we had a good time. It was a SingleDivers.com trip http://www.singlediv...showtopic=16972 . We stayed at the Tides on the north end of San Pedro. Diving was with the on site dive op, Patojos. http://www.ambergris...tides/dive.html. The cost of the trip was actually $80 less than the price quoted on the website and included lunch as well. Additional cost was the flight over from Belize City ($120).

Unfortunately when I arrived in Belize City my checked bag with the BC and Fins didn't make it. The bag did make it to Belizse City on Sunday and over to the Resort by Monday morning. I also had my toiletries in the bag as well but had carried on the rest of my dive gear as well as my clothes. After making a couple of inquiries, we found a store in town called War Paint that had all of my supplies and was open till 9pm on Saturday.

Sunday was our first day diving. The shop was gracious enough to give me free loaners of a BC & Fins. The first dive was a check out dive at a site called Ismorelda. All week we had a steady 10-20MPH breeze which made things interesting when we crossed over from the protected area out to the reef. 4-6ft swells. So we dropped down on about 7 nurse sharks, where were very common on most of the dive sites. Saw some very large turtles and rays during the week, along with some good size groupers. The overall macro life was good. We had two dives a day in our package and a 3rd dive was offered on most days. Given the windy conditions, I didn't take advantage of these. I was told this wind was uncharacteristic of Belize for this time of year and many regulars that I talked to said they hadn't seen those conditions before.

As far as the meals go, the breakfasts were a combo of eggs, beans, tortillas and a variety of meats throughout the week. Fruit was also plentiful. The lunches were very good ranging from burgers to a variety of fish dishes. The meals were served on the dock just behind the dive shop making it very convenient. For dinner we headed to town and ate at a number of resturants including Fidos, Calientes, The reef house, Pedros(pizza) and Limes(fish and chips). We also did a buffet north of town (Captain Morgans) where they picked us up by water taxi. Other than the buffet ($22 US), the other meals ran us about 1/2 of that. Beers on the island seem to run about $2-2.50. Mixed drinks a little more depending on what you ordered. Tides had its own bar and pool which was open every day.

Rooms were very spacious, with good fans and air conditioning which kept it very comfortable. The staff at the Tides and Patojos, from the dive masters to the room staff were fantastic, taking very good care of us.

On Wednesday, we did the trip out the Blue Hole. We did this trip wtih Aqua dives. It was $220 for a 3 tank trip, including lunch. They picked us up at dawn (5:30am) and took us over to the dive shop for a continental breakfast. Boat left the dock at 6am, with a stop to pick up an additional diver in Caye Caulker about 45 minutes. Then it was the trip out to the Lighthouse Atoll, which we arrived about 9:30. The boat was having alternator problems and were in constant communcation were other boats who helped us along the trip, and given the wind, which slowed us down on the way out. The Blue Hole dive itself was pretty neat and worth doing. The two dives afterwards (Half Moon Caye and Aquarium) were awesome. As good as any dive I have down in the caribbean, including Bonaire, Roatan or Cozumel and made the overall trip worthwhile. We did the 2nd surface interval on Half Moon Caye, a very pretty island where lunch was served. The trip back was much quicker (less than 3 hours) with rum punch served on the boat.

The last day of diving we stayed inside the reef and dove the Hol Chan Marine park. A perfect way to end the week with a very shallow dive (I don't think I got over 20 feet max) with turtles, eels, sharks and lots of fish. After this, we snorkeled over in Shark/Ray Alley, saying farewell to the sharks and rays that we dove with all week.

Overall it was a great trip and all of the people we met were fantastic. I am looking forward to my next chance to go dive down there again, maybe checking out Turneffe, Thatch Kaye or maybe down the Palencia to check out the whale sharks.

[peterbj7]

Just to rub it in for those people who considered making a side trip from Ambergris Caye but then didn't, I've heard from my friends at Thatch Caye that they saw several whale sharks at the weekend. One was seen on a regular local dive just off the Caye.

[dustbowl diver]

Damn!!!

[TCdamsel]

So tell me, How was the Blue Hole??? I've heard/read of so many people say that it is very overrated and that there are no fish other than the rare pelagic. I realize what it is and have seen pictures, but don't really see what the fuss is all about. I have an opportunity to go in August and would love to hear what you all thought about it.

[georoc01]

So tell me, How was the Blue Hole??? I've heard/read of so many people say that it is very overrated and that there are no fish other than the rare pelagic. I realize what it is and have seen pictures, but don't really see what the fuss is all about. I have an opportunity to go in August and would love to hear what you all thought about it.

We did three dives on the Lighthouse Atoll, the Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye Wall & Aquarium.

The Blue Hole is cool to do once. Drop down 133 feet, swim through the stalactites and work your way up. Yeah, there isn't that much to see, but being such a short dive, you really aren't hanging around looking for stuff either.

The other two dives are done in some of the most pristine conditions I have seen. Much nicer than what we found in Ambigris Caye. Very nice healthy reefs with lots of marine life.

The whole package makes it worth it. For just the Blue Hole, I probably wouldn't do it, but for all three it was very good, and worth the 3+ hour boat ride each way to do it.

[fairfield59]

My 2c on the Belize Trip.

The DMs and crew were great, there was nothing wrong with them. The owner showed up for the first day of diving, and then pretty much disappeared for the week. The unspoiled northern end of the island diving never materialized, and there never seemed to be that much push for it to happen. The one day we were going to try and do it was deemed too windy, although traveling inside the reef would have been similar to other shorted trips we had made.

With all the different dive shops available on the island, I would not use Patojo’s if I were to return to Ambergris Caye. There are no electric starters on the boats, and if there was oxygen or a radio, I never saw it. The engines ran out of gas from the main tank one day as we were getting ready to come back through the reef, and it was slightly hairy watching the crew trying to get the engines started using gas from a 5 gallon container and having to hand start these 200 hp engines. I used Amigos del Mar on my last trip and liked them a lot better.

The breakfasts and lunches included in the trip were adequate. I was expecting more from the lunches, but they had very limited ability to provide anything that wasn’t brought in from outside the hotel. Not enough fish, if you ask me, and we had rice and beans every day. Breakfast was eggs and toast with a little bit of fruit. The one day I asked for seconds at lunch there were none.

Island time was very evident, in that we wanted to eat breakfast at 7:30 so we could get out diving asap. I don’t think we ate before 8 am ever, except maybe the first morning. Even on the last day, when we told them that people had to eat at 7:30 so they could catch their taxis to the airport, it was 8 am before breakfast showed up. There were days when the single tank afternoon dive didn’t get in until close to 6 pm.

The people working at the hotel and dive shop were great, pleasant, and always had a smile.

The bar opened up early, and stayed open late.

My single room was good, but if more than 2 rooms in the main hotel building tried to take a shower at the same time, water pressure went to zilch.

Again, with all the choices available on Ambergris Caye for lodging, I would probably stay somewhere else if I went back. There was nothing so good about The Tides that I would just absolutely have to stay there again.

The “Beach Barbeque” at Captain Morgan’s really wasn’t, and I was expecting a LOT more for the price. It wasn’t worth the trip to get up there. No fish at a barbeque on an island in the Caribbean?

Of course, the group was great, as always. A melting pot of personalities, and none I wouldn’t enjoy being on another trip with.

Lastly, I would like to apologize to everyone for the way I tried to monopolize all the conversations.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Just a reminder.....

The photo gallery for the 2009 Belize trip is HERE....but it's EMPTY!!

Premier Members can upload photos to our Galleries. I know I'd love to see some good pics from Belize!