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Sundial

Diving Belize!

Author: Sundial

Location: San Pedro, Belize- Ramon’s Village

Dive: 16 Boat dives

Date: 22/06/2024-29/06/2024

Scouts: Cuttlefish, Axolotl, Smokey the Goatfish, Silly Starfish, Snapper

Adult Volunteers: Atolla, Sandshark

Dive Pros: The Splendid Toadfish, Queen Triggerfish, Sgt. Major, The Mermaid, Sailfish


The Scuba Troop takes a large trip every year, sometimes within the US and sometimes internationally. This year, we went to Belize. Cuttlefish and Silly Starfish chose this intending to find sharks, and we definitely found sharks! Our trip took place in the last week of June and during that time we succeeded in doing 16 boat dives, but some of our most interesting adventures were not even on SCUBA!

One of the most interesting days of the trip took place right in the middle of the week on Wednesday. The troop had signed up for a snorkel with Manatees which everyone was greatly looking forward to, but as we talked to the dive masters they admitted that there was a 50% chance of seeing manatees (the mermaid asked the front desk and they said 50% was being generous.) Fearing another “Stingray City” experience which had taken place in Grand Cayman when no stingrays showed up, we all tried to lower our expectations. When we got on the boat for the ride out they also admitted the 50% chance, but seeing manatees was not the only thing on the plan for today! We would also be traveling to feed tarpon as well as go and see a seahorse sanctuary! In the small boat, we traveled over the waves, staying within the reef. At one point our captain slowed the boat down to see if any manatees were traveling between the sites but saw none.

There were three sites we were going to stop at to see if we could find manatees. At the first two, we would be able to get in the water and snorkel with them, but at the third site, we could only look at them from the boat so we desperately hoped the manatees would show up at the first two sites. When we pulled up to the first dive site one of the crew on our boat went up the bow of the boat to look for manatees and there we found TWO manatees swimming together. I quickly dawned my snorkel gear and was one of the first people in the water. I have always loved marine mammals and had only seen manatees once before in a boat so this was a really special experience. We swam on the surface of the water until we came upon the manatees. Making sure everyone was able to see the manatees we stayed back about 30 feet until the entire group had caught up. From there we followed the manatees trying to give them a little personal space and not scare them too much. 

It was beautiful to see the interaction between the two manatees. The way they would rub up against each other and follow each other around. I loved the way each manatee would use their fins to rub their face. This is normally impossible for other marine mammals because their fins are too small or far away from their face but manatees' fins are so close to the front of their body they can rub their face. The manatees moved so slowly through the water that the snorkelers were able to keep up with them. Manatees typically occupy shallow water and their slow movement and shallow home make them especially susceptible to boat strikes. This was evident in one of the manatees whose tail fin had been shredded making it deformed from the normal pancake-shaped tail fins of most other manatees. Later after surfacing the boat capitals would tell us about the effort to create a protected area for the manatees around Belize in the hopes of preventing such injuries. I dove down under the water to get closer to the manatees and to see them underwater in their home but after swimming away from the boat we were called back to continue on our adventure and let the manatees continue undisturbed on their swim.

Because we had been lucky and had already seen manatees our captain asked us if we would like to continue to the tarpon feeding or go to the other site where manatees go to try to see another. All of us, having loved the experience were excited to try and continue it by going to try and see another manatee! Again, when we arrived at the site one of the boat crew went up to the bow of the boat. After scanning for about a minute he exclaimed “I see another!” Same as the last time I quickly dawned snorkel gear and headed into the water. Our boat was the only one at the site this time so we quickly followed after the single manatee to swim beside it and experience the beauty of these animals for the second time that day! Even though this manatee was alone we got to see him in such a natural state! He even yawned for us and despite it being such a normal action, I certainly felt a connection to this manatee for that shared experience. We did not stay as long at this site before we were called back to the boat to continue to feed the tarpon. 

The small Island of Caye Caulker, located off the coast of Belize south of the larger San Pedro island is settled on a large underwater cave system and where the deep cave waters come up to meet the surface is where many tarpons congregate to hide in the dark cave and come up to get easy access to food. This was where we traveled to have our chance of feeding Tarpon from a boat. Here the boat crew got bags of small fish that we would feed to the Tarpon. To feed the tarpon a person holds the fish in between their fingers with their hand flat and holds their hand out of the boat about 2 feet above the water. The large fish swims under the food and usually after a few seconds, out of nowhere, a large fish propels itself out of the water to take the fish from the hand of the unsuspecting person. We were all very hesitant at first, it is one thing to swim with tarpon but it is another to have one propel itself out of the water at your hand, but despite the uncertainty, everyone tried their hand at feeding these large fish. It was truly wonderful, they propelled themselves out of the water and you could see their big bodies fly through the air, scales flashing, and fall back into the water, the small fish already swallowed. We all got to feed the Tarpon 2 times taking turns feeding them while the others in the boat watched with wrapped attention.

Once all the small fish had run out we all took our seats in the boat to travel a few feet to the sea horse sanctuary. It was a small area right next to a dock. Here a net had been tied midway through the 3-foot-deep water column. Growing on top of the net was algae of all colors, and if you looked closely into the algae you could find an entire ecosystem! Sea horses hung to the net with their tails to keep them in place and small pufferfish hid under the algae. Baby barracuda swam around the small sanctuary, and all of this took place in an area no bigger than a 20’x10’x3’ prism. The group sat and observed the small ecosystem finding seahorses and watching the young pufferfish scoot around. We stayed there for maybe 10 minutes before continuing along the island and heading back to meet the boat. 

That evening, after an afternoon dive we headed out for our only night dive we would take that trip, and the only dive we would do in Hol Chan Marine Reserve, the oldest Marine Reserve in Belize. We got on the boat at around 6:00. Everyone had an idea of where the site was because we had passed it that morning going to snorkel with manatees. We headed over there and arrived just as the sun began to set at 6:30. Because of our big group the dive master split us up into two groups. The first had some of the newer scouts who were doing their night diver adventure dive to finish up their advanced open water certification so they planned on getting in the water first so they could start off the dive with a little bit of light. I was part of the second group which included most of the divers who had cameras and we would be leaving soon after the first group. As soon as it was dark enough to get in the water and the first group had gotten on their way we got into the water and descended in the shallow depth of 10 feet onto seagrass. From here we followed the slope of the sea floor down deeper into the reef. As we continued into the dive the current took us out to the reef and continued to increase. 

We continued on the dive which became more of a drift dive along the reef. As we arrived on the sand and into a spotty reef lobsters and conch shells began to come out and we passed nurse sharks resting in the sandy patches between the reef. As the reef walls grew up around us, a large red snapper followed us swerving in between reefs searching for food. Hogfish hid near the reefs and basket stars hid in the corals. Small worms drilled into shells and reefs to feed on the creatures inside. Once we had reached the turning point of the dive, we had to cross the channel. The current pressed hard at our side and we fought to not drift deeper into the water before we came upon the other side of the channel wall. Again, the reef reached high up from our depth of 25 feet as we started our swim back to the boat. 

The swim back to the boat was difficult as instead of just floating along and having the current push us, we had to fight against the current. A Moray eel swam along and through the reef lionfish hid in the reef, and eagle rays flew above us through the channel! The dive master led us through a swim through and we continued up the ocean floor back to the boat. Despite the dive's difficulty due to the current, I thought it was beautiful. All the small creatures we saw on the dive were so interesting and kept me always looking at something new. This was by far one of my favorite dives on this trip! The only other dive that contended with this one was on the last day of the trip. 

The last day of a dive trip is always a happy and sad experience. We have had such a good time but now it is coming to an end and everyone wants the last dive to be truly amazing. That morning we had 2 dives and on the second we went to a dive site called “Happy Hour.” We descended into the water and almost immediately two Caribbean reef sharks started to circle us. We had been lucky enough to see a shark on every single dive we had been on, but we had not seen as many Caribbean reef sharks as we had nurse sharks which were slightly more friendly and comfortable with divers. Soon after starting the dive, we saw a sea turtle eating. This sea turtle was entirely comfortable with divers and allowed us to get within a few feet of it without it even looking up. It held on to the reef with its flippers, using its beak to eat the sponges. It was a beautiful brown and green color and younger than some of the ones we had seen with a shiny sheen and a crisp pattern. We spent maybe 10 minutes diving around the turtle. It did not mind divers at all and by the time we continued our dive, we had to force ourselves to leave the turtle. As we continued more Caribbean reef sharks swam past and we were joined by a nurse shark. 

Along the reef, I looked for the smaller fish including a Trunk Fish which are my favorite reef fish, and a Drum which I always find beautiful and enjoy seeing, but my head quickly turned from the Drum as a large Eagle ray soared by the group. We followed the eagle ray and continued on our dive and entered into a valley between two walls of coral that plunged probably close to 130 feet deep to the ocean floor which sloped even deeper if you continued out. We neared the end of our dive and settled in a sandy area surrounded by reefs. Another (or the same) turtle came up and again, eating the reef allowed us divers to get within reach of it. A nurse shark swam around the group and above us boats roared followed by groups of Caribbean reef sharks looking for food. The Divemaster leading our dive today led us to a heart made of dead coral parts and next to the heart created the words “Dive Belize” out of dead coral on the sand. One boat roared above us and I counted 8 different Caribbean reef sharks at least following it and almost seconds after another eagle ray soared above us through the water. Everyone was just in awe of what we had just seen. People still were watching the turtle, the nurse shark continued to circle the divers. At the end of the dive, one of the scarred nurse sharks we had seen on a different dive showed up to say goodbye. It was sad to do our final ascent on the trip but after that wonderful dive, we all agreed that it was by far the best dive we could have asked for to send us off. 

This trip was amazing. Being able to see sharks on every single dive, seeing eagle rays for the first time, scuba diving next to turtles, and snorkeling next to manatees! I could not have asked for a better time seeing some of the most beautiful marine animals I have ever seen. We dove every day except for travel days and I made all the available dives. The troop got to spend time together and it was the perfect trip to do the shark awareness certification to learn about the wonderful sharks in Belize. Overall, I would highly recommend a trip to go and dive in Belize and I encourage all people to help protect our oceans so the reefs around Belize remain safe and healthy for long into the future. 







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