Diving off the Coast of Belize
You are in a different part of the biosphere… under the water… floating with the marine life of the kind you never thought existed or those that you had seen on television or just read about with fascination… you swim in amidst the beautiful coral reefs, they seem like the milestones for your way under water… there are rock formations, caves and tunnels that cross your path here… adding to the magnificence of the marine world… when you are in there, you really can’t think of the world that you come from… the wonders of the marine life are just overwhelming… and these are precisely for divers, there could be nothing more exciting and rejuvenating than a good diving spot.
For those of you in and around the Caribbean, you are not far from some such diving paradises. There are some excellent diving and snorkeling spots here, courtesy its reef systems and clear waters. What however, is the icing on the cake in the Caribbean is the Belize Barrier Reef System.
Spread over 180 miles or so, the Belize Barrier Reef System, comes only second in terms of area to the Great Barrier Reef System of Australia. In the northern hemisphere and the western hemisphere, this is the largest reef system.
It is at the offshore of Belize, a country in Central America that faces the Caribbean Sea to its east, has Mexico to its north and to its south and west; Belize is flanked by Mexico and Guatemala.
The Belize Barrier Reef System extends from the tip of the Peninsula of Yucantan in Mexico, in its northeast, to the Sapodilla Cay, that’s to the southwest of Placencia.
The climate of the Caribbean promotes tourism all through the year. Belize too is warm and sunny and the water temperature that’s nearing 27 degree Celsius or so is warm enough and hence apt for divers at anytime of the year. In the months from August to November, diving is challenging because of the rains, nevertheless, experienced divers choose to dive here during this period as that’s when most of the marine life can be spotted here.
Because of its easy accessibility, it’s all the more popular among the tourists. You have flights here from almost anywhere in North America and also from some cities of the United States of America such as the Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Charlotte and Atlanta. Roadways too are a convenient option to reach Belize. There are many buses you can hop on to reach here from North and the Central American cities. Once in Belize, you can boat your way to the reef off its coast. In fact, you also have the option of reaching here via yacht or cruise.
The Belize Barrier Reef System has about 7 diving spots or sites. Among these seven sites, one of the most spectacular one is perhaps the Blue Hole.
The marine life is truly enchanting and includes turtles, crocodiles, manatees as well as some endangered species as well. This system is home to about 70 varieties of hard corals, about 500 or so species of fishes, whale sharks, dolphins, eagle rays as well as sea turtles, waiting to greet you. No wonder then, why this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The dive here in any of the sites could be challenging and is certainly not for beginners and the less experienced ones. For experienced divers and snorkelers though, this is the site worth visiting and might rekindle their interest to come and dive here again and again. And for those of you who are inhibited to either snorkeling or diving, there is the tour by boat amidst warm, sunny beaches, small and pretty islands, estuaries. To add to this are the charms of Belize and you would certainly not want to end your trip without exploring this Central American City.
