Need info on Ambergris Cay, Belize
lkg...@castle.cudenver.edu
in San Pedro, Ambergris Cay, Belize for a dive trip I am
planning this summer.
The dive info I am seeking is: Is it better to purchase a
hotel/dive package or seek out a local dive shop. What are
the highlights that I shouldn't miss. I would prefer a more
remote dive to one that is touristy, any suggestions?
As far as accomodations go, rustic is fine as long as the
room, bathroom, sheets etc. are CLEAN.
You can E-mail a response, I read my mail more often than
I net. Thanks!!! Lisa Graf
CCChiu
===Hotel===
Stayed at the Paradise (Hotel?) and dived with Patoho Elmer Paz, who
operated at the time the second or third pier down from the hotel (in the
direction of the town). The Paradise had bungalows and hotel rooms. We
stayed at a room, which was a two story structure facing the ocean and not
far from water's edge. You should'nt expect plush accomodations generally
from Belize and this was no exception. We had a ceiling fan, hard (I
think concrete) floor, firm beds, low wattage bulbs and a small bathroom.
It was clean and comfortable but not a place we'd lounge around in.
Paradise was nice in that it was at the edge of town so was very quiet.
It was near enough, though, to let us walk into town for dinner every
night. The rooms, if I remember correctly, cost ~$60/night, with two
double beds. Paradise was one of the NICER places we saw on the island.
There was a sandy area with palm trees and lounge chairs ringed by the
bungalows, facing the ocean, which was a nice nap area in between dives.
The only other substantially better one being ~15 minutes from town at one
end of the island. It was a resort sort of place with imported white sand
and beautiful looking bungalows. Looked substantially more expensive as
well.
===Local Color===
There is almost no beach, besides the resort mentioned above, on the
island. Much of the water' edge borders on piers. This is an old fishing
village, with much of the feel of such still very much evident. I loved
the scene of colorful laundry hanging outside, barely clad children
playing in the sand, the friendly and unhurried atmosphere in town. Food
was very expensive considering the ambience and preparation. Note the
inevitable bottles of hot pepper sauce on every restaurant table... this
is a local product that you will miss a great deal. We bought many
bottles to take home and have already run out. You can get them in the
local grocery stores. If you read the ingredient list you will see it
contains, in addition to pepper, carrots, which temper the hot taste very
nicely.
We encountered a few hustlers at local bars looking for diving customers,
but mostly very low key and not obnoxious.
If you are interested in going to one of the far places to dive for a day,
be sure to put out the word the day you arrive, as many operators require
a min of 6 people per boat and will notify you when they get 6. We missed
it because we tried to do it with only a day or two of notice and that
just did not work. The Paradise staff will attempt to help you contact
the dive operations they are familiar with that go out that far.
===Diving===
We dived with a local dive operation run by Patoho, who was known to my
dive buddy. He took us to a different place every time, and almost always
to sites that were between 60 - 100 ft. He was very knowledgeable about
the dive sites and takes care of his customers. Also quite aware of the
importance of reef preservation. I can't name any of the sites as it was
my first warm water experience and simply playes follow the leader. These
were all drift dives and the seascape was spectacular. We saw a fair
variety of fish and encountered with fair regularity spotted rays, some
with 6ft wing spans. However, I was disappointed with the overall
sparseness of sealife (the kind that moves anyway.) More recently someone
pointed out the connection between Ambregris being an ex-fishing village
the sparse sealife one finds there...
If possible, you should negotiate for trips beyond the inner reefs,
weather and condition permitting. We went beyond the inner reef a few
times and the surf made me very sick, resulting in my later always diving
with medication. But the scenery was worth the suffering of pounding on
the ocean out and back, and the sea sickness waiting for your turn to go
below. We never had more than 6 people on the boat, which made it very
nice and private.
Definitely try the Hol Chan Reserve if you want abundant sealife. Diving
the Reserve was not considered a challenge by many as it was both near to
shore (hence possible to reach without a boat, but much nicer with one),
and relatively shallow. But if you want to see fish parading in front of
your mask more or less continuously, this was the place to be. A night
dive at the Reserve is not to be missed! We saw a huge grouper fighting
for turf with a Moray Eel (fully extended) and it was a sight burned into
my memory. Many, many rays, tropical fishes of all description, sleeping,
awake, etc. We barely had elbow room to maneuver around the animals (and
people.) As it was only 40 ft and there was almost no room on the bottom,
some people found it hard to even stay down, a few ascending right to the
surface in the middle of their dive! Make sure you bring a large and
powerful light. We were given tiny lights that were totally worthless in
the night underwater. We had to rely on Patoho's huge halogen light to
see anything. FUN fun fun.
===Conclusion===
I plan to go back to Belize and do a live aboard, as there is 200 miles of
reef and the really good sites, according to many, are spread far out.
One experienced diver who prefers shore dives told me he always stays at
the Lighthouse Reef when he goes to Belize and dives the walls there for
variety. I also plan to stock up on that pepper sauce....
Have fun. This is a place that warrants multiple trips and even if you
end up "only" in Ambregris, it still will be a spectacular place
(underwater) to spend a week.
C Chiu
PS: We arranged for a local guide to take us through a Non virgin rain
forest somewhere near the Howling Monkeys Preserve (about 1 - 2 hours out
of Belize City). The guide ended up being someone trained by an English
biologist and who used to go into the forest to pick medicinal plants when
a youth. Needless to say, he was extremely knowledgeable about all sorts
of plants and their practical uses, as well as the animals and insects in
the forest. The best side trip I have ever taken on any vacation! We saw
how they use army ants to sew up wounds in the jungle, for example. The
guide makes or breaks this kind of a hike, so you have to be lucky...