Off the coast of Belize for four years
Diving Belize’s barrier reef for almost four years is enough to spoil almost anyone and Belize is a beautiful place to spend the day diving. The reefs are still pristine and in places like my personal favourite, Seal Caye, at the bottom of Sapodilla Cayes, they are almost unbelievable. If you anchor carefully, you can place your anchor in 8 feet of sand at the front of your boat and 80 feet at the stern, then glide along one of the most beautiful walls imaginable. And easy to dive. You can do a number of dives of different profiles here and finish the dive in ten to fifteen feet of crystal clear water before surfacing.
The diving here is truly world class. You can go deeper than 80 feet if you want, but from my experience diving so many times, I found the best coral and marine life above 65 feet, frequented by eagle rays that flew by just to your left if you are traveling in the direction of clockwise. the reef.
There are tube sponges as tall as a grown man along the walls here. So if you are in the south of Belize, visit this place.
Off Ranguana Caye, top center photo and top right photo, to the south, there is a hard to find site called The White Hole. If you leave the island on the south side and head towards the reef about five miles away, you will find three crevices in the reef and three sandy gullies leading up to the wall.
It is very difficult to find and I suggest you find Arthur Westby in the village and have him show you where it is. Arthur was my dive master and friend during the years I dived in Belize and he will show you around.
It features a grand canyon of brilliant white sand at 45 feet that drops down to a large opening and lip that wraps around the sand as it sits on top of the wall. When you swim to this edge at 55 feet and look over it, there is virtually no bottom. I brought many advanced divers I was certifying there so they could experience the wonder of a true wall dive on a coral reef.
Moving along the wall at 55 feet is a magical drift dive as you travel alongside the wall to your left and the coral to your right.
North of Ranguana lies a garden of spur and ridge formations just west of the wall that you can easily explore during dozens of dives. Between the grooves is home to resting nurse sharks and an array of marine life too varied to list. It is worth several dives.
For photos from this story, visit [http://www.oceansedge.com]
