rainmaker
Contributor
I arrived in the town of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize on June 4, 2006 and began my week of diving the following day.
I made a total of 12 dives during the next five days, and they represent the most beautiful and adventuresome diving I’ve done so far. Most dives were made on the barrier reef just east of the Ambergris Caye coast. I also made 3 dives in the Turneffe Islands, which are a 4 hour (round-trip) boat ride from San Pedro.
As far as I can tell, the local economy of San Pedro is based on catering to the eating, drinking, fishing and diving needs of visiting English and American tourists. Almost everyone on the island speaks at least some English, and American dollars are readily accepted. The official exchange rate is $1 US = $2 BZ. When you pay for something in US dollars, change is usually given in Belizean dollars. For instance, when something is paid for that costs $5 US and the clerk is given an American $20 bill, change of $35 BZ should be received.
The standard dress for locals and tourists alike is a baseball-type cap, sunglasses, T-shirt and baggy shorts (favorite T-shirt seen in Belize said "Every Hour Is Happy Hour"). No one wore socks, and shoes were optional. Some folks went barefoot (beware of dog poop and broken glass on the beach) and others, including me, wore sandals.
I was told by Protech Dive Center owner Peter Jones that the tap water was heavily chlorinated and wouldn’t hurt me, but that it was slightly brackish and that I wouldn’t like the taste of it. I took him at his word and opted for bottled water the entire week. Bottled water can be purchased at all grocery stores.
The underwater and above water photos for this trip are located at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rainmakerat92/album?.dir=/9559re2 . Additional information concerning diving, transportation, lodging, meals and entertainment is shown below.
Transportation:
I used American Airlines, and had no serious problems with them (no hassles about luggage containing dive gear) and they didn’t lose any of my bags or damage any of my gear. However, when I was leaving Belize City, they did make the decision to keep the plane on the ground because it was raining (they said there were no problems flying, they just didn’t want anyone to get wet walking on the tarmac to the plane). As a result, I missed my connecting flight in Miami, and got stranded in the airport terminal overnight. During the flight delay in Belize, a US Airways flight successfully boarded and took off while it was raining. I expect the passengers got a bit wet, but probably no one missed any connecting flights. My roundtrip ticket from Charlotte, NC to Belize City, Belize was $432.00.
I used Tropic Air for the roundtrip shuttle from Belize City to San Pedro. Frankly, I enjoyed their service and flights more than American Airlines. The roundtrip ticket was about $100. The flight to Ambergris Caye from Belize's International Airport takes about 15 minutes. They use single engine "puddle jumpers" that seat 10 - 12 passengers. I noticed that if the plane is full, they have to use 2 planes for the trip; one for passengers and the other for luggage. The planes fly at an altitude of 1000 - 1500 ft. and on the trip to San Pedro, I could see large mantarays swimming in the shallow, emerald green water below. Their website is located at http://www.tropicair.com/about.htm .
It cost about $35 US to leave Belize. When I checked in at the airport, American Airlines wanted $2.50 US for "security fees", and Belizean Customs had their hand out to the tune of $31.50 US.
The Diving:
I made 12 dives with Protech, which is located about ½ mile down the beach from Ruby’s Hotel (where I stayed). Owner Peter Jones, Captain Brion, Divemaster Mynar and Office Manager Ana run a safe, efficient, courteous and professional dive operation. I look forward to diving with them on my next trip to Belize. Chilled bottled water and fruit were served between local dives. On the Turneffe Islands trip, breakfast and lunch were served on the boat.
I made a night dive and a wall dive, reef dives and shark dives and it was all an incredible adventure. In addition to the dives made on the barrier reef, I also made dives at Hol Chan Reserve, Shark-Ray Alley and Turneffe Islands. The wall dive at Turneffe Islands and the reef dive at Cypress Gardens were 2 of the most memorable dives I’ve ever made.
I saw many sharks (mostly nurse sharks), rays, turtles, moray eels, an octopus (glad it was only one, because I have no idea what the plural of octopus is), large lobsters, crabs, grouper and parrotfish and a multitude of brightly colored tropicals.
Visibility was exceptional. Once when I was at a depth of 102 ft., I looked up and could easily see the surface. Some of the dives were made in the vicinity of large underwater canyons. I would be at a depth of 70 ft. with the bottom 5 ft. below me, then sail/float off a ridge. Suddenly the bottom was 100 ft. below me, with beautiful coral covered ridges behind me and in front of me, in water so clear that it could hardly be seen. It provided an incredible and indescribable feeling of effortless flying, or floating in space.
All the dives were guided, and were led by a very professional and experienced Divemaster named Mynar. He always checked everyone’s air about half-way through each dive. We used hand signals for this; PSI was communicated with thousands indicated with fingers placed on the left wrist, and hundreds indicated with fingers held up vertically. For instance, 1400 PSI would be indicated by placing 1 finger on the left wrist, then holding up 4 fingers. This worked very well. We also made a safety stop of 3 minutes at a depth of 20 ft. on each dive.
The lengths of the dives ranged from about 45 minutes to 61 minutes. The maximum depth was 102 ft., and the water temperature ranged from 77 to 84 degrees. I was quite comfortable in a 2 mm shorty wetsuit under a Lycra exposure suit. I also wore 3mm gloves and boots. I didn’t wear a hood, and no one else wore one, either.
Total cost of the diving was $531 US. This included $145 US for the 3 tank Turneffe Island trip, and $55 US for the night dive (and dive light rental). Their website is located at http://ambergriscaye.com/protech/index.html .
Lodging:
I stayed at Ruby’s Hotel (Oceanside) in San Pedro, which is on the beach and just a couple of blocks north of the airstrip. In my opinion, Ruby’s is minimally adequate, and only for the seriously budget-minded traveler. This is a no-frills kind of place that is only one step above a hostel. The price of rooms ranges from $20 to $50 (single) per night. The cheaper rooms face the street, which means they don’t get the ocean breeze, but they do abundantly capture the hot afternoon rays of the sun. There is also a lot of noise from the street (incredibly loud Reggae music, plus some Jimmy Buffet thrown in for good measure). Also, there are a few hard drinking, ex-patriot pensioners who call Ruby’s home. These folks tend to drink a lot and talk very loudly at all hours of the night. If they happen to congregate on the balcony/walkway outside your room, don’t expect to get much sleep. And, no, they don’t respond well to suggestions that they keep the noise down.
However, on the plus side, the rooms are very clean (didn’t see one bug the entire week) and there was always an abundance of hot water. There’s also a nice little bakery/restaurant next door that is open for breakfast and lunch. Valuables can be stored in the hotel’s safe (no charge). There’s also a rooftop patio that provides great views of the ocean and the nearby barrier reef (which is about a half-mile offshore). None of the hotels I saw had a swimming pool.
I might stay at Ruby’s again, but I’ll probably pay a little more and get one of the ocean-facing rooms. Their website is located at http://www.ambergriscaye.com/rubys/index.htm .
Meals & Entertainment:
I had breakfasts and lunches at the little restaurant/bakery that is in the same building as Ruby’s. They have some tasty pastries such as banana bread and also fruit cups, waffles and juice. My standard breakfast was orange juice, banana bread and a large cup of coffee. This cost $4 US ($8 BZ). Lunch was usually whatever they had left over from breakfast, along with more orange juice. Snacks and bottled water were purchased at the mini-mart across the street.
Most of my dinners were purchased at Celi’s Restaurant, just up the beach from Ruby’s. My favorite meal was Rotisserie chicken, steamed rice and dinner rolls, which cost about $8 US. The atmosphere, service and food were excellent, and the place was very clean.
Several blocks up the street from Ruby’s is CoCoNet. They offer 15 minutes of free Internet for the price of a drink (alcohol, coffee or juice). I usually had a diet coke ($1.50 US) while checking my email.
Next door to CoCoNet is a nice little ice cream place. A double-dip of ice cream in a plastic cup cost $2.50 US.
There are many bar/restaurants on the beach. Saturday night is Karaoke night at The Pier Lounge. I entered the Karaoke contest and managed to win the 1st place prize of $40 BZ. It was a lot of fun, and a fitting end to my last day in Belize.
I made a total of 12 dives during the next five days, and they represent the most beautiful and adventuresome diving I’ve done so far. Most dives were made on the barrier reef just east of the Ambergris Caye coast. I also made 3 dives in the Turneffe Islands, which are a 4 hour (round-trip) boat ride from San Pedro.
As far as I can tell, the local economy of San Pedro is based on catering to the eating, drinking, fishing and diving needs of visiting English and American tourists. Almost everyone on the island speaks at least some English, and American dollars are readily accepted. The official exchange rate is $1 US = $2 BZ. When you pay for something in US dollars, change is usually given in Belizean dollars. For instance, when something is paid for that costs $5 US and the clerk is given an American $20 bill, change of $35 BZ should be received.
The standard dress for locals and tourists alike is a baseball-type cap, sunglasses, T-shirt and baggy shorts (favorite T-shirt seen in Belize said "Every Hour Is Happy Hour"). No one wore socks, and shoes were optional. Some folks went barefoot (beware of dog poop and broken glass on the beach) and others, including me, wore sandals.
I was told by Protech Dive Center owner Peter Jones that the tap water was heavily chlorinated and wouldn’t hurt me, but that it was slightly brackish and that I wouldn’t like the taste of it. I took him at his word and opted for bottled water the entire week. Bottled water can be purchased at all grocery stores.
The underwater and above water photos for this trip are located at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rainmakerat92/album?.dir=/9559re2 . Additional information concerning diving, transportation, lodging, meals and entertainment is shown below.
Transportation:
I used American Airlines, and had no serious problems with them (no hassles about luggage containing dive gear) and they didn’t lose any of my bags or damage any of my gear. However, when I was leaving Belize City, they did make the decision to keep the plane on the ground because it was raining (they said there were no problems flying, they just didn’t want anyone to get wet walking on the tarmac to the plane). As a result, I missed my connecting flight in Miami, and got stranded in the airport terminal overnight. During the flight delay in Belize, a US Airways flight successfully boarded and took off while it was raining. I expect the passengers got a bit wet, but probably no one missed any connecting flights. My roundtrip ticket from Charlotte, NC to Belize City, Belize was $432.00.
I used Tropic Air for the roundtrip shuttle from Belize City to San Pedro. Frankly, I enjoyed their service and flights more than American Airlines. The roundtrip ticket was about $100. The flight to Ambergris Caye from Belize's International Airport takes about 15 minutes. They use single engine "puddle jumpers" that seat 10 - 12 passengers. I noticed that if the plane is full, they have to use 2 planes for the trip; one for passengers and the other for luggage. The planes fly at an altitude of 1000 - 1500 ft. and on the trip to San Pedro, I could see large mantarays swimming in the shallow, emerald green water below. Their website is located at http://www.tropicair.com/about.htm .
It cost about $35 US to leave Belize. When I checked in at the airport, American Airlines wanted $2.50 US for "security fees", and Belizean Customs had their hand out to the tune of $31.50 US.
The Diving:
I made 12 dives with Protech, which is located about ½ mile down the beach from Ruby’s Hotel (where I stayed). Owner Peter Jones, Captain Brion, Divemaster Mynar and Office Manager Ana run a safe, efficient, courteous and professional dive operation. I look forward to diving with them on my next trip to Belize. Chilled bottled water and fruit were served between local dives. On the Turneffe Islands trip, breakfast and lunch were served on the boat.
I made a night dive and a wall dive, reef dives and shark dives and it was all an incredible adventure. In addition to the dives made on the barrier reef, I also made dives at Hol Chan Reserve, Shark-Ray Alley and Turneffe Islands. The wall dive at Turneffe Islands and the reef dive at Cypress Gardens were 2 of the most memorable dives I’ve ever made.
I saw many sharks (mostly nurse sharks), rays, turtles, moray eels, an octopus (glad it was only one, because I have no idea what the plural of octopus is), large lobsters, crabs, grouper and parrotfish and a multitude of brightly colored tropicals.
Visibility was exceptional. Once when I was at a depth of 102 ft., I looked up and could easily see the surface. Some of the dives were made in the vicinity of large underwater canyons. I would be at a depth of 70 ft. with the bottom 5 ft. below me, then sail/float off a ridge. Suddenly the bottom was 100 ft. below me, with beautiful coral covered ridges behind me and in front of me, in water so clear that it could hardly be seen. It provided an incredible and indescribable feeling of effortless flying, or floating in space.
All the dives were guided, and were led by a very professional and experienced Divemaster named Mynar. He always checked everyone’s air about half-way through each dive. We used hand signals for this; PSI was communicated with thousands indicated with fingers placed on the left wrist, and hundreds indicated with fingers held up vertically. For instance, 1400 PSI would be indicated by placing 1 finger on the left wrist, then holding up 4 fingers. This worked very well. We also made a safety stop of 3 minutes at a depth of 20 ft. on each dive.
The lengths of the dives ranged from about 45 minutes to 61 minutes. The maximum depth was 102 ft., and the water temperature ranged from 77 to 84 degrees. I was quite comfortable in a 2 mm shorty wetsuit under a Lycra exposure suit. I also wore 3mm gloves and boots. I didn’t wear a hood, and no one else wore one, either.
Total cost of the diving was $531 US. This included $145 US for the 3 tank Turneffe Island trip, and $55 US for the night dive (and dive light rental). Their website is located at http://ambergriscaye.com/protech/index.html .
Lodging:
I stayed at Ruby’s Hotel (Oceanside) in San Pedro, which is on the beach and just a couple of blocks north of the airstrip. In my opinion, Ruby’s is minimally adequate, and only for the seriously budget-minded traveler. This is a no-frills kind of place that is only one step above a hostel. The price of rooms ranges from $20 to $50 (single) per night. The cheaper rooms face the street, which means they don’t get the ocean breeze, but they do abundantly capture the hot afternoon rays of the sun. There is also a lot of noise from the street (incredibly loud Reggae music, plus some Jimmy Buffet thrown in for good measure). Also, there are a few hard drinking, ex-patriot pensioners who call Ruby’s home. These folks tend to drink a lot and talk very loudly at all hours of the night. If they happen to congregate on the balcony/walkway outside your room, don’t expect to get much sleep. And, no, they don’t respond well to suggestions that they keep the noise down.
However, on the plus side, the rooms are very clean (didn’t see one bug the entire week) and there was always an abundance of hot water. There’s also a nice little bakery/restaurant next door that is open for breakfast and lunch. Valuables can be stored in the hotel’s safe (no charge). There’s also a rooftop patio that provides great views of the ocean and the nearby barrier reef (which is about a half-mile offshore). None of the hotels I saw had a swimming pool.
I might stay at Ruby’s again, but I’ll probably pay a little more and get one of the ocean-facing rooms. Their website is located at http://www.ambergriscaye.com/rubys/index.htm .
Meals & Entertainment:
I had breakfasts and lunches at the little restaurant/bakery that is in the same building as Ruby’s. They have some tasty pastries such as banana bread and also fruit cups, waffles and juice. My standard breakfast was orange juice, banana bread and a large cup of coffee. This cost $4 US ($8 BZ). Lunch was usually whatever they had left over from breakfast, along with more orange juice. Snacks and bottled water were purchased at the mini-mart across the street.
Most of my dinners were purchased at Celi’s Restaurant, just up the beach from Ruby’s. My favorite meal was Rotisserie chicken, steamed rice and dinner rolls, which cost about $8 US. The atmosphere, service and food were excellent, and the place was very clean.
Several blocks up the street from Ruby’s is CoCoNet. They offer 15 minutes of free Internet for the price of a drink (alcohol, coffee or juice). I usually had a diet coke ($1.50 US) while checking my email.
Next door to CoCoNet is a nice little ice cream place. A double-dip of ice cream in a plastic cup cost $2.50 US.
There are many bar/restaurants on the beach. Saturday night is Karaoke night at The Pier Lounge. I entered the Karaoke contest and managed to win the 1st place prize of $40 BZ. It was a lot of fun, and a fitting end to my last day in Belize.
