Belize - advice welcome

[gangrel441]

Gangel441 - my wife is BSAC qualified but she's rather nervous and complains that I have left her behind on the diving front. She only likes diving with me but then she doesn't like the diving I do so it is a bit difficult. She prefers 12 meters max and pottering around on the shallow reefs. Is there much scope for that around Ambergris Caye, for example?

Not sure what there is to see around Ambergris, 'cause that's not where I was. The Aggressor spends most of her time out around Lighthouse Reef, and usually swings back to Turneffe towards the end of the week. I can tell you that while there is some excellent wall diving around those atolls at every site, there is also plenty to see in the shallows. Most people on the Aggressor are breathing EANx32, and therefore one of the rules on the boat (Nitrox or Air) is a hard deck on all dives of 110 ft. Depending on how many dives your wife has logged, and what the conditions have been, that may be part of the reason she feels you leave her behind and she don't want to go below 12m. 36 ft feels awful shallow when there is 150 ft vis. The crest of the wall on most sites is around 50 ft, and on about half of our dives, my wife and did not feel compelled to go over the wall. Plenty to see in the coral heads and sand flats atop the shelf. If your wife is willing to dive, this may be an opportunity for her to get over some of that anxiety.