Snorkeling the Cayes

Our first full day at the beach was spent bouncing around some of the offshore Cayes. 

The Barrier Reef that separates the Mangrove Coast of Belize from the Caribbean is, according to local  propaganda, the second-longest barrier reef in the world. Stretching from Mexico to Honduras, the reef complex included thousands of small Cayes, ranging from a few palm trees to dozens of acres, with various levels of development. Although they are only about 10-15km off shore, they are flat-lying, with no point higher than a palm tree, so you really can't see them from the beach.

We met up with Captain Patrick at the marina on the Settee River, and after pointing out the crocodiles in the water, he took us through the mangrove swamp and estuary to the open ocean.

We snorkeled in crystal clear water at two locations south of Southwater Caye.  The water out here in the middle of the freaking ocean was shallow enough that we had to be cautious around the coral, but deep enough in spots that I could not dream of diving to touch bottom. The coral was a diverse and delicate as anywhere I have been, and the fish as varied an colorful. Everything I know about fish I learned from the great Ichthyologist Dr. Seuss, and I can assure you there were more than two fish, and they were found in colors including red and blue. Barracuda, especially, look ferociously cool. But not as cool as The Aquatic Tigger:

We had lunch on Southwater Caye, sitting on a sparkling white beach with only a few palms around. Southwater is home to only a couple of very expensive resorts, so it was nice to be able to squat on their expensive facilities if only for a couple of hours.

After lunch we did a "drift snorkel" along the outside of the reef. With the longshore current pulling us along, and the ocean dropping off to some nasty depth to one side, we were able to see very far down between sandy bottoms and towering reefs. Again, more diversity than I have seen anywhere We have snorkeled before. No sharks, although one of our group did spot a Spotted Ray (it was Spotted prior to his spotting it).

The water was warm and the sun was bright. Oh boy, do I have the sunburn to prove it.