By Rick Stratton
Publisher, Dive News Network

The “Aquarium of the World” with its incredible reefs, abundant marine life and blankets of coral and sponge, Underwater Belize offers diversity in diving found nowhere else in the world. Home to the second longest reef in the world, the diving offers walls beginning as shallow as 20-40 feet, marine life of all shapes and sizes and, of course, the famous Blue Hole. The coral reefs, mounds of underwater limestone and ledges trickling with sea life, some found only here, is rich, diverse and beautiful. The local underwater landscape and the ocean currents make Belize a diver’s fantasy dive gliding the currents in search of other-worldly life.

Belize is located in Central America. It is bordered to the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. It is on this east side divers discover a world so rich with underwater life it is near impossible to take it all in. Sitting on the second largest reef system in the world, this area is a catalyst for life itself…and the diving is as diverse as the very animals that populate the local waters.

Larry Conner the Aggressor Fleet Business Development Manager says he believes Belize is a great place to dive because it offers a world of difference between dive sites. “There are so many different types of dives from the Blue Hole to the Keys divers can experience just about every type of dive,” Connor says. “Places such as Half Moon Key and Long Key are great dive sites where the water is shallow and the Blue Hole is something every diver should experience at least once.” There are a number of dive sites in the Belize area that offer divers the wonder of the sea with different diving viewpoints. Here are a few of the suggested sites:

Quebrada

Named for a cut in the reef (the wall and shallows), this is an extremely sheer and active stretch of wall. Because it projects out into the current, the extra flow of plankton around it supports an incredibly rich diversity of marine animals. Divers are treated to Green moray eels, spotted drum, lobster, crabs and tarpon on the night dives.

Aquarium

A sheer drop-off begins around 30’ with an abundance of fish life at the top. About 40’-60’ deep along the wall are large baffel sponges, giant deep water sea fans and the richest collection of deep water gorgonians almost anywhere in the world. Giant elephant ear sponges, yellow tube sponges and azure vase sponges make this a very colorful area. This is truly an outdoor aquarium to be admired.

Elk Horn Forest

Located on the east side of Long Caye, the shallows grow large mounds of lettuce leaf coral that projects towards the depths. In the shallows are elk horn corals inhabited by numerous species of juvenile fish. This is an easy and relaxing dive.

Cathedral

Colorful formations resembling cathedral steeples with sandy cuts in between will take you to the church of the oceans. This site is home to many black groupers and jacks, as well as three species of angel fish, scorpion fish, several varieties of eels and silver sides. Spanish dancers are sometimes sighted on night dives. Photographers will get lost on this dive getting incredible shots.

Great Blue Hole

“The Blue Hole is one of the most interesting dives to make,” Connor says. “About 130 ft. down there are actually stalactites which means that at some point this was a dry cave. It’s hard to imagine once you are down there though.” A blue hole is a submarine cave or underwater sinkhole. They are also called vertical caves. The Blue Hole in Belize is located in the center of Lighthouse Reef and is ¼ mile across and 480 ft. deep. It was formed during several episodes of Quaternary glaciation when sea levels were much lower. Originally explored by Jacques Cousteau, divers come from all over the world to experience diving into the deep blue waters of the Great Blue Hole. Cap’n Ron, owner of St Georges Caye Resort, says he understands the draw of the Blue Hole. “It is an incredible thing to see but an even more incredible thing to dive,” says Cap’n Ron. “Our resort is on a small private island and we are the only business for miles around. When divers come to stay in one of our twelve cabanas or one of the seven Diver’s Den Lodge rooms, the Blue Hole is always on the list of dives they want to do.” Cap’n Ron has been in the resort business in Belize long enough to understand what gets divers to head in their direction. “Diving in Belize is world class,” says Cap’n Ron. “The water is warm, 84 in the summer and 78 in winter and the vis is always good. We get a lot of customers from the Midwest, especially the Chicago area, as well as Texas, Ohio and New York. They all know about the diving, it’s legendary. I mean who wouldn’t want to come and dive where Cousteau did?”

From the sky, the Barrier Reef is an unbroken chain hugging the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and inside the reefs the water is shallow and clear. The water depths cause the hue to begin at light green and then plunge into deep blues. Teresa Parkey of Hugh Parkey’s Belize Dive Connection says one of the biggest draws to Belize is the Barrier Reef. “I have been in Belize 24 years,” Parkey says, “and we still get a lot of customers who come looking for the famous reef diving. Our customers from the Midwest are seeking the diversity of the diving here. There are miles and miles of opportunities for divers here.” Parkey says the season really gets busy in the Spring. “It’s coming up around to the full moons during the Spring season and the Whale shark trips ramp up then,” Parkey says. “They are feeding on the snapper spawn so this is a good time to come and see them.” ■