Finding Nemo

This post is originally from February 26, 2023

Yesterday we checked out of our hotel and dragged our luggage about a kilometer down the road so we could wait for our next adventure. Here we waited for the local bus known to many as the Chicken Bus (which is literally just an old school bus). We were assured that the bus driver knew they were picking up a large group so there’d be room, but when it rocked up, there were only 2 open seats left. In the eyes of the Belizians there was plenty more space for all of us to fit! With all of our luggage we crammed 18 more bodies into the vehicle and off we went for a 2 hour journey to Belize City. One by one the locals got off the bus and eventually we each got to sit down for part of the way. I must say it is humbling experience standing there holding on so you don’t fall into anyone with your armpit hovering over a random stranger’s head!!

From Belize City we took a ferry to the beautiful Caribbean island of Caye Caulker. It’s a small island surrounded by turquoise blue water that is home to a settlement known as Caye Caulker Village. On the island is a dense mangrove forest filled with diverse birdlife. Here you can experience a mix of Creole and Caribbean influence and with the reggae music flowing it takes you straight to the island vibe.

We were fortunate enough to take a tour by bicycle around the island led by a group of inspiring teenagers. G Adventures – Planetera Projects has many projects around the world to uplift the communities that it travels to and this one is called Bike with a Purpose. In the past, high school students would have to travel to the mainland to receive a quality education. This barrier led to many children quitting school by the age of 12 to join the workforce. Nation-wide, only 50% of secondary-aged youth are enrolled in school. G Adventures Planetera partnered with Ocean Academy and together they help youth on the island by participating in Bike with Purpose. The kids give tourists a bicycle led tour and in return their school fees are paid for as well as adding just a little extra income. During our tour we were taken to the kids school as well as local stops where we got to see sting rays swim right up to shore.

Day 2 in Caye Caulker is one for the books. This was one of the days that I was so excited about when we booked our trip. The excursion is called the Hol Chan Marine Reserve Day tour and it was a full day of snorkeling on the Belize Barrier Reef. The Belize Barrier Reef spans 300km and is the largest reef system in the Northern Hemisphere. We must have had a horse shoe up our arses as we saw so much.

Our first stop was swimming with the manatees. I only saw the back end of one, but Liza saw one from every angle – rolling around and swimming up and down literally meters next to her! The next stop was when we were nearly at the reef wherewe spotted a massive loggerhead turtle. Here he was feeding in the sea grass and he had two other fishes clinging to him. Whenever he would dig up food from the ocean floor the other fish would try to steal the food from him. I got to spend quite some time watching this beautiful creature’s every move. It was incredibly breathtaking when he decided to come up for air and swam right next to me. This was one of those life ‘WOW moments’! The third stop was the reef itself known as Coral Gardens, where we saw an abundance of beautifully coloured fish, dancing coral in so many vibrant colours and a green sea turtle. As Liza and I bobbed along we had another ‘WOW moment’ when three giant spotted eagle rays swam in beautiful formation around us. They were truly magnificent and looked like they were choreographed in a synchronized swimming routine. Later we saw more sting rays but I have to admit that when we were floating directly on top of one and it stopped and stared at us, I felt slightly nervous. I didn’t want to be a statistic like the Crocodile Hunter. After having lunch on the catamaran we made our last stop at Shark Alley. Here we saw dozens of nurse sharks swimming about. Some were incredibly massive and they all swam with such grace. They didn’t care whatsoever that we were there with them.

After a full day of so much excitement it was time to get on the boat for the last time to head back to Caye Caulker. What got our butts moving was when the guide mentioned that there hanging out under the boat was a giant barracuda As I looked under the boat with my goggles I could verify with my very own eyes that barracuda was indeed there staring right back at me!