DIVING THE GREAT BLUE HOLE

THE CENTRAL AMERICAN SERIES PT8

BELIZE – CAYE CAULKER

Myself and Farzad had made the trip down from Cancun and Tulum and headed straight for Caye Caulker, after all its all about the beaches!  The island is small, maybe only a few miles long and a few hundred metres wide but most of it is taken up by an Air Strip.

BLUER THAN THE MALDIVES

I remember seeing images of the Great Blue Hole in my geography text book back in school. From then I always knew it was a place I wanted to visit, who wouldn’t after seeing such an impressive image as a kid. But I was never sure where it was and didn’t realise you could dive it.

WHERE IS THE GREAT BLUE HOLE?

Diving the Great Blue Hole

A PRICE I WAS WILLING TO PAY

That was until the next day when I went with Farzad to one of the diving schools and seen plastered around their reception.

“Dive the Great Blue Hole.”

No f*cking way, I thought.

Unfortunately due to time restraints I was only able to stay for a few days and the cheaper dive company didn’t have any places left. When I say cheaper it was still $400! So I had no option but to pay even more to do the excursion with Belize Diving Services.

There are times when I travel that things are just that little bit too expensive you do it regardless. It was the same with this, it was something I had seen a long time ago and I wasn’t for letting it slip by.

THE GREAT BLUE HOLE

So we set off early and our first stop was the blue hole itself. You don’t appreciate the size of it until you are actually there. 300metres across and 108 metres deep, all made the more impressive by the fact the surrounding water is only 2 metres deep.

Diving the Great Blue Hole

HAMMERHEAD SHARKS

Jumping in, the water was typically warm and incredibly clear. We dived after the coral cliff and kept an eye out for any sea life. There wasn’t a huge amount to see apart from two hammerhead sharks. I found this unusual as the surrounding area is rich in marine life with dense coral growth. The walls limit the much sunlight creating a dim atmosphere and the pure circulation of water means that few organisms can flourish. At certain depths the water lacks sufficient levels of oxygen to enable marine life to grow.

NEXT DIVE

The water at the Blue Hole was special but it wasn’t until we got to our next dive site – Lighthouse Atoll were we could really appreciate it. I always say to anyone new to diving to forget Finding Nemo and lower your expectations but I was blown away at this place, it really felt more like a cartoon, the colour was incredible and the visibility the best I have ever experienced. Coming from someone who has dived Thailand, Philippines, Fiji and the Great Barrier Reef there was no comparison. You don’t see fish like I did in Fiji but just the clarity of the water was incredible.

Its easy to type something into google and be meet with something so far from reality that it increases our expectations and thus ruins the experience. But I don’t think any photo could do this place justice, it was a completely different level!

Diving the Great Blue Hole

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yes it’s not cheap but I would be pretty sure you aren’t going to get an experience like it anywhere else in the world. Yes you might argue there isn’t the marine life you can see elsewhere but its not always about fish and coral but rather appreciating the beauty of such a unique dive site.

NEXT UP

A dislocated shoulder in mythical Flores. Click to read.

SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
63/229

This post is part of The Central American Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.