Belize it or not: Diving the Blue Hole

Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.

My wife and I just got back from Belize, and we did have a great time... I have not been diving for a long time (I was certified in April 2008), but I didn't find the Blue Hole as challenging as everyone here seems to think it was. Going down 140' isn't as hard as long as you continue to equalize your pressure and keep your breathing regular, making sure to check your air pressure gague because you do suck a lot more air at that greater depth. My only problem was that the pressure destroyed the underwater camera I brought with me, the case was only certified for about 50-80 feet!

We also stayed at Ambergris Caye and dove with Aqua Dives, I appreciated their crew and boats very much. If anyone is reading this and going to dive at Ambergris Caye, don't forget to mention Turnafee Atoll which is a shorter day trip but has some of the most colorful diving I have seen yet. There are also some short local dives that you can do easily that are spectacular (Tackle Box and Esmerelda...Ask for them if you are only doing 1 day of diving- it's worth it!!!).

To me the Blue Hole Stalagtites/Mites were impressive but being buzzed by the reef sharks (apparently I guess us humans are their entertainment, because they are always observing the divers that go to the blue hole) and the two dives afterwords at Lighthouse Reef were well worth the 6 hours of choppy boatride...

By the way, OLD MARINER'S TRICK TO FIGHT SEASICKNESS: Fix your gaze on a stationary object outside the boat, such as land, clouds, or something on the horizon. If you concentrate on it, your mind can fight off any kind of nausea that you may be experiencing. Much better than loading up on drammamine which can dull your edge.

On the safety of Belize-- I think Ambergris Caye is pretty safe because it's very touristy, but Belize City itself seemed a little rough, I could see where there could be trouble "off the beaten path" but that holds true for many cities around the world...

Thanks again for the wonderful article, I wish I had read it before I left but it really covered the kind of experience we had there.

PS take a day off diving to go see the Mayan Ruins and/or the Belize zoo!

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