Swimming with sharks in belize
At 40km long Ambergris Caye is the biggest island in Belize. We took a boat from the mainland and stopped off at Caye Caulker before arriving at Ambergris Caye. We arrived at San Pedro and were transferred to our hotel Xanadu Resort. Xanadu sits on the waterfront looking out over the Caribbean sea and the second largest coral reef in the world. Other than the incredible location Xanadu is also great as it is an eco friendly resort and incorporates a salt water pool.
We were travelling with Hannah’s family and we were all really looking forward to snorkelling off of the coral reef. Like most islands Ambergris Caye can be a little windy, this is good when it’s incredibly hot. When moving off of the waterfront though and into San Pedro the buildings block the wind and you can really feel the heat then.
We got up early to watch the sunrise over the ocean and the orange colours as the clouds lit up on the horizon was a fantastic way to start the day. After a busy few days exploring ancient Mayan ruins on the mainland it was nice to relax by the pool and swim in the bath like Caribbean sea. We borrowed some kayaks and headed out onto the water. The wind made the water a bit choppy and we had a race back to shore. Only when we got back did Hannah and I realise that our Kayak had a bit of a leak and we were carrying half the ocean with us.
Hannah had her birthday on the island and after a morning of opening presents and relaxing by the pool we hired a golf buggy in the evening to explore the island before sunset. As the sun set we made our way back to the resort as we would be heading off to the coral reef the next day. We were welcomed by another beautiful sunrise and calm ocean waters.
The coral was incredibly beautiful and the drop off from the reef into the blackness of the ocean was mesmerising. I held my breath for as long as I could and swam down before the pressure was too great and I returned to the surface. We were swimming with sea turtles who calmly swam around us and enjoyed the warm ocean currents. Soon there were many sting rays and then Nurse sharks, lots of them. This was the first time we had swam with sharks and they were so peaceful and calm as we swam with them. One of the guides hid some food in a shell and threw it into the ocean. The peaceful sharks quickly became a frenzy as they tried to get the food first. You will have to take my word for it because my GoPro case flooded and killed the camera. Our favourite part though was swimming with the turtles, diving down to their level and swimming around them as they casually floated on by.
Instead of leaving the island the way we arrived by boat we headed to the small airport and caught a plane back to the mainland. It was incredible to see the ocean, reef and jungles of Belize from the air. A perfect way to end an incredible trip to this amazing little Caribbean country.
