Day 12: Belize

Belize:  The northernmost Central American nation, Belize hugs the eastern coast with Guatemala its neighbor to the south and west and Mexico to the North.  There are many micro-climates in Belize.  Rainfall varies from 50 to 177 inches, with year-round temperatures from the mid-70s to mid-90s.  The coast is pleasant with the best season stretching between November to May.  Belize is the only nation in Central America where English is the official language.  The currency is the Belize Dollar (BZD).

Next to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest in the world.  It is part of the Mesoamerican system and runs for 560 miles along the Atlantic.

Belize City has a port, but tenders are used to get ashore.  The tender ride takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

We have our first Princess excursion on this cruise.  A snorkeling adventure to Water Caye.  No need to get ready until 11am, so we enjoy our morning on the ship.  We meet in the Explorer’s Lounge along with the 50 or so fellow cruisers.  No need to tender ashore as a snorkel boat will be coming to our ship and we can board right off the ship.

It’s a 45 minute ride via the speedboat to the snorkel site.  The guides try to break us in to several groups.  Since Hubby and I are experienced snorkelers we basically slip off a small platform on our own and get into the water:  


The water is a bit rough and typical for Belize:


Once we peer into the water, we see a lot of coral including this Elkhorn: 

More Wrasses including a Bluehead and several juvenile Clown Wrasse:

Beautiful Fans:  

A young Parrotfish (left) and French Grunt (right):

A Stoplight Parrotfish (initial phase):  

A Filefish:  

We snorkel for about an hour and head back to the snorkel boat which then takes us back to our ship.

In Belize, it’s best to take the ship’s excursion.  I was trying to avoid this as we enjoy the freedom of going on our own in each port.  The snorkeling here is great, but I did not like being on a schedule and also “herded like cattle” to get into the water.

I guess I should point out that I am no longer a beginner in snorkeling.  My Hubby has pointed out to me several times that I'm getting comfortable and staying in the water longer.   He also used the word "tenacious"  when describing my habits in the water.  I suppose my lack of patience is because I want to get into the water as soon as I can and see what new underwater adventure awaits us.  :)