I visited Belize for the first time in 1993 and I was fascinated by it. A virgin country from an environmental point of view, inhabited by happy people and with a dream sea. In that year I spent two holidays in Belize: in the summer with a very dear friend and then again for the end of the year with my family and the group of divers friends and non divers with whom in those years I used to have holidays together.
On both occasions we stayed in San Pedro, Ambergris Cay, so I had a "sedentary" knowledge of Belize with the exception of an unforgettable excursion to the famous Blue Hole and to the Lighthouse Reef atoll.
Since I turned myself in a sea vagabond, I returned to Belize in 2014, en route to Panama and then again in 2017, but in both cases only for a few days and always and only at Lighthouse Reef, with the only goal to scuba dive again the Blue Hole.
So this year we came back to Belize with the idea of exploring every single atoll, every single island, every single village on the coast, but also the enchanting hinterland which is characterized by lush nature and presence of Maja sites.
Compared to the 90s, as normally expected, a lot has changed. San Pedro has grown a lot, many atolls now have their own small resorts, other centers along the coast have born and are gradually developing their tourist offering, but everything still retains the same taste of the past. No huge buildings, no shopping mall, no casinos.
We note instead a great respect for nature. An effective waste management, a religious attention payed to the reef conservation
The dives are all just outside the coral reef. They start on a backdrop of about 8/10 meters, where gullies carved in the coral proceed transversely to the barrier. It is the kingdom of Red Snappers, of lobsters, of Lion Fishes, of colorful morays and nurse sharks. Continuing towards deeper bathymetries, groupers, barracudas, manta rays and turtles join the stage. Then, around 30 meters deep, these small canyons sink into the blue. A wall that descends vertically up to 50, 60 meters deep. Here begins the reign of the great pelagic fish. Tunas, huge Eagle Rays, Jackfishes and sharks of all shapes and sizes, including the Whale shark that chooses Belize for its fertilization rituals in the period between March and June.