We headed to Caye Caulker on the morning water taxi for one last day of diving with Bert at Scuba Sensation. We arrived a little earlier than we planned so we spent some time walking around town. We loaded up a little after 9:00 and were joined by five other people. Troy was around our age and owns a dive shop in Colorado. There were also two young couples who were vacationing together. Everyone turned out to be pretty experienced divers so it made for a fun day.
On the hour long trip out to Spanish Bay (our Lionfish honey hole) there is an uninhabited island that has a canal running through the middle that serves a cut through. We spotted a lump on the water and the guys told us crocodile and manatee are both common in here. We got a little closer and a small pod of three dolphins came right toward our boat. Bert moved the boat forward slowly since the Dolphins like to ride in the current alongside it. We were all running from one side of the boat to the other to see them, and Christian stuck his GoPro in the water and got a glimpse of them the way too.
After the dolphins left us, we continued to Spanish Bay. On the way we passed the island they call Gallows Caye since prisoners were once brought out to hang here. And then of course we moved past St Georges Caye with the cannons still on the beach. The water was more calm today and I could hardly even tell when we went through the reef. The sun was so bright and warm that it was hard to even believe just a couple of weeks ago we were freezing after our dives out here.
Our first dive brought us along beautiful walls of coral. Our group killed a good many Lionfish. Troy hadn’t known to bring a spear on the trip and had gone to the hardware store this morning and fashioned himself one, and it actually worked pretty well. We definitely had enough Lionfish for ceviche on the boat during the surface interval.
On the second dive, I realized I was the only one who had not killed a Lionfish on the first dive, even the two girls with us had each gotten one after a few misses. So I put on the glove and Christian showed me how to use the spear. I had to do it right handed (not my dominant hand) because I don’t have the strength it takes in my left arm to keep it in the “cocked” position. We found a Lionfish and I moved in, not wanting to miss I moved slowly and got very close. I released the spear and it found its mark. Wow! I never would’ve thought I could do that. I killed another soon after and gave the spear back to Christian. We continued the dive not seeing as many of them as on our first dive. But we saw eels, a giant stingray busily burying himself in the sand, and lots of lobster. Of course there was the usual collection of brightly colored fish and large schools of blue creole wrasse. After about 50 minutes Christian began to run low on air and we ascended to 20 feet for our three minute safety stop. As we hovered I saw a Lionfish below us at about 35 feet. Knowing Christian’s air was running lower than mine, I took the glove and spear and headed down to get it. Success! I had to begin again on my safety stop but I was now 3 for 3 so it was worth it. Christian carried the fish on up while I waited my 3 minutes.
Once back on the boat we had the usual excited chatter about the dive. The sun was still warm in the cloudless sky and the water calm as we headed back to Caye Caulker. The beauty of the turquoise water and the small islands we pass along the way never gets old. When we finally reached Caye Caulker we headed to the fruit stand to get a variety of fresh juices (we haven’t been able to find juice so good in San Pedro) and said our goodbyes to Bert, Mike, and Zach. The water taxi took us back to San Pedro where we returned to our condo to shower and dress.
We’d been planning to eat supper at El Fogon, a local restaurant boasting Belizean food done in a bit more of a gourmet style. The open air restaurant with sand floors was beautifully done for an elegant island feel. We ordered and listened to the Belizean man play a keyboard and sing pop songs, some current and some as old as the 80’s. He used the myriad of sounds on his keyboard fully in a way that couldn’t help but remind us of Ross Geller. Just before our meal came I suddenly realized that I had left my wallet in the bag from the dive trip and neither of us had any money! So after we ate Christian hopped back in the golf cart to return for our money while I sat at our table about 20 feet from the singer and made awkward (unintended) eye contact. Christian finally returned to put me out of my misery. We paid our check and tipped the singer. After dinner we walked along the beach and out on the pier. The moon was full and glistened off the water in a wide path of light. The wind had picked up and had a slight chill to it.
Perfect ending to a perfect day.
(That seems to apply to a lot of days here)
