Strong rain woke me around 5 a.m. and of course my first thought was our scheduled dive today, but the shower ended quickly and the sun brought only a few clouds and gusty winds. Once at the dive shop Bert assured us the water looked good and the winds would die down (and of course he turned out to be right). We headed out to Spanish Bay for the day. The 45 minute boat ride south of the island took us past countless uninhabited (and a few inhabited) small islands surrounded by impossibly turquoise water. Today would be primarily about Lionfish. Since this spot is not heavily frequented by most dive shops, there are plenty of the beautiful fish around. Lionfish are an invasive species in the Caribbean with no natural predators. They reproduce quickly and can eat large amounts of reef fish. Because of this, they are the only fish that Belize allows to be speared while scuba diving (all other fish can be taken while snorkeling, free-diving or fishing traditionally only) and there is no limit and no license required. Lionfish are beautiful to see in the water with numerous colorful spines waving all around them, but they are venomous to the touch. Since they have no natural predators, they do not typically flee when you get close to them. They do like to hide under ledges and indentations in the coral, so you have to do a little searching. The dive group today was me and 5 men, so I gladly took my usual job of videoing while they “hunted.”

Although Lionfish were the goal of the dive, there were also spectacular coral formations in the form of huge fans waving in the current hiding every color and description of tropical fish. We also spotted a giant stingray burying itself in the sand, a spotted moray eel, huge crabs and lobsters, and graceful sea turtles and spotted rays. The visibility seemed even better than usual and from 80 feet you could clearly see the boat on the surface and the large schools of blue wrasse in the distance.

We came up with a large catch and the crew made us Lionfish ceviche during our surface interval. This is always one of my favorite parts of these days, sitting on the boat in this beautiful water with no land in sight, getting to know the other divers and crew a little better and eating the best ceviche I’ve ever had. Today’s divers included Mike from Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Jack from Australia who is backpacking through Central America by himself for a month during his summer break from University in Melbourne. Everyone has a story, whether it’s Jack from Australia or one of the crew who have lived in Belize their entire lives- and hearing them is one of the things I love about traveling.

Our 2nd dive was a huge success as well and all to soon we were headed home. We sped into the wind with choppier water but the same gorgeous views. We took some Lionfish home for dinner at John’s and were joined by his other renters from Canada for the evening (yet more stories to listen to). Lionfish are so unbelievably mild and flaky with the most delicate flavor that cooking them is simple.

Days spent with friends (old and new) and doing something you love in such a beautiful setting is something I could never tire of and I don’t take a minute of it for granted.