As you step off the ferry onto Caye Caulker you are greeted with a sign which tells you to “Go Slow”, and that is happily the ethos that this island follows. We arrived around midday and were greeted at the pier by lots of very dinky golf-cart taxis (there are no cars on the island), but we knew it was a small island with only three main streets and so declined the entertaining offer, and, armed with our maps, we walked to our guesthouse. Once we had settled in we went to explore and for once the guide book was correct and it is a tiny island – you can walk the length of it in about thirty minutes. Despite its small stature it is charming and full of local restaurants, craft stores and art galleries with plenty of locally-run tour companies. We stopped at a restaurant called ‘Rosies’ which served burritos that are not for the faint-hearted – they are huge!
After lunch we trawled the streets looking for dive shops offering excursions to the Blue Hole – one of our main reasons for heading to Caye Caulker. There are three main diver operations that go to the Blue Hole as it is over two hours from the island, and due to the island’s size and a requirement for a minimum number of people they don’t go every day. So we had to see which company was heading out on the day we had in mind. If you aren’t on quite such a tight time-schedule you will have more options and pick which company you want to go with. We did not have this liberty and had to go with the only company going on our one free day in Caye Caulker, which was ‘Big Fish’. You can also go from Ambergris Caye but the ride out is even further so we thought we’d pick the lesser of two evils.
Due to a wait for the minimum number of people we only got the go ahead from the dive shop at 17:00. Stuart had a moment of uneasiness as it dawned on him that the Blue Hole dive goes down to 195ft (40m) and the deepest he had been in the past is 70ft, (18m). Our dive shop had no concerns but to put his mind at rest we headed to another dive shop to get a second opinion and they said it was fine as long as you were confident at diving. Back on track we went off in search of dinner and after being hugely indecisive about where to go we went on the recommendation of a local gentleman on a bicycle who was munching into a takeaway from a local lady selling home-cooked food from a cart who said to us “don’t go anywhere, this is delicious.” So we didn’t, and it was a very good choice. There was a large helping of rice and beans, some potato salad and four different stewed meat dishes – it was great value for money. Ask around and you can get pointed in the right direction; she is often situated in the open patch of beach near the Ragamuffin tour shack on Friday and Saturday nights. So, armed with our street food and some beer, we headed back to our guesthouse for some fine dining, ‘island style’.
The next morning was another early start and we were at the Big Fish dive shop having a very bleary-eyed breakfast at 0530 ready for our three dives. The bit of the boat ride within the barrier reef was nice and calm – then the fun really started. The boat was contending with 3-4 metre swells which explained the discomfort felt by all aboard. I was flying out of my seat so much I wimped out and scooted to the back of the boat which was a little bit more stable, although not much. You still had to hold on tightly to stop being thrown from your seat and for every three or four swells you would get a liberal soaking in salt water. After two hours of being thrown around the boat we arrived not a minute too soon. The journey is far from pleasant and you have to keep focusing on the reason for the trip.
The first dive was the big one and due to the extreme depth our bottom time at 195 feet was only eight minutes, because the deeper you go the faster you guzzle your air. As we descended it got colder, bluer and a little bit eerie, then we started weaving in amongst the stalactites formed by ancient volcanoes. It was a strange feeling but wonderful, especially when you appear from the rock formations and look up into a distant patch of sunlight and see the distinctive shape of sharks circling overhead. It is a breathtaking scene and as you ascend from the depths and enter back into the world of sharks and giant groupers it was like being in a natural history video. It was an experience that more than made up for the two-hour, bone-breaking ride. Even the safety stop was amazing with sightings of giant midnight parrot fish which have electric blue and black markings.
The second dive was again amazing, if a little more scary. During the pre-dive briefing we were told we might swim through a cave. However, once underwater, we found that this cave was tiny and our guide indicated that I should go through first. I’m sure he thought I was completely daft as I looked at him, pointed at the cave, pointed at me and wiggled my fingers to indicate swimming – he nodded – I looked and again thought how tiny the hole looked and did the whole set of charades again. On his second confirmation I gave it a go. I could feel the top of my tank scraping the cave roof as my chest was brushing the sea floor – with my issue with small spaces I was trying very hard not to panic as there was no way I could turn around. So I kept breathing, and pushed on through – literally. I was very relieved when I saw light at the end of the tunnel and with one final manoeuvre around a rock I was free. Then I waited, and waited as I was expecting Stuart to be right behind me and just as I was deciding to go back in to get him he appeared – much to my relief. However we were both slightly shaken from the experience as our guide had certainly given no indication to the difficulty of getting through. It was really dangerous and the other three people in our group didn’t even attempt to go through.
After the second dive we headed for Half Moon Caye, where we had lunch. The island had a small reserve where you can go and see Red-Footed Boobies, having previously seen the Blue-Footed Boobie in Ecuador, and some amazing iguanas who were happy to lounge around in the sun. It was then time for our third dive. After Stuart’s slightly stressful second dive he opted out of this one so I went down on my own. It was another crystal clear dive but with no great sightings so he didn’t miss too much.
The diving, the blue hole and the setting were amazing. The dive operation however was certainly not and I would recommend going with another group if possible. For a start we ended up being on the boat for nearly eight hours with no shade. So we had no protection from the direct sunshine which, when teamed with diving and the difficulty in applying sun cream, makes it very hard to ensure you have adequate sun protection. On top of this, the briefings were inadequate and certainly didn’t put your mind at rest in terms of safety concerns. I have to admit that sending a group through a tiny cave without proper instructions is slightly reckless. On top of that, the dive at the Blue Hole had about fifteen people in one group with an instructor leading from the front and one at the back, which is not great considering the dangers of such a deep dive. It certainly doesn’t feel safe when you are being pushed in together with your fellow divers and it isn’t surprising that you get the occasional fin in the face – it would be nice to try and avoid that at 195 feet, but that isn’t possible when you are diving in such a big group. For anyone wanting to do the dive, don’t let this put you off. Just ask the dive organisations the maximum group size on any of the dives and make sure that the boat has shade. By the time we got home that night my skin was so tight I felt like I had been through a facelift operation!
Alice Bevan
