An Adventure in Belize – Caye Caulker, Coral Gardens, Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley

Belize is a small English speaking country resting against the Caribbean Sea. To the north, it borders Mexico while Guatemala surrounds it from the west and south.  Just off the coast, Belize boasts the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, and between it and the mainland is arguably the country’s second finest feature, a chain of coral sand islands known collectively as the Cayes (pronounced keys).

We traveled by bus from Playa del Carmen to Belize City.  At the marine terminal, we boarded a very crowded water taxi for the 45-minute trip to Caye Caulker.  The island is only 5 miles long and half a mile wide, so I wasn’t expecting the boat to be as packed as it was.  Happily, when we reached the dock, less than a third of the passengers left the boat.  Most people were continuing to the town of San Pedro on the much larger Caye Ambergris.

Heading out of Belize City

Standing on the dock, there wasn’t much to see, white sand, palm trees, boats, jetties and a few rows of buildings.  We were staying in small beachfront bungalows at one end of the main street (actually, it is more like a wide sand path).  At the other end, there was a bar overlooking a channel cut by a hurricane that had split the island into two halves.

 The Bar on Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker is stereotypically Caribbean, peaceful and slow.  Breathtaking sunsets signal the end of the day, and in the evening, the sounds of laughter and Reggae fill the air.  The people are friendly, but in true Caribbean style, it can take 20 minutes to get your morning coffee.

The island is a good place to slow down and relax, but we were there for an adventure on the reef.  First thing the next day, we met our reef guide at his shop.  We fitted ourselves with masks, snorkels, and fins from his inventory.  Then, with coolers full of food and drink, our group of ten headed to the boat.


Our first stop was at the Coral Gardens just a few miles away.  The water was clear and warm, but under 15 feet deep.  The large colorful corals that covered the area glowed in the sun-filled water.  Brown pencil coral, purple sea fans, bright orange stag horn, finger coral, yellow tube sponges and grey brain coral hosted numerous species of fish and other creatures while an immature sea turtle fed along the sandy bottom.

The next stop was the Hol Chan Marine Reserve about four miles southeast of San Pedro.  Hol Chan is Mayan for 'little channel." At the center of the reserve is a massive cut through the reef, 75 feet wide and 30 feet deep.  The sides are nearly vertical, covered with live corals and interspersed with caverns.  It is the perfect habitat for a variety of large fish like grouper as well as Moray Eels.  In the hour we spent snorkeling the cut, we must have seen six of them.

After Hol Chan, we needed a break, so we headed to the beaches of San Pedro for a picnic lunch and a look around the only real town in the Cayes.  I can’t say much about it.  It is there to serve the local population but it’s not beautiful or quaint.  We did take the time to look around, but after lunch, most of us were ready to get back on the water.

The Streets of San Pedro

We returned to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, but this time continued to Shark Ray Alley.  As the name implies the region is full of sharks and rays.  I assure you that snorkeling in the area sounds more dangerous than it is, but it is definitely an adventure.

The vast majority of the sharks are Nurse Sharks.  An adult can reach 14 feet in length and weigh in excess of 300 pounds.  Despite their appearance, they are, for the most part, docile bottom feeders.  The rays are Southern Stingrays.  Again, they can be large with up to a 5-foot wingspan, but they are not aggressive.

Our guide chummed the sharks from one side of the boat, as we entered the water on the other.  The experience of watching sharks in a feeding frenzy from a few feet away, I can only describe as awesome, but it was different swimming with the rays.  Being so close to them was exhilarating, yet the silent graceful beating of their wings was calming.  It was near perfection.

We arrived back on Caye Caulker in the late afternoon.  After taking a shower and putting on some dry clothes, we headed back to the jetty to for a sunset sail around the islands.  It was the perfect end to another experience on our ever-continuing adventures in traveling.