Underwater in Belize

Where does an Animal Communicator go on vacation? To visit animals in their natural environment, of course!

In early June, my family spent the first week of summer vacation in Belize. All four of us (my husband Chris, my daughter Lexi, my son Zane and I) took the red-eye flight from Sacramento to Belize City and then caught the local ferry out to Ambergris Caye. We’d rented a house right on the Caribbean side of the island and we could watch waves break over the second largest barrier reef in the world from our porch! If there hadn’t been so much boat traffic (commercial snorkeling and diving boats and the island ferry sped along the calms water just inside the reef to get around) we could have swum out there!

Manatees

The wildlife in Belize is amazing and we saw animals all over the place. A highlight for me was swimming with three wild manatees right on the barrier reef. I’ve seen manatees in the wild before (mostly in Florida rivers) but this was the first time I got to be underwater with them and see them swimming and interacting in their natural habitat. It was MAGICAL!

Sharks

Zane and I snorkeled at Shark Ray Alley and saw dozens of nurse sharks. Up close their skin is GORGEOUS! It’s made of little dots of varying shades of brown, like an impressionist painting! AMAZING!

Sting Rays

I’ve swum with Sting Rays before but this is the first time that I felt such a sense of peace in their group. I even learned how to let them swim into my arms! I love the feel of their skin – so soft and rubbery – and the grace of their movement, the flowing edges of their wings gliding them through the water. They are incredible, prehistoric-looking animals.

Sea Turtles

We swam with Sea Turtles twice – once on a really windy, rough day where the best place to be was underwater. The turtle that day hung around our boat and group and seemed to be really comfortable around people, taking his time moving up and down and in and out of the human bodies scattered through the water. Poetry in motion!

BONUS! Mayan Ruins!

A total bonus for us was a trip to the mainland to see Mayan ruins being excavated by three teams of scientists from different universities. It was a relatively cool day with scattered showers and low clouds and impressive work by the archaeologists. I love learning about different cultures and especially ancient ones like these. The small town even had a ball court about the size of a tennis court and a sun dial building next to the main pyramid.

If you haven’t been to Belize – I HIGHLY recommend it!