Belize Day 10: Snorkeling at Mexican Rocks and Tres Cocos

Grab your fins because we're going snorkeling today at the second largest barrier reef in the world. We pack our snorkeling gear and walk up the beach to the tour guide shop, Sea-Rious. Jeffrey, our captain and guide, introduces himself to us and the seven other people on the boat. We are heading North to the Mexican Rocks and Tres Cocos.

Both of us have snorkeled before in such places as St Croix, Cozumel, and Hawaii. So we were no rookies. OK, maybe a little rusty from the lack of practice. Nevertheless, we slip on the fins, pull on our masks, and fall over the side of the boat.

The barrier reef is spectacular. There are massive coral formations. A colorful and diverse population of fish. Parrotfish. Angelfish. Grouper. Yellow Fin Tuna. Many more than I could identify. My favorite is an itty bitty blackfish with glowing blue dots. At Tres Cocos, we come upon a huge manta ray. The ray is about five feet across. It swims towards us. Then starts working itself into the sand. Jeffrey warns that they're not friendly in this area. 

I forgot how snorkeling can work up a powerful appetite. By the end of the tour, I was famished. We headed to the streets looking for chow. Diane stops into Celi's Deli for a sandwich. I wanted some street food but sadly learned they only cook on weekends. Luckily, I find a side street restaurant called Dianita's Take Out. They serve up one delicious Belizean fried chicken. We take our lunches to the beach and eat under the shade of a palm tree.

Next: Bug Bites

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Build a GoPro Water Ski Rope Mount

Image
One of the best views of water skiing is to mount a GoPro to the ski rope. Here is how to build the rope mount. Parts needed: 2-foot piece of 3/4" PVC pipe Duct tape GoPro bicycle clamp Foam noodle Wrist strap Zip tie Since the 3/4" pipe won't slide over the knot on the ski rope, you will need to cut the PVC pipe down the middle. (like a clamshell)  Fit the two halves over the rope and duct tape them to the rope and the V part of the handle. Duct taping to the V section is key to keeping the camera upright.  Attach the GoPro bicycle clamp to the pipe. Make sure you have a safety leash hooked to the camera and rope so it doesn't end up at the bottom of the lake or river.  I used a wrist strap from one of my still cameras and threaded the thin end through the GoPro latch and zipped tied the other end to the rope.  Add a section of a foam pool noodle to the rope to ensure good floatation. Duct tape the noodle closed. Add some duct tape on each end of the rope ...
Read more

Belize Day 4: Actun Tunichil Muknal cave adventure

Image
Eating termites. Swinging from vines. Exploring a sacrificial cave. Sounds like a scene from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. And that is exactly what it felt like. This was our adventure into the ancient Mayan cave of fear called the Actun Tunichil Muknal. The guide Juan Carlos and driver picked us up at our hotel in a beat up Chevy van. The rig looked like it had seen a lot of hard road. It wouldn't be long before we learned for ourselves why it looked that way. Juan stopped in town to pick up a young couple that would be joining us, Ryan and Susan. The van then rolled down the two-lane highway till it reached a dirt road turn off. From there, we drove over a washboard dirt road through a valley surrounded by jungle. This part of the ride definitely would test the fillings in your teeth. Pot holes the sizes of craters. Creeks flowing over the road. Yet as I prayed my capped teeth wouldn't fall out, I noticed something unique outside the window. There were families washing t...
Read more

How to flip a Sleekcraft boat over in your garage

Image
How do you flip a boat over in your garage? That was the challenge my neighbor had while restoring his speed boat. His 92-year-old father came up with this brilliant system of pulleys and supports that made it fairly easy to turn the boat upside down. We start to raise the boat off the trailer. An engine jack was used to raise the bow. Note the yellow strap from the pulley to the dash. This was to prevent cracking the bow. Close up of the bow pulley system and how the strap slipped off the top wheel.  We should have cut a groove in it to make sure the strap stayed centered. A wooden support frame was built to hang the pulley system and connect it to the transom. We carefully turn the boat upside down. Stern leg bracket: The is the piece that connects the back legs to support beam. The legs were 2x4s and the support beam was two 2x6s. Safely turned upside down.  UPDATE 05/17/2021 The boat restoration was completed a few years back and came out amazing. Here are fe...
Read more