Belize Day 13: Monster Burrito and Shark Ray Alley


We went to town today in search of a strong cup of coffee. San Ignacio and Tikal had terrific coffee. Here in the Cayes, the coffee was less than stellar. We heard rumor of a place downtown called Island Delight that serves up the best coffee. We found the place and pulled up a seat at the outside coffee bar. We ordered two cups of the house blend. Full roasted. Bold. Oh yes, this is the best coffee on the Cayes. Sitting next to us is Jason, a transplant from Washington state. He tells us about a hole in the wall restaurant that serves up a monster lobster burrito. Diane and I decided to check it out.

Waruguma is so small that we walked by it twice. We ordered the lobster burrito not knowing really what to expect. But when it showed up at our table, that bad boy was humongous, stuffed full of lobster, and absolutely delicious. (Check out the Monster Burrito video) Great coffee. Best lunch on our trip. We are on a roll.

Shark/Ray Alley & Hol Chan 

 
We decided to give Shark/Ray Alley & Hol Chan a second chance. We booked the snorkeling trip through Sea-Rious. I was happy to see Jeffrey as our guide. The second time snorkeling through Hol Chan was a superior experience. We snorkeled the south face of the trench wall and then back on the north side. Crossing the trench we encountered three large spotted rays. They swam directly toward us. There was so much more to see today including a lobster hiding in the coral, a pufferfish, and more spotted rays.

We then climbed back aboard and motored over to Shark/Ray Alley. When we stopped, the boat was swarmed by sharks. Lots of them! Jeffrey tossed in some food so we could take a few pictures of them. Then it was time to get in the water. I had never been so eager to get in sharked filled waters. From doing a little research, we learned that nurse sharks and manta rays in this area are very tolerable to humans. It is said they don't seem to mind humans touching them. So Diane and I jumped in.


There underwater we watched Jeffrey carefully grab hold of a large ray. I was the first to swim up to the ray and ran my hands across it. Its skin was slick and felt somewhat soft and mushy. I looked into its large eyes and it into mine. When I smiled, the ray blinked its eyes at me. Amazing! Everyone got a chance to see the ray closer. Jeffrey was good enough to bring it up to the boat for the two women who decided not to get in the water. After they got a chance to see it, he gently let the ray go and we watched it quietly swim off.

Jeffrey gently put his hands around a passing nurse shark. He knew exactly how to put the creature at ease. Diane was the first one to touch the shark. She even cradled it in her arms. Her eyes lit up when holding it. Then she waved me over and I swam over. The shark's skin was much tougher than the rays. Being so close to this beautiful creature was truly a special moment for both of us. On our ride back to the hotel, we all talked excitedly about swimming with sharks.

This was our last night in Belize. The next day we would fly back to the States. I thought we should end this perfect day at our favorite local restaurant, Antijito's.

Comments

sashameow said…
I would like to swim with the sharks but I heard it is only a certain time of the year you can do that. If there is only a certain time of year you can do that, what is the time?
February 19, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Jeff and Diane said…
Not really sure. All I know is they stopped letting cruise ships go swim with the sharks.
December 30, 2010 at 2:06 PM
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 n
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 few photos
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