Sponsored by: Wayne B. Brown, CEO Aggressor Fleet

Belize is the only Central American country with English as its official language. Rectangle shaped at 174 miles north-south and 62 miles east-west, it is home to the second largest barrier reef in the world and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. With 70 hard coral and 36 soft coral species identified, as well as over 500 fish and 100 invertebrates, it is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world.

Upon arrival at the small, but efficient airport, we were quickly through immigration and customs, and outside to meet our airport transfer to the Belize Aggressor IV. Our driver gave us a mini tour of Belize City and the history of many sites and buildings. It was a great introduction to the friendly Belizean culture.

We boarded promptly at 3:00 pm. We immediately set up our dive gear and settled our small LiveAboard wardrobe in the stateroom. The captain’s safety briefing, a champagne welcome toast and dinner went by quickly and we moved off the dock headed for our first anchorage off the South-Western end of Lighthouse Reef at Julie’s Jungle.

On Monday during our first dive, we dropped into a deep crevice running down the wall and right in front of a large green moray stretched out in the corals. We were also treated to several passing turtles and spotted eagle rays. Once back on top of the reef, we saw a beautiful sandy expanse full of garden eels and southern stingrays. For the afternoon, we traveled over to Silver Caves on the West side of Long Cay. There we spent two dives exploring the canyons and swim that provide excellent hiding spots for spiny lobsters and the channel clinging crabs.

On Tuesday morning, the sandy expanses at the top of Chain Wall provided an excellent backdrop for some serious shark excitement. During all three morning dives we were treated to visits from the local reef sharks along with several spotted eagle rays. The afternoon was spent at Eagle Ray Wall, where everyone enjoyed the macro world at the top of the wall with jawfish with eggs, colorful mantis shrimp and pipe seahorses!

Wednesday morning we decided that the weather looked just right, so we made our way through the reef to the Great Blue Hole. There, our group was awed by the size of this collapsed cave and the sheer drop as the walls descend into the abyss. Swimming amidst the stalactites deep in the blue hole always makes for quite a memorable dive. We then made a shore excursion to Half Moon Cay, where everyone had a chance to stretch their legs, off gas from the deep dive and enjoy a close-up look at the island's seabird population of red-footed boobies, several with babies and frigates. The afternoon was spent exploring the dropoff at East Cut, where several friendly reef sharks provided plenty of entertainment for both dives.

Thursday morning we managed to squeeze in three dive sites instead of normal two. Hitting Painted Wall, Long Cay Wall on Lighthouse Reef, and finally Front Porch over on the East side of Turneffe Island. At Front Porch, one of the guests had been looking for the lettuce leaf sea lugs and found so many they quite taking pictures of them! During the dive, we heard a chorus of grunts from Spotted Toadfish throughout the dive, though it wasn't till the late afternoon dive that these elusive critters finally made an appearance.

For our last day of diving, we woke up a little early to make time for two dives. We explored Sandy Slope, a site with a nice “ski slope” of sand that cuts down through the wall down to 100’ and beyond. The slopes around the site were full of giant barrel sponges, lobsters and spotted morays. I even photographed a pair of Bandtail Puffer fish that I have never seen before! What a great way to end the week!

What made this trip special is that it was one of my ‘Wine Appreciation’ charters that I run a couple of times a year. Each night I showed videos of the history of wine, barrel making, the science behind wine and other interesting facts. We tasted a different red and white each night. It’s always the best way to end each day of LiveAboard Excellence!

As on every charter, all the guests left as friends and vowed to dive together again on another Aggressor.

For more information:

Click here for more information on Belize itineraries with Aggressor Fleet or check out the Raja Ampat or Red Sea Owner's Trip Reports.

To dive with the owners, visit www.aggressor.com/dwo.php.