A week in Belize with Sun Dancer 2
19/10/10 11:46 Filed in: Life
Hello friends,
I’m just back from a week in Belize aboard a fantastic liveaboard dive boat called the Sun Dancer 2. The flagship of the Dancer fleet, the Sun Dancer 2 runs out of Belize City and spends the week hopping from site to site along the mesoamerican barrier reef and exploring some really pristine reef systems, much of them protected and part of a UNESCO world heritage site.
Close friends of mine will know that we’ve had a tragic year and this week away was very much what we needed at the end of an emotionally exhaustive stretch. This trip would have already been great, but that fact that the captain and hostess are Simon and Andrina, great old friends of T’s and new friends of mine, made it even better.
I spent a week diving these waters in 2006 and was looking forward to getting another look at the reef. It’s very similar to what I know in Roatan, but it gets less traffic and has some creatures that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. I can’t recommend these guys enough, they are so quick to take care of every need, the food is great, and some of the best diving in the Caribbean is right under your bunk.
I finally housed one of my Nikons after years of messing around with point and shoot cameras underwater. It’s bigger and heavier, but it does the job a hundred times better.
Here are some shots.
Captain Simon. Hold his nose and air comes out of his ear...
Some really nice staghorn coral.
The spotted toadfish is endemic and found nowhere else. It took me until the last night to see him though!
First time I’ve ever seen a Spanish Dancer.
This funny little guy is called a Goatee blennie. Another first time creature for me, they are extremely reclusive and rare to find.
Fringe backed nudibranch. T found this guy and I spent a bunch of time with him.
This is the second Viper Moray I’ve ever seen and the first I’ve ever got a shot of.
Gorgeous little filefish.
Andrina underwater...
Andrina waiting on the stern.
Tiny little brittle star.
Reef Squid at night.
Octopus at night.
Pushing the limit of my 60mm macro.
Pedersen’s cleaner shrimp.
Horse eye jacks lived under the boat all the time.
T.
T with an eagle ray.
Nice walls and fans.
Damn lionfish.
T and a stingray.
Cave full of silversides.
Sponges.
Horny.
Relaxed.
Night stingray.
I’m a fan of fans.
The housing gets a rest.
D.
I’m just back from a week in Belize aboard a fantastic liveaboard dive boat called the Sun Dancer 2. The flagship of the Dancer fleet, the Sun Dancer 2 runs out of Belize City and spends the week hopping from site to site along the mesoamerican barrier reef and exploring some really pristine reef systems, much of them protected and part of a UNESCO world heritage site.
Close friends of mine will know that we’ve had a tragic year and this week away was very much what we needed at the end of an emotionally exhaustive stretch. This trip would have already been great, but that fact that the captain and hostess are Simon and Andrina, great old friends of T’s and new friends of mine, made it even better.
I spent a week diving these waters in 2006 and was looking forward to getting another look at the reef. It’s very similar to what I know in Roatan, but it gets less traffic and has some creatures that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. I can’t recommend these guys enough, they are so quick to take care of every need, the food is great, and some of the best diving in the Caribbean is right under your bunk.
I finally housed one of my Nikons after years of messing around with point and shoot cameras underwater. It’s bigger and heavier, but it does the job a hundred times better.
Here are some shots.
Captain Simon. Hold his nose and air comes out of his ear...
Some really nice staghorn coral.
The spotted toadfish is endemic and found nowhere else. It took me until the last night to see him though!
First time I’ve ever seen a Spanish Dancer.
This funny little guy is called a Goatee blennie. Another first time creature for me, they are extremely reclusive and rare to find.
Fringe backed nudibranch. T found this guy and I spent a bunch of time with him.
This is the second Viper Moray I’ve ever seen and the first I’ve ever got a shot of.
Gorgeous little filefish.
Andrina underwater...
Andrina waiting on the stern.
Tiny little brittle star.
Reef Squid at night.
Octopus at night.
Pushing the limit of my 60mm macro.
Pedersen’s cleaner shrimp.
Horse eye jacks lived under the boat all the time.
T.
T with an eagle ray.
Nice walls and fans.
Damn lionfish.
T and a stingray.
Cave full of silversides.
Sponges.
Horny.
Relaxed.
Night stingray.
I’m a fan of fans.
The housing gets a rest.
D.