Page 234 - Central America

Ambergris Caye Belize has hundreds of offshore cayes, but Amber-
gris Caye (pronounced “Am BEAR grease’) is by far the largest and
most popular, with resorts, beaches. and world-class diving along 40
kilometers of the Belize Barrier Reef. Most of these sites are a short
boat ride awfrom San Pedro, re of fabulous underwater scenery and
Caribbean reef creatures as they explore the coral gardens here. The
biggest of the offshore cays, Ambergris Caye is a great place to stay if
you wish to base yourself in a resort within easy reach of the dive sites
of Belize’s barrier reef - the second largest barrier reef in the world.
The reef runs for 40 km almost parallel to the shore at an average dis-
tance of about 1 km out to sea. The whole of the east coast of Amber-
gris features ‘spur and groove’ reefs - long reef fingers that jut out on
the ocean side of the main barrier reef, perpendicular to the coastline.
These finger rolls create a profusion of gullies, canyons, ledges, tun-
nels and caverns that offer refuge for marine creatures and for scuba
divers to explore. To the south of the island there runs a line of small
cayes and reefs inside of which you will find well-protected shallow
water that offers some good diving. Shark Ray Alley is here and is
rated one of the Caribbean’s best animal dives and is, unsurprisingly,
a great site for encounters with sharks and rays, as well as many other
species. The animals come here to profit from fishing boats’ scraps
tossed overboard, so they are not shy, resulting in some excellent
photo opportunities.
The many marine parks here mean that fishing restrictions are in place
in several areas. Hol Chan Marine Reserve, aka ‘The Cut’, is one such
small marine reserve popular among divers from Ambergris Caye. It
promises an easy dive with pelagics such as barracuda in the depths
and often large animals in the shallow seagrass beds like sharks and
rays. There are a number of different ecosytems to be found here so
the species variety is wider than may be found elsewhere in Belize,