Belize – At the Blue Marlin Lodge

Date: August 1993

The Blue Marlin Resort on South Water Caye came highly recommended by a colleague at work. In fact, he claimed it was the only place he now went after trying different destinations all over the Caribbean.

Always being adventurous, I thought, why not? My friend sent us a self-produced video showing the resort and diving scenes. So far, so good, but further research was also in order. Skin Diver has regular spreads on dive destinations and they do a pretty good job of describing different options and areas to see. We were intrigued by much of what we read about the interior of Belize, and thought this would be a good opportunity to tack-on a few days at the end of the diving to explore some of the country. This was the best dive trip decision we made.

We contacted International Expeditions, one of the companies mentioned by Skin Diver Magazine, and they helped us set up a four-day excursion hitting what sounded like the high-points. More on that, later.

I think our group of fourteen may have been larger than they were used to, but they had plenty of rooms and could easily accommodate us.

Diving. Not surprisingly, most of our dives were along the barrier reef. The reef is close to the surface, causing breaking waves, so you can visually follow the reef for miles. Most sites were a brief ride south to find a break in the reef, then either north or south on the windward side. The trade winds were always present keeping a healthy chop on the water.

Each day of our five dive days, we dove once in the morning at about 9:30 and then took an afternoon dive around 2:30. One night boat dive was scheduled. We tried our own night shore dive off the windward side of the island, but it wasn’t very successful. Of all our land-based diving experiences, South Water Caye had the least favorable shore diving conditions. On the other hand, Sandy, not to be kept from the water, tried snorkeling on the leeward side off the boat dock. "It’s only sand and turtle grass," she was told. Leave it to her, however, to find all sorts of interesting critters in an "uninteresting" area. Finds included a seahorse, a large jelly fish, and during one evening, a passing shark.

The barrier reef provided for good diving with a wide variety of large sponges, with one group of tube sponges extending over four feet. Eagle rays were frequently seen along with lots of other fish life. The coral was healthy with large formations of brain and star coral.

Everyone has heard of Belize’s famous Blue Hole, but BMR was quite proud of their own, "private" blue hole which they called Hell’s Hole. But there is nothing hellish about it.. The boats took us north on a twenty minute or so ride on the inland side of the reef, and stopped in an area with no apparent landmarks. Without GPS, however, the guides landed on the exact spot (and they did it again for a second requested visit later in the week). The bottom, at 25’ to 40’, was nondescript and fairly uninteresting. A large, circular, dark opening, like the neck of a fat vase, loomed ahead, however. We all eagerly entered with our lights and began to explore. A couple of us reached the top of a sand mound on the bottom at 110’ feet where a ray lived, captive to the hole because he was unable to swim up and out. At 70’ stalactites were evidence that long-ago, the huge room was a dry cave. Also found in the hole was a shark.

Our final dive of the week, after a requested repeat visit to Hell’s Hole, was at Silversides, another beautiful site on the barrier reef. True to its name, there was a small cavern frequented by a school of thousands of silversides. Entering the cavern, it was an awesome sight to watch the sun’s changing reflections on the silver fish with the deep blue ocean behind them. If that wasn’t enough, we were treated to a close "flyby" of three eagle rays at the end of the dive. What an ending!

Dive Operation. BMR normally take out groups of six divers, so we were divided into two boats, a 30’ delta dive boat and a 25’ skiff. Either due to the size of our group or because one of the dive masters was off for the week, they brought in another dive master called Billy from up north. He was a good addition to the team. The dive operation was efficiently and safely run by a friendly staff who felt free to associate with the guests. Not only was this great, but it made for good volleyball (see below).

Dive equipment lockers were located at the dock to minimize any equipment hauling.

Dive Resort. When arranging the trip, we were given the option to be picked up in Belize City and travel by boat to South Water Caye (a two-hour trip) or catch a small plane to Dangriga where would be shuttled to the island by a much shorter boat ride. When we understood the boat ride from Belize City would be in the typically calm channel, we went for the long ride. It was another good choice, as it made a relaxing introduction to Belize with the many islands lined up along the barrier reef.

Blue Marlin Resort and South Water Caye are almost one and the same on the 20-acre island, except for a college facility hidden on the southern part of the island. At the resort, you can look to the east and watch the waves break over the barrier reef, or turn to the west towards calmer waters of the channel separating the island from mainland Belize. It’s probably only a thirty second walk through the well-maintained grounds and palm trees to get from one side to the other.

Two buildings on the windward side housed very comfortable guest rooms. There were also a couple of "igloo-like" structures in the middle of the island that were also rooms. On the leeward side was a complex that contained a gift shop, dining facility that looked out over the channel, an attached deck area with lounging furniture, and the dive dock.

We were happy to have Billy join us for the week. Not only was he a good dive master, word had it that he was on the Belize Olympic volleyball team. Coincidentally, a court was set up in the sand, and during most every dive break, a game broke out. Sometimes it was the Belizians against the visitors, and sometimes we mixed it up. At all times, it was great fun.

Rosella Zabareh, owner of BMR with her husband, Mike, was active at the resort on a day-to-day basis, and the entire staff was friendly and anxious to please us. Not only did we have the volleyball, but the dining room area had a pool table for evening recreation. They also gave each of us a custom resort T-shirt made for our group—a unique touch of class. The high point (or was it a low point) in our evening’s entertainment was the bottle of Viper Rum Billy brought out for our enjoyment. Yep, the bottle actually contained a snake—eat your hearts out, Tequila lovers. The macho among us each had a shot!

Meals. We really enjoyed our chef, Sam. He treated us to a freshly made, hot soup for each lunch. No one in our group was really used to having soup during the hot time of year (soup is for winter, right?), but it was great and enjoyed by all. Due to the size of our group, we were the only guests at the resort that week, so we sat around one table for each meal. The food was plentiful and delicious, and as I recall, Sam received more than one standing ovation.

Inland Belize. After the water shuttle to Dangriga at the end of the diving portion of our trip, five of our group headed for the small airport to catch a jump back to Belize City, then home. The other nine met our local Belize guide and bus driver for the next four days. We headed out across Belize almost immediately to our first planned stop at an interior blue hole along the Hummingbird highway. We could have taken a swim there, but decided instead to continue to the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich, almost to the border with Guatemala. This was a very interesting stop as our guide gave us a history of the site and we had a chance to climb to the top of some ancient structures. From the top, we could see throughout the countryside and into Guatemala.

Speaking of the countryside, during our drive across Belize, we found the country to be lush green, hilly, and beautiful. The people speak English as Belize was formerly British Honduras.

Our stop for the first evening was at Chaa Creek ("Chaa" is Mayan for "red), a charming resort of thatched-roof cottages scattered on immaculate grounds. A large open-air dining room, lit with kerosene lamps was just about as romantic as you could get (assuming your honey was with you, and mine was...). The lamps were more than just a romantic thought, however, as the resort had no electricity. The cottage windows didn’t even have screens, either...and that was just fine with everyone. Lest you get the idea that we were crashing into some dump with no modern conveniences, this was one of the neatest places we have ever stayed. In fact, I was dumped on the rest of the week for not booking more than one night here! Before our gourmet dinner, we relaxed at their bar on an open deck adjoining the dining room.

Back to our guide...Apparently most of his tourist business from the USA are ornithologist and regular type bird watchers. He was quite aware of the St. Louis Botanical Gardens as they have sent groups to Belize before. As usual, I’m sure, he was armed with all his bird books just waiting to thrill us. He didn’t realize until he met us that we were a bunch of divers who recognized a whole lot more fish that fowl. Not to be deterred, he proposed an early morning walk through the Chaa Creek grounds to do some bird watching. Some of us were not inclined to do anything "early" or at least earlier than absolutely necessary. On the other hand, many of us took his offer and had a great time seeing a few of the 300 resident bird species that we normally do not see in our back yards...Toucans, for example.

Later that morning after breakfast, we toured an adjoining area called the Panti Maya Medicine Trail. We were guided by a woman doctor who had left her practice in Chicago to come to Belize to study their abundant medicinal plants used for centuries. As modern medicine has taken a foothold, she studied with their original "medicine men" and became a recipient of the knowledge passed down from generation to generation. Ironically, many of the medicines from local plants have proved their worth in modern Western medicine with some of the benefits still to be discovered. We were fascinated to walk the trail through the rain forest and hear about and see a poisonous tree, along side another tree containing the antidote

After lunch, we walked down a hill in back of the cottages and boarded canoes for a float down the Macal River. This was a fun and relaxing time, perfect for photographing the beautiful landscape. In one area, woman were doing their washing in the river as their small children played in the water.

After the float, we again boarded our bus and headed for another truly unique place in Central American, the Mountain Pine Ridge. The 300 square mile area is truly a unique biological and geological island around which the rest of Belize was built millions of years ago. The ridge, at 2600’ elevation is far above the rain forest below, and is covered with a pine forest. Because of the elevation, the temperatures are cool and the area has it own unique species of birds.

Our destination for the next three nights and two days was Hidden Valley Resort, a private 18,000 acre preserve. The drive up was unsettling, however, as we slowly climbed the ridge over endless gravel roads with frequent potholes the size of a small Buick. Arrival was a delight, however, as we viewed our resort nestled in the pines. The main lodge had a number of rooms: dining room, a spacious lounge, recreational areas, and reading rooms. We counted four fireplaces, and on a chilly evening in August (!), they were perfect.

The next day, Monday, was open for a variety of activities. Two arranged for transportation to the grand ruins at Tikal in Guatemala. Most of us, however, could not stand to think about traversing the roads down then back up again. Three

people went horseback riding at the nearby Mountain Equestrian Trails in the morning, and the rest of the group hiked through the forest to the top of Tiger Creek Falls.

In the afternoon, the horseback riders and the hikers rejoined and were transported to a new trail head for a hike to Butterfly Falls. This spot, deep in the forest, was fairly recently discovered, when the owner of Hidden Valley commissioned a survey to discover exactly what flora and fauna did exist on the acreage. The result was considerable scholarly work on the assessment of the unique ecosystem of the mountain pine ridge area. Our exhilarating hike paid big dividends when we finally made it to the falls. We were in the water in no time, climbing part of the way up the falls and diving into the pool.

Our final day on the mountain pine ridge was to be equally and exciting as any other. Our first destination was to Rio Frio Cave. We entered the large opening into the massive cathedral-like vault, out of which was flowing a small river. We were continually climbing over and down rocks as we generally followed the stream. Light from the huge entrance continued to help us see our way. As we worked our way deeper into the cave, we could "see light at the end of the tunnel." There was actually an opening at the other end, too, where the river entered the cave. After more climbing we exited the cave a walked along a trail back to the bus.

From there were found a place along the river at Rio On Pools to eat our box lunch. After lunch, it was back in the water to play in the connected pools and short waterfalls in this scenic area. We rushed down natural rock slides which had been made smooth by the running water. It was better than any water park back home

On our way back to the lodge, we made one last stop at Hidden Valley Falls. This time we had to view the thousand foot high falls from a observation deck across a wide valley. Although it was quite a site, it seemed more like a traditional tourist site, rather than the up-close-and-personal experience we had been having.

On our fifth and last day of exploration, we ate an early breakfast and started making our way to the airport in Belize City. We made one stop at the Belize Zoo which was fun then another stop for lunch.

Postscript. The Blue Marlin Resort was perhaps the most charming, out-of-the-way, picturesque land-based dive resort we have visited. We did not get as much diving as at some places; certainly no where near the amount we would get on a live-aboard. The combination of experiences was very special, however, and we would highly recommend staying there.

In retrospect, I cannot imagine not having taken the time to explore the interior of Belize in 4 1/2 quick days. International Expeditions did a fantastic job putting a custom itinerary together for us that was reasonable priced. Our guide was terrific and became family. Words, and a few pictures, cannot begin to adequately describe the beauty of the country and the truly exciting experiences we shared. If you have not been to Belize, plan a trip soon...even if you don’t dive.