Ambergris Caye, Belize

Before we arrived, I had already mispronounced the name of this island a bunch of  times. Apparently it's pronounced "Am-BUR-grease key", but the locals referred to it as the "AC". This small caye, which is 25 miles long, is the largest in Belize. Off its coast is the second largest barrier reef in the world. 

We flew to Ambergris Caye from the Belize City's municipal airport, which is even tinier than their international airport. The pilot was seated next to us in the lobby playing Angry Birds on his phone. When they began boarding the tiny 9 seat plane, he casually waited in line with the passengers, boarded and took the front seat. The entire flight was 15 minutes in length. 

Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Shark Alley are a mere 5 minute boat ride from San Pedro. The sea life and close proximity to the barrier reef is what makes this island a prime destination. On the day we went out, there were quite a few nurse sharks circling our boat. Though I knew they would be there (we did sign up for this) my first instinct was to yell "No way, Jose!" and run back to the hotel cartoon-style across the water. It just seems completely unnatural to want to jump into the water with sharks, even harmless sharks. But we did it...and I now know that my underwater scream is quite powerful.  The sharks were docile and really not at all interested in us humans. We also saw loads of vibrant tropical fish, sting rays and even a couple of barracuda. The world underneath that water was incredible.

We rented a golf cart for several days, but neither Sean nor I have much experience in driving them so we were baffled when the horn blared continuously as we drove. It was like we were in a clown car. We thought it was an alarm and were laughing at the thought of a golf cart alarm. Turns out, the horn is located next to the gas pedal...so that information really would have come in handy first thing.

The island is small and not very commercialized, which is kind of perfect. The only drawback was that the beaches are overwhelmed by sargassum, a thick smelly brown seaweed. It coats the shore and floats in shallow beach water, making swimming off the shore pretty nasty. Not a good destination if you plan on relaxing at the beach. They said that a dispersant used during the oil spill in 2010 has enhanced the growth of this stuff. All along the shore there were men shoveling the seaweed but making no progress. Several of the hotels did have long piers which spanned out past the wall of floating grossness and offered better swimming/snorkeling options.

                                                  Look mom, no seaweed!

There are plenty of hotel pools, too. Ours included a resident iguana. He walked back and forth along the waterfall of the pool, surprising new guests.

Ambergris Caye is family-friendly and offers fantastic scuba/snorkel opportunities, but If I were to plan another trip, I would try to stay instead on Caye Culker. In speaking with other guests we learned that Culker is just as close to the reef but is a bit more off the grid. There is also a snorkel with manatees opportunity there which sounds incredible.

We are a few weeks back in Colorado, and this trip seems a lifetime away. Belize is a fantastic destination. I'm hoping we can check out more of Central America in the future.