Laughing Bird Caye

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Thu 6 Dec 2012 23:03
Laughing Bird Caye
 
 
 
 
 
 
BB Bits and Visitors 032
 
Captain Bo-Bo
 
 
Moth as Director of Entertainment organised for us to go on a snorkeling trip with Captain Bo-Bo (his local nickname for having been born with twine toes – something he assured us he had grown out of, but grown into a shell fish allergy. This is very sad living in this area of abundant lobster, crab and all things to make the perfect fruits de mer).
We shared Captain Bo-Bo’s launcha with Mark (in from England) and Hugo (English but in from his home in Brisbane), two school friends ‘doing’ Central America for Mark’s 50th birthday trip. Amy (from Texas who is just waiting to see if she gets a job monitoring woodpeckers) and Megan (Maine but living in Texas, working as a nurse but missing the snow and seasons of living further north).
 
 
BB Bits and Visitors 034
 
Laughing Bird Caye
 
 
BB Bits and Visitors 035
 
We paid our $10 National Pak fee and listened whilst a Ranger told us about this lovely sunshine spot:
 
Laughing Bird Caye is the beautiful Belizean isle eleven miles off the coast from Placencia Village and is the southernmost island in the central lagoon of the Belize Barrier Reef (second largest reef in the world behind the Great Barrier Reef in Australia). This long narrow isle stands on an elongated ridge of reef known as a faro - an angular atoll on a continental shelf, also known as a shelf atoll. Like an atoll, a faro is steep sided and encloses a central lagoon. The Laughing Bird Faro is separated from the mainland, the barrier reef and other cayes by deep channels on all sides.

The uniqueness of this structure contributes to both the abundance and variety of coral habitats and marine life. The Caye gets its name from the Laughing Gull (Larus artricilla). This bird use to breed on the Caye, but due to a growing human presence, the colonies have moved to nearby undisturbed cayes. Due to the uniqueness of the Caye, this Faro was declared a protected area in 1981 under the National Parks System Act. On the 21st of December 1991, Laughing Bird Caye National Park was declared. In 1996 the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System was inscribed on the World Heritage List with Laughing Bird Caye National Park designated as one of the premiere protected areas within the World Heritage Site.

We saddled up in fins and masks and set off to explore one half of the caye.

 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 019
 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 015  PB Snorkel Belize 104
 
The water was crystal clear and the corals were healthy and thriving
 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 028  PB Snorkel Belize 040
 
The big chap gnaws his favourite hole and the little chaps line up to feed on the bits
 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 043  PB Snorkel Belize 045
 
A handsome boy came for a look and lots of little ones too
 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 048  PB Snorkel Belize 005
 
PB Snorkel Belize 072
 
Just restin’
 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 020  PB Snorkel Belize 021  PB Snorkel Belize 007
 
PB Snorkel Belize 178
 
PB Snorkel Belize 080  PB Snorkel Belize 023
 
PB Snorkel Belize 030
 
PB Snorkel Belize 182  PB Snorkel Belize 176
 
PB Snorkel Belize 187 
 
PB Snorkel Belize 173
 
PB Snorkel Belize 177  PB Snorkel Belize 174
 
PB Snorkel Belize 099
 
My experiences swimming off Roseau, Dominica in ‘itch arse’ bloom made me stage exuant left swiftly when I saw this chap the size of a dinner plate. I was getting cold by now so this was a great excuse to get in the sun and warmed ready for lunch.
 
 
 
 
 
 
ALL IN ALL SMASHING TO BE IN CLEAR WATER AGAIN
 
.