Almost a year to the date before embarking, I booked a liveaboard trip on the Belize aggressor III. I then spent an entire year daydreaming about the sites we’d be diving! Let me say, this is the longest I’ve ever waited for a trip, and it was worth every second of waiting. It would take a small book to describe everything that happened during this adventure, so I’ll just gloss over some of the highlights for you.
I’ll start with the walls. We hit Half Moon Caye Wall, Painted Wall, and Quebrada, where big red gorgonians nestle side by side with massive elephant ear sponges in a shade of orange so brilliant I couldn’t believe my eyes. Moray eels, little arrowhead crabs, and spiny lobsters were everywhere!
Lighthouse Reef and of course the famous Blue Hole of Belize were high on my list of priorities and they did not disappoint. We saw some reef sharks and hammerheads inside the blue hole, and looking at the cave entrances with their stalactites and stalagmites, realizing those were once high and dry gave me chills!
Aquarium was another site that lived up to its name. I felt like a plastic diver floating in a fish tank…big barrel sponges, bright blue vase sponges, and yellow tube sponges created a splendid backdrop for spotted trunkfish, black groupers, and horse eyed jacks. The place was also great for turtles – we saw both green and hawksbill varieties.
I saw my first Spanish Dancer during a night dive at Cathedral, and during the daytime dive at the same spot, we saw three different types of angelfish, lots of different eels, and some beautiful black groupers.
Lastly, the Aggressor III is just fantastic. They pamper you and look after your safety, and the crew somehow knows where and when all the fish action will take place. I know it has to do with tides, etc. but it almost seems as if they have a sixth sense. I booked another trip for next year and you guessed it, I’m counting down the days.