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Belize—December, 2016

Lori, Deb, and I went diving in Belize on board the Belize Aggressor this Christmas break.

Although Belize lies on the Mosquito Coast, we did not see a single mosquito this week. I'm not sure why. I would have expected some at the airport or in town. We certainly saw a bunch in the jungle at this time back in 2003.

Hurricane Earl destroyed the dock at the Radisson Port George Hotel . So, we had to embark in the nearby public marina. Once onboard, we had a nice week of great Caribbean diving. The reefs are quite healthy here, although some damage from the hurricane was seen.

Here's the route we took during the week (also in GPX or KML formats).

After enjoying the captions below, you can view larger versions of the photos by clicking on them. You can see even larger versions of the photos by viewing them in Google Photos . Use the menu to start a slideshow, or select a photo and press the Info button to view captions and maps.

Arrival (Friday, 2016-12-23)

The Belize flag Belize Aggressor	The dock at the Radisson Port George Hotel was destroyed by Hurricane Earl this summer	Deb and Lori change into their tropical attire
We took a short walk around the neighborhood after checking in Deb Walkup	Colorful Belize sign Deb Walkup	Enjoying a maitai at the poolside bar--no mosquitoes! Deb Walkup

Onboard the Belize Aggressor III (Saturday, 2016-12-24)

The Belize Aggressor III Belize Aggressor	The passengers and crew of the Belize Aggressor	Captain Chris Belize Aggressor
Chef Anna Belize Aggressor	Stewardess Vanessa Belize Aggressor	Daniel Belize Aggressor
Jerome Belize Aggressor	Ken, who was kind enough to swap a tank valve so I could use my DIN regulator Belize Aggressor	Jason also seemed to be out and about during the days also Belize Aggressor
Dana, Tracy, Deb, Lori, Cheryl, Jen, Lez, Kourtney, Alvaro Belize Aggressor	Rob, Jen, Lez, Jordan, Kourtney Belize Aggressor	Mark Belize Aggressor
Jayme and Kerry Belize Aggressor	Jerome and Allison Belize Aggressor	Me Belize Aggressor
Lez and Hazel Belize Aggressor	Cheryl and Mike Belize Aggressor

Sandy Slope (Sunday, 2016-12-25)

Our dives	Turneffe Islands dive sites Belize Aggressor	Sandy Slope
Octopus	Barrel sponge, fan coral, and Deb	Soft corals, fans, and sponges

Julie's Jungle, X-Site, and Long Caye Wall (Monday, 2016-12-26)

Lighthouse Reef dive sites Belize Aggressor	Julie's Jungle	Lori watches Deb's giant stride
Lori and Deb before the night dive	X-Site	An iridescent sponge amidst gorgonians
A fish hides within a tube sponge	Beautiful hard corals	Lovely red gorgonians
Me and my new reg and wondering why my mask is leaking	Long Caye Wall	Scrawled filefish Aluterus scriptus
Lori points out some interesting sea life	Longspine squirrelfish Holocentrus rufus	Lori dives
Juvenile stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viruses	Some healthy looking staghorn coral	Tube sponges and soft corals
Nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratum	Gray angelfish Pomacanthus arcuatus	Reef fish and Deb
Lots of healthy-looking coral	Barracuda	Deb and Lori enjoy the undersea world
Tarpon, which also buzzed us while feeding on night dives Megalops atlanticus	Atlantic trumpetfish Aulostomus maculatus
Sponge brittlestar Ophiothrix suensoni	Spotted scorpionfish Scorpions plumieri	Hermit crab
Deb along a well decorated wall	Tunicates	Banded coral shrimp Stenopus hispidus
Shortfinger neck crab Podochela sidneyi	Christmas tree worm in a hard coral	Flamingo tongue Cyphoma gibbosum
Brown moray Gymnothorax vicinus	Long-spined urchin Diadema antillarum	Giant basketstar Astrophyton muricatum
Giant basketstar Astrophyton muricatum	Stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viruses	Lori looks psychedelic at night

Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye Wall (Tuesday, 2016-12-27)

The Blue Hole!	The Blue Hole Belize Aggressor	Great Blue Hole cross section Belize Aggressor
Lots of dive boats at the Blue Hole, and some weather that made it nearly impossible for us to get there	Instead of stalagtites, I got a conch peering warily at me in the shallows	And a feather duster worm
Pederson cleaner shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni	Small fish	Midnight parrotfish Scarus coelestinus
Half Moon Caye Wall	Half Moon Bay Caye	The reef between Long Caye (in the distance) and Half Moon Bay Caye
Lori and Deb along a wall	Dramatic sand channels punctuate the reef	Spotted moray Gymnothorax moringa
Lori and a giant barrel sponge

Long Caye Ridge and Silver Cave (Wednesday, 2016-12-28)

Long Caye Ridge (didn't dive, due to cold)

Silver Cave (didn't dive, due to cold)

Chain Wall and Cathedral (Thursday, 2016-12-29)

Chain Wall	Long Caye off in the background	Spotted drum Equetus punctatus
Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus	Reef shark Carcharhinus perezii	Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus
Lori stares down the shark	Mark, in good ol' Aussie fashion, hangs out at the bar	It's unusual to see a nurse shark swimming Ginglymostoma cirratum
Jen, Deb, and Lori swing with the boat during their safety stop	Cathedral (also missed dive due to cold)