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View the next Belize postcard
View photos of Belize |
By Amy Berridge
Conservation Writer
The Nature Conservancy
Day 2: Swimming with Sharks
Exploring Gladden Spit Marine Reserve and Laughing Bird Caye
I’m up with the birds. Their tropical chatter rouses me, and I trundle down to the beach half-asleep to catch the first glow of sun as it cuts across the sea, slate grey in the early morning light. An army of no-see-ums swarms around my ankles and ears, awakening me with their bites.
We’ll be out on the water all day to snorkel and explore Gladden Spit Marine Reserve and Laughing Bird Caye. These are two protected areas that help safeguard the Meso-American reef, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the second largest barrier reef on Earth. This place is home to one of the Earth’s few congregating sites for whale sharks, the world's largest fish. It’s also an important spawning site for threatened Nassau grouper and a variety of snappers.
Conservancy partners, the Placencia-based Friends of Nature (FON), are our guides. In the last few years, FON has worked tirelessly to protect marine life at Gladden Spit. As we head out towards the reef, Dwight Neal from FON tells us about efforts to regulate the recent boom in tourism.
Some threatening clouds hulk on the horizon, but for now, the sun is high and bright. We troll past mangrove islands that dot the water. The Maya mountains rise on the shoreline, gently recede, then vanish completely as we travel farther out towards the reef. Some porpoises swim alongside our boat. They join rays, pelicans, and other sea birds that keep us company, but we have the Caribbean sea mostly to ourselves.
To my untrained eye, the waters and islands teem with life, but when we reach the Gladden Spit, wisps of algae wave silently from the sea floor. More than 20 miles from the mainland, farm and factory pollution and overdevelopment, contribute to this growth which threatens to choke the reefs.
The snorkeling and diving at Gladden Spit is world renowned, and today is no exception. Scores of reef fish dart past. Rays scuttle across the sand floor. A nurse shark swims below me, while a gentle current fans the coral reef gardens.
Our next stop is lunch at Laughing Bird Caye National Park, protected thanks to the efforts of FON and the Conservancy. As we come ashore on the tiny island, the sun begins its precipitous dip to afternoon. Here we learn how local fishermen that once threatened the reef’s health with overfishing now work as guides and park rangers.
After lunch we explore the waters around the Caye. Lemon sharks ply the shallow lagoon, their fins visible. I dodge a jellyfish or two, and follow our guide as he points out furry sea cucumbers, lobsters, and other sea life.
That night, we eat at a restaurant next to the town soccer field. Kids scrimmage under the lights, while funky Belizean music trickles from the speakers. I gulp down rice and beans, Creole chicken, cake and ice cream. That night, as my head hits the pillow, I still feel the gentle sway of the ocean. A light tropical rain finally blows ashore from the clouds that kept their respectful distance all day.
Next: Keeping Belize Wild...
For more information about Belize:
- The Nature Conservancy in Belize
Belize encompasses lush tropical rain forests, coastal mangrove forests, offshore cays and the Meso-American Reef — the second largest barrier reef system in the world - Field Guide: Meso-American Reef
More than a million years ago tiny marine organisms began laying the foundations of the Meso-American Reef, a long spine of coral hugging the shore of present-day Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. - Ecotourism: Rio Bravo, Belize
Established in 1988, The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area is the largest private protected area in Belize, is abundant with wildlife, and accounts for 4 percent of the total national land area. - How You Can Help: Donate Online
Support conservation by helping to save the last great places in Belize.
