Sibun River and Goff’s Caye, Belize
During the night we repositioned our ship back inside the barrier reef of Belize. It was a fairly smooth transition with a few bumps here and there but for the most part the sailing was smooth. We had our eye on the little river of the Sibun located just about five miles south of Belize City. This river is 90 miles long and meanders and winds it’s way into the interior of the country providing a very important water source for many villages and settlements along the western highway. We found ourselves weaving in and out wondering what wonderful surprises we might encounter around the next bend. The mangroves here appeared to be very healthy and lush especially as we continued further. Mangroves are typical plants of our sheltered coastline, being best developed along our estuaries and coastal lagoons. They form a distinct salt tolerant ecosystem. For the most part, the species occurs in a general zonation pattern that is caused by several factors such as salinity, tidal exposure and substrates characteristics.
Richard, the marinero with his keen eyes, spotted several white-nosed coatimundis foraging in the canopy of the red mangrove. Coatis, as they are called locally, are members of the raccoon family and are omnivores that feed on invertebrates such as insects and crabs and small vertebrates such as frogs, snakes, nesting birds, fruits and flower nectar.
By late afternoon we were gently swinging on our anchor just a short distance from the picturesque Goff’s Caye. This tiny sandy speck is located about 12 miles from Belize City and sits on our barrier reef. Because of its proximity to the city, several weekend cavorters were taking full advantage of the light breezes and slightly overcast sky. We divers headed out and discovered a series of interesting drop-offs located on the east side of the caye. Spiny lobster overflowed from one crevice in the reef and just beyond that the huge shadow of a startled Loggerhead turtle as it swam rapidly away. Our barrier reef is approximately 170 miles long and protects the shoreline that is already below sea level. Over sixty-five species of corals have been identified in Belizean waters.
Marco, our hotel manager treated our guests with sunset cocktails on the beach, but our hopes of seeing the “green flash” were lost as we watched the red ball of our sunset descend into a sea of clouds. But this didn’t stop our group from having fun as we could hear the laughter echoing from the stern of the ship as we once again boarded our ship for the last time.
During the night we repositioned our ship back inside the barrier reef of Belize. It was a fairly smooth transition with a few bumps here and there but for the most part the sailing was smooth. We had our eye on the little river of the Sibun located just about five miles south of Belize City. This river is 90 miles long and meanders and winds it’s way into the interior of the country providing a very important water source for many villages and settlements along the western highway. We found ourselves weaving in and out wondering what wonderful surprises we might encounter around the next bend. The mangroves here appeared to be very healthy and lush especially as we continued further. Mangroves are typical plants of our sheltered coastline, being best developed along our estuaries and coastal lagoons. They form a distinct salt tolerant ecosystem. For the most part, the species occurs in a general zonation pattern that is caused by several factors such as salinity, tidal exposure and substrates characteristics.
Richard, the marinero with his keen eyes, spotted several white-nosed coatimundis foraging in the canopy of the red mangrove. Coatis, as they are called locally, are members of the raccoon family and are omnivores that feed on invertebrates such as insects and crabs and small vertebrates such as frogs, snakes, nesting birds, fruits and flower nectar.
By late afternoon we were gently swinging on our anchor just a short distance from the picturesque Goff’s Caye. This tiny sandy speck is located about 12 miles from Belize City and sits on our barrier reef. Because of its proximity to the city, several weekend cavorters were taking full advantage of the light breezes and slightly overcast sky. We divers headed out and discovered a series of interesting drop-offs located on the east side of the caye. Spiny lobster overflowed from one crevice in the reef and just beyond that the huge shadow of a startled Loggerhead turtle as it swam rapidly away. Our barrier reef is approximately 170 miles long and protects the shoreline that is already below sea level. Over sixty-five species of corals have been identified in Belizean waters.
Marco, our hotel manager treated our guests with sunset cocktails on the beach, but our hopes of seeing the “green flash” were lost as we watched the red ball of our sunset descend into a sea of clouds. But this didn’t stop our group from having fun as we could hear the laughter echoing from the stern of the ship as we once again boarded our ship for the last time.
