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Belize - Long Cay/Half Moon Cay April, 2008
After a month in Roatan, it was time to begin our trip back towards the United States but not without stopping in Belize first. On the evening of Thursday, March 27th around 6 p.m., we exited the West End channel and began our overnight trip to Lighthouse Reef (Long Cay) Belize. It was blowing about 15-20 knots with 6-8 foot seas, and 17 hours later we arrived at Long Cay with great light and visibility to pass through the entrance surrounded by coral. In this area, there are three islands Long Cay, Half Moon Cay (national park) and Hat Cay each surrounded by beautiful coral with lots of fish. There is little on the island of Long Cay except a dive/resort facility which has been unsuccessfully trying to establish itself. The island is surrounded by reefs with a few breaks in the reef for entry. There are about 6 or 7 dive balls located on the west side of the island which are maintained by the live aboard dive boats who regularly stop here. With the assistance of Karl & Kim on the sailing vessel Querencia, we were able to get tanks filled by some of the dive boats. Eventually, we became fairly good friends with the captain and crew members of dive boat, Nekton Pilot who filled our dive tanks for us almost daily ... thanks so much Nekton Pilot. One of our favorite dives was on the mooring ball Cathedral which has many crevasses and caves with tarpon, crabs, lobsters, huge groupers and sharks. We dove several times with Kim & Karl (Querencia). Each dive Karl took either video or photographs of our dives, click on the picture below to see a short two minute video of our dives.
Many days were spent at Long Cay, however, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to explore Half Moon Cay. This small, idyllic tropical island and the immediate surrounding waters are a National Park and home to a protected bird sanctuary. The cay is divided into two distinct halves: the western half is the bird sanctuary and is densely overgrown. The remainder of the island is made up of coconut palms and sparse vegetation, with a few small buildings and a solar-powered lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper on Half Moon Cay, in addition to making his living from fishing and his duties as lighthouse keeper, is the park warden and keeps a close eye on all visitors. He has even built a platform amongst the trees, which enables visitors to view the birds from a position which looks down onto the treetops. The nesting birds are mainly frigate and redfooted booby birds, but a total of 98 species have been recorded here: pelican, osprey, egret, gulls, storks and terns, to name but a few. Every day the frigate and booby birds put on a remarkable social display. At first light they can be seen soaring high above the island as one large flock. With hardly any noticeable wing movement, they ride the early morning air currents. Later, during the intense heat of the day, they can be easily photographed at their nests from the viewing platform. There is no obvious segregation in the nesting arrangements. Each bird, irrespective of species, has its own site. These are all very close to each other, often no more than pecking distance apart. The magnificent frigate bird, to quote the full name, is much larger than the booby bird. It has a seven-foot wingspan and a much longer beak. Every day it uses this advantage of size to rob the booby bird of its food. By mid-afternoon, when the heat from the sun is diminishing, the booby birds go fishing. Like many species of seabird found around the world, it dives onto its prey from a great height over the sea. By contrast, the frigate bird never lands on water, although it is very adept at plucking a dead fish from the surface. The afternoon ritual between these two species is one whereby the booby bird runs a gauntlet of harassing frigate birds which attempt, quite viciously, to make the booby bird drop its catch. And so the truce which had prevailed since last evening is broken. One cannot help but will the booby bird on to victory, and feel like cheering each time one of them returns successfully to the nest to live in peaceful coexistence with its aggressor until the following afternoon. Click on the picture below to view a short video clip of this beautiful park and it's occupants.
That pretty much covers our travels in Belize at this time until we return again. If you wish to continue the adventure, take a look at What's Happening to get the latest scoop or just relax and spend a little time clicking around. |
