The Great Blue Hole

There is two Blue Holes in Belize. One on the Sea and one in the Jungle. I would say the one on the Sea, draws us the most visitors. It is one amazing site. We had the lucky fortune to fly over the Blue Hole with a guest of ours, Helga. It took one hour in total to depart and return back to Caye Caulker. It was a pretty windy day, so we where thinking it was going to be a bumpy flight, but it was smooth only the landing was a little shaky, but not for our pilot. Arthur Hoy, owner and captain of Caribbe Air, Belize. For $880 Belize Dollars or $440USD you too can enjoy an unforgetable journey over the Belize Barrier Reef , Turneffe Atoll and Lighthouse Reef, Blue Hole. It would of definately been nice to journey to see Half Moon Caye, however timing on this particular trip did not allow. It was so amazing to see the reef slowly drop off into the deep sea. To see the islands of Turneffe Atoll and to see all the coral patches scattered all over Lighthouse Reef. I know understand why they do not allow float planes to land there. Too dangerous and too much precious coral to endanger. If you can get 3 friends together, at $160USD per person it is well worth spending the money.

Here is some interesting facts about the Blue Hole.

The Blue Hole is a geographical phenomena – 71 miles from Caye Caulker about a 2 hour boat ride. Almost perfectly circular, the Blue Hole has a radius of more than 1,000 feet (305 m). It is considered one of the most astounding dive sites to be found anywhere on earth. Located in the center of the Lighthouse Reef the Blue Hole is a large hole of water 480 feet (145 m) deep, which gives the deep blue color.

The coral around the Blue Hole breaks the surface in many sections at low tide. Except for two narrow channels, the reef surrounds the hole. The hole itself is the opening to a system of caves and passageway that penetrate this undersea mountain. In various places, massive limestone stalactites hang down from what was once the ceiling of air-filled caves before the end of the last Ice Age. The hole is the opening to what was a dry cave system during the Ice Age. When the ice melted and the sea level rose, the caves were flooded. The Blue Hole is famed for its sky beauty and ever since Jacques Cousteau came here in 1970 it has drawn divers from all over the world.