After a flight to Guatemala City, we boarded our charter planes to Puerto Barrios and then took an animated tour led by local Guatemalan guides to the dock of Santo Tomas, where we boarded National Geographic Quest. We set sail after a delicious welcome cocktail and dinner towards Belizean territorial waters, checking in at daybreak. The morning was spent on introductions, briefings, and staff talks aimed at preparing us for the adventures to come. We began our explorations of the beautiful little Central American country of Belize later that day by joining local fishing boats and guides to cruise up the scenic and wildlife-rich Monkey River.
2/12/2022
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Half Moon Caye and the Great Blue Hole, Belize
The sun rose today with the promise of a fantastic day. As we swung on the mooring on the south side of Half Moon Caye at Lighthouse Reef Atoll, we observed the 50 feet drop-off below us, which dropped 1,500 additional feet to a deep cobalt blue. Everyone was excited as we sped six miles north to the Great Blue Hole. A beautiful rim of shallow corals surrounds a 1,000-foot wide marine sinkhole, a collapsed cavern in a now submerged cave system. Purple sea fans, green rope sponges and various mounds of stony corals are home to fish of so many shapes and colors. The highlight was a great hammerhead that swam into the Blue Hole just 20 feet below a group of snorkelers. Back at Half Moon Caye, baby red-footed boobies have grown quickly and become more active. The birds move around their flimsy nests in the orange-flowered ziricote trees. Unfortunately, the nests become unstable sometimes, and a baby falls. Today, two baby birds were rescued from the forest floor and taken for rehabilitation to the Belize Audubon Society’s field station and then to the Belize Bird Rescue. In a few weeks, the boobies will return to their home for a soft release back into the wild. With a painted sunset, the day ended for happy explorers onboard National Geographic Sea Lion .
