2006 JOURNAL
20 March 2006
My next diving trip is planned for Belize in Central America from late March to early May, where I am participating in a 6-week conservation programme with Reef CI, which takes place on one of the offshore islands in the Sapodilla Cayes. As it is Spring and fish spawning season, I am looking forward to photographing this particular behaviour, and especially the Whale Sharks that come to feed at this time. Look for the new Belize photos from the end of May.
28 March 2006
Arrival on the Cay where I will be spending the next few weeks in Belize. It's beautiful! A real island paradise. The diving promises to be fantastic, with no other divers for miles, and unspoiled dive sites.
7 April 2006
During a fantastic dive at the Honeymoon dive site today, we had a surprise encounter with a huge Hawksbill Turtle! He was very curious about us divers, and as the area is so untouched it's likely that he'd never seen any before. He spent about ten minutes swimming around and between us, coming right up to each of us. It was the most amazing thing! The photo below shows the turtle getting up close 'n' personal with Reef CI founder Polly; more pictures can be found on the Belize 2006 photos page.
11 April 2006
We're spending a few days on Cay Caulker in order to do a day trip to the famous Blue Hole, which shouldn't be omitted from any visit to Belize. Cay Caulker is really pretty, although much more touristy and expensive than Punta Gorda in Southern Belize where I've been spending the weekends while we're not on the island. Pictured below are Julia, Kelly, Rob and Karen.
12 April 2006
Day trip to the Blue Hole. Naturally the trip's main purpose was the first dive of the day, being to a depth of 42m (the maximum for recreational diving and thus not recommended for novice divers) where the stalactites are located. According to the dive books, there are chances of seeing sharks on this dive, including Reef, Bull and even Hammerheads, but we didn't see any today. However, for myself at least, this didn't detract from the main attraction, which was the impressive array of huge stalagmites which hang down from about 40m to 50m. I found it a completely awe-inspiring experience, made eerie by the almost tangible silence, stillness and low light levels, and contrary to the Lonely Planet guide, which describes it as a must-do but doesn't overly enthuse about it. My advice is to go for the rock formations, not because you think you might see a shark, and you won't be disappointed. We went with Frenchie's of Cay Caulker and although we grumbled at having to be at the dive centre for 5.30am, considered it well worth it as we consequently enjoyed being the first to the Blue Hole and thus had the site to ourselves, just our small group of 8 divers. On surfacing, we found several other boats had arrived, some carrying up to 20 divers, so be warned! I opted to use a 15mm lens on my camera during this dive, and with the ISO set to 1600 was able to get some pleasing available-light photos which I think capture the grandeur and otherworldly feeling of this site. Some of these can be seen on the Belize photos page.
18 April 2006
Night dive after sunset, to witness the spectacular and rare String of Pearls phenomenon, which is only seen in a very few places and only for two or three nights after the full moon. It's caused by rows of some sort of invertebrate (the resident scientist did explain the exact organism but used too many long words!) forming the 'strings' as they light up in succession, each 'pearl' microscopic in size but flashing so bright that it appears about the size of a pea. They reminded me of airport landing strips, rows of green lights flashing past, but there's dozens or even up to hundreds of them right in front of you at any one time, for as far as you can see in any direction. It was an incredible and unique experience.
19 April 2006
In the morning we dived the Honeymoon site again. I have been mapping this site as part of my Dive Master course and as I was occupied with compass and slate, was glad when my instructor Polly asked if she could take my camera. This site throws up something unusual each time (the last time I did it we met the turtle, then I missed the next dive here, but they were escorted throughout the dive by a 5-ft Remora who kept trying to attach itself to various members of the group!) And today was no exception. After a great dive along the wall at 40m, we gradually ascended to the reef top at 14m, where we were suddenly engulfed by a school of hundreds of Yellow Jacks. They circled us several times before swimming off as fast as they'd arrived, and leaving us feeling slightly dazed and confused by the whirlwind experience. Thank goodness Polly had the camera! These photos aren't on my Belize page but I couldn't resist showing myself surrounded by this immense school!
 
29 April 2006
Unfortunately my trip to Belize has been cut short after I stepped awkwardly off the boat and broke my ankle. My two biggest regrets are that I didn't get to see a Whale Shark after all, and that I was so close to finishing my Dive Master course (photo of Kelly and I below.) But I'll be back! I highly recommend Reef CI to anyone interested in participating in reef conservation with no experience necessary. It's not in a touristy location, and do not expect a commercial operation, but it is incredible diving in unspoiled locations with no chance of meeting any other divers, offered by a very relaxed and friendly yet professional and safety-conscious organisation. I cannot praise them highly enough.
12 May 2006
I am now out of hospital following an operation to my ankle, so photos from my Belize trip will be uploaded soon.
30 June 2006
I am very pleased to say that three of my Belize photos have been chosen for the BSoUP Splash-In exhibition at the Plymouth Aquarium. 'Blue Hole', 'Diver, Blue Hole' and 'Diver with Jacks' can be seen there until the 14th of July. Click on the thumbnails below to view the images.
  
6 July 2006
My next trip has been booked! I'll be returning to beautiful Bequia at the end of October.
24 August 2006
A new toy! I've just taken delivery of my new Canon 100mm macro lens, especially for the Bequia trip in October, so expect some nice shots of all the interesting little critters there. I'm especially looking forward to revisiting the Moonhole dive site, and hope to get a decent photo of a seahorse this time.
8 October 2006
New toy number 2: have just upgraded to a Canon EOS 5D. Can't wait to take it to Bequia!
5 November 2006
Have just returned from a great trip to Bequia; the EOS 5D and 100mm macro lens were a joy to use, and the pictures I took show a significant improvement. I hope to get these online soon, and am also tweaking the layout of the site. Any suggestions with regards to this would be much appreciated.
17 November 2006
Very pleased to announce that my entry into the BSoUP Beginners Portfolio finished 6th! The portfolio consisted of two pictures from my Belize trip and four from my recent trip to Bequia with the new 5D. I am still working my way through those photos, but look out for the gallery in the new year. As a sneak preview, click HERE to view my Beginners Portfolio entry.
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