Ricky from Excalibur Tours picked us up in his boat from Ramon's wharf at 9am. A total of 6 people are on the tour - a semi-retired couple from Riverside, California, and two female medical students from Alabama.

Our first stop is to see the manatees. They are strange mammals - about the size of a human, with a single horizontal rear flipper. They have a snout like a walrus, only smaller, and eat only underwater plants. Since we are not allowed to get into the water with them, it was difficult to see them, let alone get pictures. Be sure to take a polarizing filter with you if you go on this type of tour.  It will take the glare off the water, showing the manatees under the surface more clearly.

Next stop is Goff's Caye. Princess Margaret and the other British Royals used to stay at Goff's Caye until a few years ago when a hurricane blew most of the island away. There are now only 3 palm trees and no buildings left on it, and it is very tiny - about 15 m by 10 m. It is located offshore south of Belize City, so it took us close to 2 hours (total) to get there.   The reef around the north and east side of the island is superb - just like swimming in a giant saltwater fish tank. The current is quite strong - you should be a strong swimmer, and fins would help.

Underwater wildlife photos!

On the way back, we stop at Caye Caulker for a rest stop. More sand streets, but we find a nice bar and have a cool drink in the shade before meeting up with the boat for the final leg of our tour. Ricky has been having trouble with the boat engines, and doesn't find any help on Caye Caulker. Not a problem, since there are two outboards, and both are very powerful (20 knots using one, versus 30 knots using both). He finds it more frustrating that we do.

Our final stop is Shark Alley, near the barrier reef offshore southwest of San Pedro. Needless to say, everyone is nervous about getting in the water with sharks and sting rays circling.  Ricky assures us that it is safe, so I lead the way. The nurse sharks are 3-4' long, reddish-brown in colour, and very interested in the fish scraps that Ricky is throwing into the water to attract them. Here are  2 Nurse Sharks circling the boat! The Sting Rays are about the same size as the sharks or a bit smaller, and they stick closer to the bottom. They are strange looking with both beedie eyes on the upper side of their bodies looking up at us.

There are some other fish joining in with the free meal too. Everyone gets some great pictures, since the sharks and sting rays are only a few feet away from us. In fact, the sharks swim right up to us and sometimes bump into us. I had one shark swim right up to me, nose to nose! Ricky explained to us that this is normal behavior for the sharks. They are simply investigating if we have more food for them. It is important to not panic - just quietly float in position, and they will swim off once their curiosity is satisfied. Ricky explained that Nurse Sharks get their name from the way they suck their food, since they have such small teeth. I suppose that is reassuring.

San Pedro as it looks from the offshore perspective of Shark Alley. We arrived back in San Pedro around 4pm, tired but happy that the day went so well.