From late 2001 until 2004, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to teach scuba diving off the barrier reef of Belize, and that is enough to spoil most anyone as southern Belize is one beautiful place to spend your days diving.
One of the spots we visited weekly was Ranguana Caye. This 2 acre island sits on the edge of the Belize Barrier Reef and is one hour bumpy boat ride away from Placencia.
We stopped here to drop off our snorkeling guests before heading out to do two dives each day. It was a bit of a hoot. We would pull up to the island, unload guests, unload a couple of coolers and a snorkeling guide and tell them we’d be back in a couple of hours and leave to head out to the first of two dives most days consisted of.
My favourite was a dive site called The White Hole. If you leave the island and head south and towards the reef about five miles away, you will find three breaks in the reef and three sandy ravines which lead to the wall.
It’s very hard to find and I suggest you find Arthur Westby in the village and have him show you where it is. Arthur was my divemaster and friend for the years I dove in Belize and he’ll show you the spot.
It features a large canyon of gleaming white sand at 45 feet which runs down to a large opening and a lip which surrounds the sand as it settles at the top of the wall. As you swim to this lip at 55 feet and peer over, there is virtually no bottom. I brought many advanced divers that I was certifying there so they could experience the wonder of a true barrier reef wall dive.
Moving along the wall at 55 feet is a magical drift dive as you travel beside the wall on your left and the coral on your right.
To the north of Ranguana lays a garden of spur and groove formations just west of the wall that you can easily spend dozens of dives exploring. In between the grooves are home to resting Nurse Sharks and a wide variety of marine life too varied to list. Worth several dives.
The reefs are still pristine and in places like my personal favourite, Seal Caye, at the bottom of the Sapodilla Cayes, almost unbelievable. If you anchor carefully, you can set your anchor in 15 feet of sand at the front of your boat and 70 feet at the stern, then slide off along one of the most beautiful mini-walls you can imagine. And easy to dive. You can do a number of different profile dives here and end the dive in ten to fifteen feet of crystal clear water before surfacing.
This is a truly world class dive. You can head down to 80 plus feet if you want but from my experience diving this many times, I found the best marine life and coral well above 65 feet, frequented by Eagle Rays who flew past just off to your left if you are traveling clockwise around the reef.
There are tube sponges as tall as a full grown man along the walls here.
So, if you are in southern Belize, check this spot out.
Stay Overnight…
These little cabins have been out on Ranguana and are pretty rustic but could make for a interesting weekend if you are up to snorkelling and fishing for a couple of days.
There’s also a barbeque on the island, a volleyball court, a bunch of paddle boards, a few kayaks, hammocks for napping, and the chance to do some world class fly-fishing in the flats.
These are as authentic as it gets down there, but word of caution, there are no windows and no screens and lots of sand flies. Bring deet if you dare stay.
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