Sunday, January 2, 2011

Swimming with the Sharks and Stingrays - Hol Chan Reserve and Stingray Alley

The Shark Bait

Nurse Sharks








While in Belize we took a glass-bottom boat excursion to Hol Chan Reserve and Sting Ray Alley for snorkeling.  Hol Chan (which means "little channel" in Mayan) is a national park and is considered part of the barrier reef and is located at the southern tip of Ambergris Caye.  Hol Chan also has a large sinkhole considered a smaller version to the famous Blue Hole located at Lighthouse Reef. 





 



Bill Feeding the Sharks






Our Captain


Dive and Snorkel Boats


Our first stop was Stingray Alley where you can swim and snorkel with nurse sharks and large stingrays.  Bill got to feed the sharks, they were immediately surrounding the boat.


Our Tickets


The next stop was Hol Chan, which was so amazing and only cost $10.00US per person.  The coral is beautiful with lots of different shapes, colors and sizes.  The water is pretty shallow until you get to an area which drops off dramatically...you suddenly feel very small in this great big sea of water.








That is my hand with the orange band on..so that is proof that I really did touch the nurse sharks and the sting rays.  The sharks felt really kind of rough and hard..while the stingrays felt very soft and velvety.  I am not sure I liked the way the sting rays felt. 










Moray Eel

One of the guides was actually bitten by an eel, so beware.


Stingray

You can also check out the Hol Chan video we filmed at the bottom of our blog.
 

9 comments:

  1. Wow! Great photos! We did the same snorkel trip on our trip in May, but our photos weren't nearly as nice as yours. I wasn't brave enough to touch the sharks or stingrays either. Good job!

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  2. Great Pictures!! I don't know, I would love to do this but I think there would alot of screaming involved lol.

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  3. Thanks Emily and Belinda..it was scary if you took the time to think about it...I just said a prayer and jumped off the boat. HaHa.

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  4. Hi Bill n Debra!

    Glad you found our site and told me about yours! I'll be following on Facebook. Belize looks beautiful ... can't wait to sail there! What part of Mississippi do you live in?

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  5. Love Nurse Sharks! I swam with some in the Bahamas. Great experience. Just found your blog from TacoGir's site. Looking forward to following!

    Cheers,
    RumShopRyan

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  6. Thanks Mid-Life Crusing..we look forward to hearing about your crusing trips. We live right outside if Jackson.

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  7. Hey Ryan, thanks for following, we are following you too. We look forward to swimming with the nurse sharks again.

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  8. Great pictures, looks like you had a fun time. Hol Chan is a not to miss place if you like underwater adventures.

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  9. Thanks Belize Lifestyles, we had a great time. Hol Chan is so beautiful and we look forward to coming back to Belize very soon for more underwater adventures.

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