10 Reasons Why You Will Love Retiring in Belize

1. Sub-tropical climate - Belize has a sub-tropical year round climate where frosts and freezes are unknown.
2. Hol Chan Marine Reserve - Hol Chan is a national park that includes part of the barrier reef.
3. Shark Ray Alley - Belize is one of the best places to get up close and personal with sharks and stingrays.
4. The Barrier Reef - The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest in the western hemisphere and is 190 miles long.
5. The Howler Monkey – Belize has a rare breed of howler monkey that is known as one of the top ten loudest animals in the world.
6. Mayan Ruins - Belize has a rich Mayan history with over 900 historic locations.
7. The People – Belize is home to some of the most interesting and friendliest people who are very accepting of other cultures.
8. The Jungles – 60% of Belize is forested, hiking through the jungles is an amazing experience.
9. The Caribbean Sea – The waters off of Belize are known to inhabit more than 400 species of sub tropical fish.
10.  BELIKIN BEER – “The Only Beer Worth Drinking”

Photo:  AJ Baxter, Picture Belize

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.