The Largest Sea Hole In The Hole
If you’re an avid scuba diver or adventure junkie, you’ve probably heard of, or maybe even experienced the Great Blue Hole in the Belize Barrier Reef (an UNESCO World Heritage Site).
Around 10,000 years ago, the hole’s roof collapsed to reveal the
previously concealed cave below. Measuring at around 1,000 feet in
diameter (and around 412 feet deep), the cave sits in the Lighthouse
Reef and it is close to a perfect circle.
Thousands of Scuba Divers flock to Belize
annually, and most of them only have the Great Blue Hole to check off
their list. It is perhaps the most famous dive site in Belize,
definitely one of the most advertised by domestic tourism investors, yet
it disappoints many divers. Imagine, after weeks or months of
anticipation and after all the hyped up articles and Ads with cliché
captions, you complete a dive and realize you would be just fine if you
never did it again? This is the reaction I have mostly seen over the
hundreds of trips I have supervised at the Blue Hole, and I feel
obligated to mention, before I go any further, that this dive site is a
tad over rated, and could be very disappointing if you are the type of
diver who enjoys colorful coral reef diving.
It saddens me to say that the Blue Hole of Belize has become known
only as a “bucket list dive”, because for most, it’s the type you
absolutely must get off your list but really don’t care if you ever
visit again. There’s hope however, for I think false assumptions and
expectations are one of the main causes of disappointment. This dive
site is different, it is the sort of novelty dive that, given the right
conditions, can be enjoyed if approached with the right mind-set and
expectations.
At
low tide, some of the reef (the white part in photos) actually
protrudes from the water. The warm water and incredible visibility
around the hole make the area great for beginner divers. If you’re
looking to dive the cave, go with a professional company to be safe
(there are plenty of options).
Divers can expect
the best views of underwater life at around 60 to 80 feet below the
surface. Incredible stalactites that can measure as long as 130 feet,
some of the largest parrot fish in the world, stingrays, and butterfly
fish are just a few of the things you’ll see while down there. Fun
fact: Surprisingly, the hole is visible from space.
To
begin, there is a lot to be enjoyed from the Blue Hole dive but it
also requires a certain level of experience and responsibility that
some new divers just don’t have.
On a day where the visibility is excellent and the wildlife are
roaming, it can be an otherworldly experience. The dive begins with a
descent of 40Ft/12M to a sandy limestone shelf that surrounds the Blue
Hole. The shelf begins as a wall at about 1ft or 1/3 of a meter and is
covered with coral until about 18ft or 6 meters where it becomes a
gentle sandy incline that leads up to a dark abyss. If you dive off the
local dive boats, you are given about a minute or two to descend and
equalize then you are led to the drop off where you will descend freely
into the darkness. As you descend, the depths drain the colors to a
gloomy hue not much different from the natural light you see right after
dusk. The only reference is a limestone wall to your left. At about 60
feet, you begin to see silhouettes with that familiar streamlined
shape, of one of the ocean’s most fascinating predators. Soon enough,
depending on your luck, you descend past 10 to 15 Caribbean Reef Sharks
circling off to your right in the in the watery void. Your descent is
continuous up until about 100 Ft/ 30 meters where you veer off toward
grayscale columns hanging off a ceiling in a cavern carved out of by
erosion during the last ice age.
You now feel as though you are in a sort of gothic tale; quiet,
overcast, and eerie. It’s as though you are personally experiencing a
vague memory of a dive story being retold by a stranger in a dimly lit
bar after a few beers. Then, you suddenly hear the clear sound of your
dive leader banging on his tank, a tone that travels clearly, as though
he is right next to you. It jolts you back into reality. You look in
front of you and see him telling you to level off, you are at your
maximum depth; 132Ft/40M, and the cavern appears in front of you. You
feel buzzed and realize that you are experiencing what your dive leader
spoke of just a few minutes before you jumped in the water; the effects
of the sometimes unavoidable Nitrogen Narcosis.
You now recall him saying, that you should not be afraid of the
effects and that it wears off as soon as you come up shallower, and
that you might like it if you stay calm. You don’t ascend, you continue
to follow your dive leader and realize that it does feel, at the
least, interesting. A reminder of Actun Tunichil Muknal,
the jungle caving expedition you had earlier in the week, you continue
past enormous stalactites that hang from the ceiling like Stone Age
chandeliers. They have existed several millennia before Christopher
Columbus’s
famous voyage, in the distance, some 40 feet above you, the
silhouettes of shark’s still circle their territory, occasionally you
see one or two shoot up from the blackness below like jet fighters at an
air show; bolting toward shallower depths above. On uncommon occasions
a hammer head that lives near the area may appear out of the darkness,
keep an open eye, a hammer head sighting can make any dive exciting.
Though I must admit, after hundreds of dives there, I’ve only met
him/her twice.
After
five minutes that seemed more like ten, you begin your slow ascent
from your maximum depth, then all of a sudden, before you even notice,
your Nitrogen buzz is gone. You come up past the sharks again,
occasionally a curious one comes within arm’s reach inspecting the
visitors in its territory. You again find yourself on the sandy shelf,
this time you are treated to tiny bubbles dancing out of tiny holes in
the sandy
floor, they are the bubbles that you exhaled at your maximum
depth seeping through the cracks in cavern roof on their way to the
surface. Finally, the shape of your dive boat appears above and your
dive leader signals for you to do a safety stop. In total, you finish a
30 minute dive at the most, but 25 to 27 minutes is the norm, one last
potential disappointment to mentally prepare for just in case you are
the sort of diver who loves 60 minute dives.
How To Be Prepared The Blue Hole, with just a dash of luck, can be a
worthy experience, but it is also important to be aware of the dangers
of this type of dive, and the personal duties you have as a diver, even
when under the supervision of a Dive Master. I shall share a few but
if you are really unsure about your capabilities or if any of what I
mention is completely new to you, you should do a little more diving or
get some deep training before you dive at such depths. First, ascend
until you get the signal from the DM and ascend when they tell you to.
Second, if you have a dive computer or are renting one, adjust your
depth according to your NDL or No Decompression Limit. If you have a
rental computer, this is rather obvious, make sure you are briefed on
how to use it and always ascend at a reasonable rate Be sure to take
the steps necessary to remove as much potential causes of stress and
you will definitely have a better dive. . Lastly, find a Dive Buddy who
will not be one of those stress factors and do not be the cause of
stress for another diver.
Many come up unmoved by what the site had to offer but maybe, just
maybe, if your expectations weren’t inflated, and the conditions were
excellent, the dive could be unforgettable.
Firstly a man took me in a 2 hour drive though the mountains to
get to our destinaton which was a little village. We had a snack at
the village and then we caught a jeep to Mt Bromo. We had a fair steep
part to climb of the volcano and then we had to climb 250 stairs to the
top to look inside of the volcano. It was pretty easy. Just before we
went up the stairs we bought a bunch of flowers for $1.00. These
flowers are traditionaly used as offerings to the god that you throw
into the volcano. So when we got to the top and we checked out the
inside of the volcano, I threw the offering into the volcano but
it just missed but I was hoping my wish still came true. Then we went down the
volcano all very shocked. We then had lunch in the jeep, and
travelled all the way back to the villages. Then we drove all the way
back to the hotel for showers because we stank of Sulphr witch is from
the volcano and for dinner. 
It may seem cheesy, particularly given the blue ponchos that guests wear,
but it is absolutely worth doing.
The term "mist" is a bit of an understatement, in my opinion. This is a
very wet boat ride. The boats leave from both
Canadian and American shores. Cost: $15.50 per adult and $9 for kids
6-12, those 5 and under are free.
There are lines of people
for the boat ride but it moves quickly. After stopping for the obligatory souvenir
photograph we were loaded onto the boats with about 600 other
participants and taken out to the falls.We were lucky to have a very
still morning for the trip so we managed to stay relatively dry.The ride
takes you close to the falls with the mist floating over you. The water
is very powerful and the boat takes you right up to first the Amercian
Bridal Veil Falls and then further down to the Canadian Horseshoe falls.
I
The top tourist attractions in Micronesia have been featured in multiple
publications for years given its picturesque and inviting landscapes.
This is why it isn’t surprising it attracts many adventure seekers and
those with a taste for the unconventional. Micronesia, like most of its
neighbors, is composed of multiple islands, most of which are
independent countries in themselves. So people can always bet that
they’d have plenty to look forward to when they visit this place. Located in the
South Pacific and has pristine beaches and an undiscovered paradise for
most.
Nietzsche said: "when I want to a word to express the music, I haveVienna;;And when I want to a word to express the mysterious, I just thought is Prague. The Czech RepublicCapital,
is the world's first city was designated as a world heritage city, has
numerous historical heritage, including Prague castle.
Prague Yu Deyu, meaning "threshold", the reason is that here
vltava flowing through a reef, like crossing a threshold.Also
have such a legend, the ancient city, the architect here survey, met a
threshold of the old man, the architect was moved by the elders that
unusually serious and careful attitude, was built in the city named
after "Prague".
（Charles bridge）
（Old Prague square） 
（Huth statue）
