Belize … Cay Cauker, Turneffe atoll, Long Cay and the Drowned Cays

PHOTOS here–>> https://goo.gl/photos/etG9dmmcWmw7NZj26

John and I spent January in Belize and just love it there.

Cay Caulker

In the dingy we rounded both islands finding hidden coves and canals. The water is very shallow close to shore as much of the shoreline is mangrove, but there are accessible bays. On the southern end of Cay Cauker we found a canal that led to abandoned boats and what looked like the beginnings of a marina? There were water birds all around, from Egrets to hawks. The second island to the north is mainly untouched and so mainly mangrove swamp, however from the water we could see where new development is starting.

We roamed on long walks around Cay Caulker from one end to the other. Finding a pathway that took us along the shoreline on the outside of the island all the way past the airport to where new homes have been built on the border of what mangroves still survive. The airport is a strip of sandy runway in a long field where you can actually cut across to get to the other side, very rustic.

The homes look to be very nice, but to get there must be quite a challenge as there are really only pathways that you could just about get a golf cart along. (Golf carts are the only motorized transport). However further along this walk, which is called “The Trail” and is sporadically sign posted, the construction crew has completely destroyed the pathway. It seemed a shame to us that they are developing this wonderful island by destroying the only open land they have left.

However the walk was excellent, we saw lots for birds and the views from the bays are beautiful. In some mangrove areas there were schools of dozens of huge We did this walk a few times, as it was good exercise in the heat.

Turneffe atoll

We set out for the atolls outside the reef and our first stop was the northern part of Turneffe – to Rendezvous. To get there from Cay Cauker we went out of a cut in the reefs next to the northern Drowned Cays. This meant we avoided Porto Stuck, but we had to be very careful heading out over the barrier reef. It really is quite scary seeing the reef just below the bottom!

John was very happy as we had a good strike on one of our lines and it was a Mai Mai of about 30lbs. Chico was able to enjoy eating a load of fresh fish off the stern as John cleaned the fish so did Chico. We also had a pod of dolphins follow us and play along side and in front of the boat for miles and miles. They are wonderful to watch.

Arriving in Turneffe, we were again amazed by the size of the atoll. It is 30 miles long north to South and 10 miles wide, which is 300 square miles! Inside there are hundreds of islands, ranging from just sandy mounds to mangrove isles to complete islands. You could really take years to explore the whole of the area. At Rendezvous we were the only cruising boat, there was nobody around. We spent the rest of the afternoon dingying past the closest shoreline where we could see fishing camps, with huts where the fishermen stay/camp when out for days gathering conch and fishing. The shoreline is lovely, but going ashore we found too many no-see-ums to make staying long an option.

Instead of heading straight off the next morning we went snorkeling off the reefs that surrounded us. The snorkeling was very impressive, beautiful corals and many fish of all types. It was then off to the southern Turneffe, several hours away. Arriving later in the afternoon at Joe’s Bay, which isn’t really a bay, just an area where we could enter through the reefs and anchor for the night. There we again lowered the dingy and dingied around. Again there was one fishing shack on the shore, but nobody, nor any other boats around just mangroves along the shoreline and many birds.

Lighthouse Atoll, Long Cay

Long Cay is the southern most islands on the Lighthouse atoll it is the easiest of the cays to anchor near as Half Moon Cay is a ways inside and it means motoring and navigating very shallow water with many reefs to avoid. So we anchored in the anchorage to the west of Long Cay. It was absolutely beautiful there. The water is as clear as glass, the colours are just amazing and around us there was nobody except our friend’s boat, Mekeia in the distance. We had actually met them along the way while sailing across. That afternoon we went to the reef that acts as the barrier to most of the atoll and snorkeled. It was absolutely glorious! The best snorkeling we have ever had, we both agreed.

The water is just incredibly clear and as the reef has an abundant population of fish of all types. The corals were stunning. It was a very pleasant afternoon. That evening we enjoyed drinks while aboard Mekeia with Jack and Christine while we had another glorious sunset.

The following morning we found out that the weather was closing in again ….. another front was approaching, so we had to leave the following day. We went ashore onto Long Cay where we explored along the islands trails. There is a diving resort – just a small rustic 8-room place, but they offer diving and that was what Jack was off to do.

We followed wooden walkways through the mangroves to see a bit more of the island. It is quite amazing the length of these wooden walkways, they must have been built at some expense. However they are deteriorating from lack of maintenance, the same as the other “resort” on the island – Itsy – it is in an idyllic location but looked empty and in need of some repair, we were told it is for sale. The walk was wonderful and we saw many handsome iguanas sunning themselves along the wooden walkway. The walkway ended at a wooden home in the middle of the mangroves, it looked to have been abandoned many years prior. To return we cut off to walk back along the shoreline.

Again in the afternoon we snorkeled in the magnificent reefs. Jack had re-anchored just near us and found on the reef off his stern a huge nurse shark. It was peacefully asleep on the side of the reef.

He also told us that he dove the Blue Hole, going to 140ft. Then later did another dive off of Half Moon Cay where they were off the edge of the reef and surrounded by large reef sharks that were circling them. So interested were the sharks that the dive leader signaled them out of the water. In the beginning of the dive they were surrounded by groupers, which would allow them to pet their tummies, even roll to the side to accommodate the diver’s petting. It sounded amazing to both John and I.

Drowned Cays

From Lighthouse atoll we sailed most of the day back into the inner cays arriving at Shag Cay Broge, in the group of Cays called the Drowned Cays. This is a large group of Cays that are mainly mangroves or surrounded by mangroves. It sounds boring, but it was again very a beautiful area.

We explored using the dingy following long broges, as they are called through the mangroves. Broges we found are canals that the current has swept clear through the mangroves. There were many, many birds wading in the shallows and apparently there are many manatees, but we didn’t see any.

The colours were beautiful with the reflections on the calm water. Turquoises, greens and blues of all hues just gorgeous! A friendly dolphin visited us daily and the birds flew all around. It was very peaceful. We enjoyed riding in the dingy for miles around the mangrove cays and stopping to walk on the ones that were accessible to our dingy.

Cay Caulker again

Once again we went through Porto Stuck, but with far less stress as we had managed to skim over the bottom before. Back in Cay Caulker we enjoyed daily walks all over the island. We stocked up, had several lovely evenings with friends and set off on Tuesday February 7^th for Isla Mujeres, Mexico.