We had a very exclusive sight-seeing tour with a water taxi that shipped us from Portofino Beach Resort directly to Ramon’s Village. It is a lot different seeing the coastline and town of San Pedro from the sea than when travelling in a golf cart by land. Because we were the only passengers our captain enjoyed explaining everything about the area like he was a guide in the travel business. As soon as the boat was docked, a friendly young man helped us carry our two big, heavy bags to the reception. Once we were checked in, a staff member showed us around, introduced us to the diving and snorkelling centre and guided us to our apartment. Within five minutes our luggage had arrived, and after a quick shower we spoiled ourselves with an indulgent platter of fresh fish for a late lunch. There wasn’t anything planned for the rest of the day because there were only a couple of hours of daylight left before sunset. Usually I get up early in tropical places just to be sure to enjoy as much as possible from daylight. It was an easy and relaxing afternoon. I booked two snorkelling trips for the next day, and after we unpacked our bags, we had a swim and walked around shooting photographs from the resort and the little town of San Pedro.

Although the resort is big you don’t realise that you are actually so close to San Pedro. Like so many resorts in Belize it is a magical place with beautiful rooms and apartments, lots of exotic flowers and a very special atmosphere. Ramon’s Village is styled after the Tahitian cottages on the Polynesian island of Bora Bora. The palm-thatched cabanas and lush jungle foliage creates a wonderful tropical ambiance. Early mornings, around sunrise, I spotted a number of birds on the shoreline, and that got me to grab my cameras and have a little fun before everybody else got up. With all the new privacy rules it also is a lot easier to shoot beach pictures when most people are still sleeping. In the evenings the lights on the palm trees and the beautifully lit pier were gorgeous. I loved watching the big tarpon swimming around and could have sat there watching them for hours. We undoubtedly had a perfect stay at Ramon’s Village Resort, and there are many extensive reviews on the World Wide Web from other guests as well. However, we still have a few additional points worth sharing.

Ramon’s Village Resort is for sure the busiest place that we stayed in Belize and we think that is important to know. If you spend most of your time in the resort and want a quiet, restful and peaceful holiday this is not the place to be. If you prefer to be among lots of people then it is perfect for you. The airport is across the street and planes can be noisy, but personally we had no problems with it. During our stay there were quite a few Millennials and most were very nice people, but one particular group were drinking quite a bit and playing loud music in the swimming pool until after midnight. I wouldn’t have mention this when it only happened once but it was the same every evening and several other guests didn’t like it either. There was no ocean view from our accommodation but then we hadn’t booked a view, but if this is one of your priorities, it is wise to mention it when doing your booking. There is a layout plan of the resort on the website where you can see the exact location of your accommodation. Our apartment was upstairs and had a nice balcony, but it just overlooking some treetops. The rooms were very clean and well kept. The food was amazing and the employees were always friendly and very helpful.

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

It was easy to arrange some fly fishing but we specially came for the snorkelling trips. We read that some of the best snorkelling sites are just off the coast of Ambergris Caye and we didn’t want to miss that opportunity. Snorkelling and diving are big activities at Ramons Village Resort and there are many places and activities to select from. Some snorkelling sites have a huge variety of fish species while others have more abundant in coral. You can swim with harmless nurse sharks, or you can combine your trip with other activities. Very popular is snorkelling with an exclusive shore lunch break, and doing some reef fishing in the afternoon.

We don’t know what the future will bring and how much effect global warming will have on our beautiful world in the end. There are still a lot of countries where Global Warming is strangely not an issue at all, and that really worries me.  Personally I know, from my own experience, that the impact created by humans and global warming is immense. I have seen this personally fishing several remote wilderness places over the years where I have seen entire lakes changing and species of fish, birds and even insects totally disappearing. Since I have visited some of these isolated places more than once, and over a long period of time, I notice that everything has moved on much faster than scientists have predicted. Coral has been around for thousands of years and we are destroying it in just a few decennials. Fortunately not all the news is bad, sad and negative. Some is really good; even some hopeful reports from Belize as well. Over the years many people were deeply involved in restoring parts of the enormous reef in Belize and prospects look even better today. But, of course, a lot of work still has to be done.  At several places life have returned again to the reef. On the Facebook page: “Fragments of hope”, you can check how some places were restored successfully. https://www.facebook.com/FragmentsofHopeBelize/

It is extremely important for Belize because coral around the world is degreasing fast, and Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world. Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and especially Hol Chan Cut and Shark Ray Alley, were our snorkelling destinations, and according to what we heard, both places are among the finest snorkel destinations in Belize. The guided snorkelling tours from Ramon’s Village were highly praised and because of the easy access we chose to stay there. It is approximately six kilometres south of San Pedro, close to the coast of Ambergris Caye. Hol Chan is Belize’s oldest reserve and well known for its abundant sea life and beautiful coral formations. With depths ranging from one and half up till nine meters, it is absolutely amazing for snorkelling and diving. Hol Chan means ‘Little Channel’ in Mayan language. UNESCO recognized the reef as a World Heritage Site several years ago. The area is absolutely safe for beginners and the highlight is a 30-minute experience where you can swim with nurse sharks and stingrays.  Hol Chan Marine Reserve covers almost eight square kilometres and it is divided into four zones. A – The Coral reef zone consist the channel (Hol Chan Cut), B – The Sea grass zone, C – Mangrove zone, D – Shark-Ray Alley. Each zone is well marked at the surface by buoys. Our plan was to visit zone’s A and D. So far there have been 160 species of fish recorded in the reserve, along with nearly 40 types of corals. There are three species of sea turtle and two species of dolphins and sometimes you can face a manatee. The complete and most current list you can find at: http://www.holchanbelize.org/life.html

You only can visit Hol Can with a guide and a trip costs about $45 per person. A booked excursion usual takes about two and a half hours; include a stop at Shark Ray Alley. The boats only need 5-10 minutes to get you there so there is not much time waste with travelling. Water access is always directly from the boat. The areas around the channel are the most spectacular and they are very rich in marine life. The shallow areas have denser coral. The cut, or channel itself, is approximately twenty-three meters wide and ten meter deep. There can be some current so follow the tips from your guide. Shark Ray Alley was an area traditionally used by fishermen to clean their nets before returning to the harbour. The abundance of food that enters the water during this cleaning operation attracts sharks and rays to feed. That’s how it became a famous tourist attraction. Shark Ray Alley is shallow and has a sandy bottom with a little sea grass.