This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
A private catamaran cruise allows for a blissful exploration of beautiful horizons and seabed!
As planned, he was waiting for us at the Cucumber Beach Marina in Belize City. He is racy. Clean. Certainly fiery, his nickname ringing like an injunction to calm: Tranquilo! Actually it’s called Fountaine Pajot Saona. Cadillac of catamarans, it is 47 feet long, it has a capacity of eight passengers and it will be our floating hotel for the next few days.
On board, Rachael Wilson welcomes us. The co-owner of Belize Sailing Vacations, a yacht charter company that has operated private cruises since 2001, will serve as chef. Originally from England, she stopped in the country 15 years ago, after a backpacking trip to South America, and she never left. “From the jungle to the sea to the Mayan remains, there is everything I love about Belize! » she assures. For the record, the former British Honduras is a small state in Central America bordered to the north by Mexico, to the west and south by Guatemala and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. It is also the only English-speaking country in the region, and, as the American dollar is current there, our American neighbors have adopted it en masse.
That’s it, we’re setting sail! Jonnell Augustine, spokesperson for the national tourist office, recalls that we travel as we did at the very beginning of the country’s tourism development. “In the 1960s, people came to Belize exclusively by boat, mainly from the United States, the airlines arrived much later,” she says. Some of the six passengers in our group sat on the trampoline at the very front of the Tranquilo. Others took their place in the “lounge”, under the mainsail. Still others preferred the shade of the saloon, the dinette area. Everyone has found their own lookout so as not to miss anything of the panorama.
First stop, Starfish Island. Bristling with coconut trees and bordered by a mangrove, the coral stone will be our haven with a billion stars this night. Captain Daniel Estell puts the kayaks in the water: who’s up for a trip to the sunset accompanied by vocal seabirds? Back on board, the aroma of what the chef has cooked in our absence makes us quickly return to the saloon. It’s a fish and cassava soup with coconut milk, almost a curry, seasoned with turmeric and bird’s eye peppers. “It’s inspired by be tireda typical Garifuna dish [un peuple des Caraïbes issu des Arawaks et des Africains] “, she explains. It’s especially delicious!
Sunshine and blue happiness
This morning, the captain spreads a nautical chart on the table and tells us the program for the day. Direction: Caye Caulker with snorkeling stops along the way as we sail above the formidable seabed. These are those of the Mesoamerican reef, the second longest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef, in Australia . It stretches along the coasts of Yucatan, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras for more than 1000 km. By the way, why dive here rather than with the neighbors? “Because the reef is 300 km long and includes three atolls to which we have direct access,” emphasizes M.me Wilson. And then, around these atolls, there are many patch reefs (coral towers) and such marine life…”
One of them, that of the Lighthouse Reef, is also the setting for the jewel of the Belizean coral crown: the Great Blue Hole. With a diameter of more than 300 meters and a depth of 124 m, this natural underwater well, a cenote as the Mayans say, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Swimming there is the dream of every experienced diver. (Note: it is no less impressive from the air!)
But enough of the palaver, let’s stop: dolphins invite us! In the crystal waves, everyone! One of the great joys that a private cruise provides is certainly that of being able to drop anchor almost anywhere you want to go marinating with Nemo. Another is to enjoy the lobsters and crabs that a local fisherman comes to sell us…
Previously known for its boat production, Caye Caulker today lives from fishing and tourism to the rhythm of the national motto, “ Go slow! », and we intend to do like the islanders. By golf cart through the sandy streets of the only town, we go from Split to the seahorse reserve of the Iguana Reef Inn, then to the Barefoot Caribe Café, a friendly waterfront bistro.
But the highlights of our adventure remain linked to our moments aboard the Tranquilo or in the clear “soup”. Memorable is the snorkeling in the waters of the Hol Chan marine reserve (“small channel” in Mayan). Barracudas, groupers, snappers and those underwater “birds”, very chic in their white polka dot capes, that are the leopard rays, frolic there. A few kilometers away, Shark Ray Alley is home to harmless nurse sharks, stingrays and turtles. O joy!
On Ambergris Caye, the country’s largest island, San Pedro (the San Pedro of Bonita Island of Madonna) is the HQ of underwater divers. There awaits us a traffic jam, hordes of Americans and some magnificent hotels, which stand out in this modest environment. How do you say, already? Take to the sea, live freely, start again? Quiet, come back!
Carolyne Parent was partly the guest of the Belize Tourism Board, which had no say in this article.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.