Blue Hole is so cool!
16 November 2016 | Blue Hole, Belize
Becky/85 degrees, mostly sunny
After snorkeling in the morning, we left halfmoon cays for the Blue Hole which is about 8 miles away. The depth was around 15', so we weren't as nervous. Denny hand steered the entire way, watching for coral heads. We circled the hole and found the depth to go to 350', then tied to a buoy inside the Blue Hole. Denny wanted to go to the top of the mast to take photos & video, I'll post later. We snorkeled the entire inside of the hole, over a mile. It was incredible! We saw all sorts of fish and a huge turtle. Here is some information about the Blue Hole:
Jacques Cousteu and the Calypso explored this strange geological phenomenon in 1972. Calypso divers descended to 125 feet where they discovered an overhang with a forest of under water stalactites. The Blue Hole once was a cavern above the water surface. Running fresh water hollowed out the limestone during the glacial period when the world's sea level was much lover. About 12,000 years ago, the Earth's climate warmed and sea levels rose filling the cave causing the caverns ceiling to collapse. Calypso's mini-subs surveyed the bottom where they made an important find: another ledge with stalactites. This meant at one time the water level was at least 400 feet lover than it is today.
We are enjoying Belize very much and it's only been two days!
Life is good on Kokomo!
Becky