I’ve just spent the past week in the beautiful country of Belize where I finally checked off a major item on my bucket list. I finally dove The Great Blue Hole!
If you are diver, then you have undoubtedly heard of this dive site as it is often listed in the top ten scuba diving sites in the world. The Great Blue Hole, or “blue hole” for short, is a giant submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize near the center of Lighthouse Reef. The blue hole is over 984 feet across and measures over 407 feet deep. Divers come from all over the world to this site not because of the abundance of sea life but rather to descend into the darkness, often reaching maximum depths for divers – and it certainly was a record for me!
I reached a maximum depth of 145 feet! While 130 feet is maximum depth for recreational deep diving, we still went a little further before beginning our ascent. The entire dive was only 30 minutes, typical for a deep dive.
So I’m sure you’re thinking, this photo doesn’t look like it’s the Blue Hole. Well, you’re right. It actually isn’t the Blue Hole at all but rather a picture that I snapped just after our dive boat exited the Blue Hole as we cruised through Lighthouse Reef heading towards Half Moon Caye. As I turned my head looking off the starboard side of the boat, I saw this yellow catamaran cruising the waters. I had to pinch myself. Confession – I actually cried a little bit. In that moment I felt so lucky to be where I was. I just checked off a major bucket list item, I had a new diving record, and I was cruising through turquoise waters in in paradise with my best friend at my side (that little brunette you probably always see on my snapchat). These are the moments that we travel for. The ones where we say to ourselves, “I am so f@#$ing happy right now!” I couldn’t have been any happier in that moment and it quickly reminded me that this is why I travel.
Stunning.