I had the opportunity to go diving in the Blue Hole in Belize. And for a long time, I was considering not to do it, because it cost a lot of money, and some were talking about not even enjoying the dive site. In the end, I ended up getting a deal for 250 USD instead of 352 USD. I decided to go on the great Blue Hole adventure with Aqua Scuba.

I will not recommend Aqua Scuba. Safety is not a concern, is more about the money and let’s say a pray and hope everything will be okay. I had a fine day with kind people and good food and a great vibe. Safety and saying no to people is not the companies active side.

I even went on a test dive with them the day before and had three scuba dives; I should by then have changed my mind. There were not many other options either. My dives on the reefs at Caye Caulker was amazing! The only sad part was my Divemaster, that was not respecting the animal life and grabbing the nurse sharks so I could ride them or something?!?!. Are you crazy! We have different believes in life. I do not disturb marine life. I’m blessed just to be watching.

The Blue Hole in Belize requires a boat trip that takes 6 hours both ways. It starts 05.30 in the morning and ends at 05.30 in the afternoon. It´s a long day with three dives. The first dive is, of course, the Blue Hole with the deepest dive. Then the Half Moon Caye Wall and then lunch at Half Moon and the last dive is in the Aquarium.

How Was My Blue Hole Experience in Belize?

Before going on the Blue Hole adventure in Belize, I was reading about it on Google, to prepare myself for the dive. I did read about the death in the Blue Hole, and about people who just continue to go down in the Blue Hole. I was aware of the danger with the dive and the possibility for narcosis. Went on the boat with respect for the scuba dive and hoped that the safety was going to be respected.

Entering the boat, I was a bit nervous because I thought it was going to be the day, where I was going to set a new personal record on diving deep and go past 38 meters. I walked around and went talking with the other divers.

In my talks, I discovered that three of the 12 divers were only open water certified, which means diving to 18 meters is the limit. They only had six dives, and they were newly PADI certified. They were going into the Blue Hole in 20 min, very interesting. I asked if they were nervous, they weren’t nervous at all. They were not aware of the danger.

We put on our dive gear and had our briefing; we were only diving 30 meters deep. Then, I was relaxed and knew that it was not going to be a new personal record in deep diving. I also knew that I had done this depth many times before, so I was ready to enjoy the Blue Hole in Belize. I teamed up with the diver that has dived for 20 years. He was excited for the dive in the Blue Hole, which was his dream dive! Then we went down and into the Blue Hole of Belize.

15 m  – 30 m – – > Girl Sinking

Descending into 15 meters to the sand slope, went smooth. Then it was 15 meters more into the endless Blue Hole or 124 meters deep. We went down to our maximum depth 30 meters. Started to swim around the stalactite and just enjoying the quiet moment and the deepness of the blue water for around 3 minutes. A breathtaking moment.

From Being Safe to Unsafe!

I turned around to see how the other scuba divers were doing. There she was just sinking like a rock down into the deep, first watching her GoPro, then looking at her BCD and doing nothing. Lost-girl sinking fast – ALARM! The panic to the Divemasters face was the scariest thing I have ever seen during these eight months of traveling and diving. We almost lost a girl, but the Divemaster saved her life. Then again who risked her life at the first place?

I didn’t think I was going to witness it with my own eyes that a person was sinking into the Blue Hole, but I did. Scary moment for a lifetime! Indeed a reminder that diving is a fun sport, but if not being a safe scuba diver, things can get dangerous. It can be life or death.

This was the girl who only had six dives on her diving history, and was extremely occupied with her GoPro Camera and not aware that she was sinking and needed to fill her BCD with air. I don´t blame the girl.

Dangerous Company

I blame the company for being irresponsible, thinking about money and not safety. I feel that the Divemaster should have said no, and not allowed her to do this dive site. She didn’t have the knowledge to make that decision. The Divemasters responsibility is to evaluate the divers and their qualifications for making a safe scuba dive. The lack of her skills ruined the dive for the other divers.

After 3 minutes, the girl went sinking, and our dive was over. We had to go up to do our safety stop. Instead of 8 minutes we got three short minutes in the Blue Hole, they were beautiful, but a horrifying ending that luckily ended well this time. The day before we went diving, two divers did sink to the Blue Hole and died. Our Divemaster was kind enough to tell us this after we were finished diving in the Blue Hole.

I was sad for my buddy that was excited about the dive, and only ended up getting 3 minutes down in the Blue Hole. He was not a happy customer at the end of the day.

When Money Is More Important Than Safety,
It Becomes a Sad Story.
Even A Dangerous One!

It was a beautiful 3 minutes dive in between the stalactite. I did enjoy it, but I also got reminded that life is fragile.

Dying is just sad, it can end your whole trip! So please be a safe Scuba diver and talk with experienced divers on what should be the experience and ability for the dive site. Be concerned about your safety! For yourself and your diving buddies.

Half Moon Caye Wall

If you didn’t have an amazing experience in the Blue Hole, maybe the Half Moon Caye Wall can save the day for you!

Half Moon Caye Wall, was for me the best dive of the day, the marine life was incredible. We had many sharks around us, and two eagle rays were swimming past and saying hello, and of course a lot of fishes. A beautiful dive with a nice swim through Half Moon Caye is the award for going a very long way on the boat.

Lunch at Half Moon

If You Ever Have To Put Me On An Island, Can It Be This Half Moon in Belize?

The Aquarium

This dive site deserves its name; it was an aquarium. The aquarium was maybe the prettiest dive site, but the second dive was the best one in marine life.

– I enjoyed reading this post before going myself:

What It´s Really Like To Dive: the Great Blue Hole

Now I´m in Cozumel diving and had my first drift dive, today. A new experience for me.

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