Highlights of Belize    (August 2006)
click for larger image	Belize - Coral reefs, white sand beaches and lashings of ron (rum). This was not going to be the toughest part of our trip!	Belize Fast Facts: Best Thing: Diving the incomparable Blue Hole with circling reef sharks Worst Thing: Horrific sunburn on a snorkeling trip (sunblock malfunction) Big Surprise: Perfectly preserved human sacrificial remains at Cayo Fun Fact: As a former British colony, Belizeans speak a Creole dialect of English which, though familiar sounding, is impossible to understand!

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Belize? Yes, Purlease! Palm trees, beach-front rooms and rum cocktails - a cultural highpoint of our trip! Life here seems to cruise along at a slower pace and everything is always "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaalright".

Lobster Bisque We were more than red-faced after local sunblock totally failed to protect us against a fierce sun on a snorkeling trip. Burned to a crisp, the next week was spent applying enough aloe to cover the national debt of Belize.

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Feeling Blue? The Blue Hole - a perfectly circular atoll, 300 ft deep and possibly the most beautiful dive site in the world. We sank 125 ft into the chilly depths in our scuba gear and drifted amongst gloomy stalactites, as more than a dozen hungry-looking reef sharks circled menacingly in the gloom...

Narcosis of the Deep? Perhaps affected by extra nitrogen getting into their bloodstreams during the deep dive, Magnus and Cheryl grin inanely at having made it out alive!

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Mortal Combat Under a supernaturally full moon, Magnus faces off against a shadowy nemesis - Evil Magnus. Only time will tell who prevailed in this fight to the death!

Big Boobies! Some great wildlife above the sea surface - the rare red-footed booby and a friendly pod of dolphins that playfully raced our dive boat.

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Spelunk! Heading inland to the Belizean jungle an incredible archeological site, accessible only by swimming through the jaws of a hidden cave into pitch darkness and wading onwards into the depths.

A Royal Sacrifice Artifacts of ancient Mayan rituals dating back thousands of years litter the cave. Then, in the utmost depths that represented the actual underworld to Mayans - the remains of human sacrifice, including this princess. Weird, atmospheric (and not a little spooky!)

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