Belize Journey - The Final Stretch (Part 7)

[Latimeria]

We got up at 4:30 am and packed in the truck.  I had everything packed the night before and was stoked to finally be going out on a fishing charter in a catamaran out to Goff's Caye and the Barrier Reef.  It almost seemed destined to finally catch some fish with consistency!

It's a 2.5 hour trip down to Belize city where the boat is leaving from.  We chose that area also because it is where the airport was so we would only be 10 minutes away when I leave the following morning.

Along the trip, I was taking random pictures....  Sugar Cane Fields apparently are everywhere and the major economy down there.





We would pass these 500 foot tall mounds of dirt in the middle of fields and with everything being so flat, I was confused to what could have caused this.  Elliot let me know these are Mayan Pyramids and other structures.  Apparently 90% of the Mayan ruins are still covered in dirt so there is no looting by locals.  They'll keep them covered until they get to a place where they can properly excavate it.  Right now, they are just using LIDAR to see the structure underneath.



As we got closer to Belize City we were driving along side the Old River.  Let me stop right now to say that Belizeans have a TERRIBLE ability to come up with names for rivers etc..  the next river up is the "New River", so you can see what I'm talking about.  This is a major river for the Manatees down there.



Of course as we were driving, I saw a school of fish busting bait!  This was the first time since seeing the tarpon chasing Jacks on Day 2 that I'm seeing fish feeding.  It was so big, that I could capture it on my camera pic!



We actually hit some morning traffic, like SoCal style morning traffic.  Apparently Belize city is where almost everyone in the middle of the country works. 



One thing was where we were going to meet up with the boat, we were told to stay on the North side of the river.  Don't cross any bridges.  The South side of the river was run by gangs and that's where almost all the muggings and deaths occur.  The river wasn't that wide, but I was going to make sure Elliot did not cross the river for any reason.  Driving down there is scary sh!t.  There are not many, if any, driving laws.  One rule of thumb is not to hit any bikers, or it's publicly known that people will probably beat you to death.

The Cruiseline area was all locked and boarded up.



So, I stopped taking pics for a bit because we found the right area, but I didn't see any Fishing Boat.  We called the captain and he said he was there waiting for us.  I looked around again and only saw a big old ass sailboat... that was a Catamaran.... OH NOOOoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That excited feeling, I had about this day just went ripping out of my body like a mystery meat burrito with a glass of radiator fluid!
On top of this, they had no fishing gear, bait, drinks, nothing.  Well they had a gallon of Rum Punch, and said we should pick up some more beers or something.  I said I'll go get a bunch, but Elliot said "Nope, I think we're good".....  This can't be happening.

As we embarked on our journey to Goff's Caye, a panga came ripping up with and adult and kid waving us down.  The captain stopped and grabbed the 8-year-old kid and brought him on board.  He's the main fishing guy's 8 year old son.  This is just getting better by the moment...

This huge catamaran is being run by this old beaten up 40 hp motor while the rudders were cedar fence posts nailed to hinges and attached to clothesline which is tied to the motor so it turns when the motor turns.  I was like, we are never going to make it back.  I didn't even know where I was going to fish since there were sailboat lines and riggings everywhere!  This was not turning out to well for me mentally but I did my best to just enjoy whatever was laid out in front of me.  I just put expectations too high on this trip, so it was my own fault.  Once I got that through my thick skull, the rest of the trip got a little better.

The water was very muddy and turgid, but we finally got far enough out where it started to become blue.



The Captain said my gear was too small to troll, so I sked him where his trolling gear was so we could troll on our way out.  He pulls out 200# mono with a rusty Rapala at the end and tosses it off the back.... <sigh>



We started to pass an island that was under some major construction.  When I inquired, they didn't like what was happening and said it was the Cruise Lines building an island for visitors and they were going to make some huge bridges connecting a few of the islands.  This would also keep people from coming into Belize city and keeping them in the Cruise Zone area. 



To be fair, I could kind of see both sides of it.

It was only about 10 feet deep with much shallower spots for about 10 miles out.  The Cayes in the distance were getting closer and closer.



One funny thing was my friend said Goff's Caye was a deserted 1 mile long Caye.  I told him when I looked it up online, it was more like 1 acre or less!  He was adamant I was wrong, so we were going to see soon enough.
Many of the Cayes looked uninhabited, but there were some private Islands that just looked like my dream homes.  This was like my dream vacation home.



We finally started betting closer to our destination, Goff's Caye!  Elliot was trying to somehow say this wasn't it because this Caye supposed to be a mile long!  I said this is the one I saw in Google Searches, but he was not accepting he was wrong.  Hahahaha



This place is usually packed, but with the cruise lines shut down, there was no one around!  It really was gorgeous!  Can you see the bird sitting on the sign?



Michelle was a bird keeper at the zoo for 30+ years and never seen a perching Frigate bird before in real life.  These things are always in the air!







Man, how gorgeous was this place!





You could tell this was the top of the reef because of the Brain Corals and Sea Fans that were exposed.



Fossil Coral or basically some old growth coral.



We wondered the island for a bit taking in all the cool views and warm clear water!





I busted out the underwater camera to get some close up shots in the shallow pools.



Sergeant Major





Lots of snails...







After a break on the island, we took the boat 100 yards out to do a little snorkeling on the reef!  I wasn't sure how my shoulder was going to hold up, but I was not going to miss out on this. 
The shoulder was indeed sore and stiff, but I didn't push it and just took my time.  There were fish galore, along with everything else you could imagine!  The Captain grabbed a few conches for a fresh ceviche lunch and to use the bad bits as bait.

My camera said waterproof to 30 feet, but after 20 minutes in the water, I was going to find out otherwise....





Brittle Star... and a BIG One!







Showing us a magic trick by watching tube worms "Disappear"  lol



They were also diving to find some lobster to get us a tasty lunch to go along with the conch ceviche.





More random underwater pictures.  There were tons of Wrasse, Parrotfish, Sergeant Majors, Snappers... and basically stuff I couldn't even identify!









Yellowtail Snapper







I snapped about 150 underwater pics before I noticed bubbles coming out of my camera... and then the white screen!  Ugh!  I swam back to the boat to try and salvage the card and camera.  It was time for me to fish anyway......

We then motored out to some blue spots which just means deeper holes in the reef.



We would anchor up and I would start chucking a Gulp Shrimp on a lead head.  I was having them bit in half all the time while trying to not fall in because of all the riggings everywhere.  Then after catching a couple, the kid would cast right over my line every single time....  I grabbed some conch and just went up to the bow to get away from everyone.  It didn't matter as everyone followed me around anyway. 
Not the fishing trip I was hoping for, so I just made the best with what I had.  Basically, it was a fish a cast.  Elliot couldn't believe it, but it kind of felt like surf perch fishing.  All the fish were from 8 to 18 inches and there was nothing big around the reef.  Cool thing was it was like fishing in an aquarium.  I got another half dozen new species to add to my list.

Jolthead Porgy was pretty common.  Caught 3 dozen of these guys.



They came in all color patterns.  I got some Saucereye Porgy also, but I need to scan though all of my pics finding them.  I didn't take near enough photos of them all as I was still holding out for something huge!





The deckhand was working on lunch and came around with some Rum Punches to get everyone's spirits up!



It did do the trick.

A conch ceviche snack was soon to follow.



We made a couple of moves, but it was all the same things. White Grunts, Blueline Grunts, Yellowtail Snapper, Lane Snapper, 2 or 3 species of porgy, Graysby grouper,















The most painful fish I caught was a Longspine Squirrelfish.  That son of a bitch poked me with it's barb and it felt worse than getting stung by a Scorpionfish!  Holy hell that hurt! 



Well, I wish I had my counter like I did at the bay.  I was probably easily over 100 and my hands proved it.  Even a week later, my hands are still scarred from all of the sharp gill plates and spines that stuck me on this trip!

I started casting for Jacks or Cuda, but to no avail.  My shoulder was totally tired and I had nothing left.  Just then, they pop up at the bow with a legit lunch!  I don't know why, but this fresh lobster lunch just made my day!



God it was so good!  We worked our way back to the dock after that as the little 40 hp motor took 2.5 hours to go 12 miles, so it was going to be the same for the ride home.  I gave away half my stuff to the guys as they literally had nothing and calling this a Fishing Charter was very farfetched.  Great people and great stories along the way, but my Belize fishing adventure will have to wait until my next visit.  Next time, I'm only going to be in the Cruiseline Zone and skip the full "Local" experience.  It was great to do and experience, but I'm ready to actually fish and catch some fish that wanted to get into a brawl.

The kid with his spear gun.



We drove by the point to get our last look, well my last look...



We got back and exchanged pleasantries before heading to the hotel for the night.   That was the scariest ride I can remember taking.  Motorcycles, bikes and cars were swerving all around us through roundabouts and even side walks.  Rush hour traffic in Belize City is scary sh!t!  I was so relieved to make it to the hotel in one piece. 

The hotel was really nice, but everything around it was pretty grungy.  I didn't care as I only wanted to get my first air conditioning in a week!

There are some really cool older vehicles around here.  Half of them I'm not even sure what type of make they are.  This was at the hotel..



AHHHHHHH!!!!  Air Conditioning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I almost didn't want to leave it, but I was still starving and wanted some real food.  I felt safer getting food here that wasn't just called "Meat".



We were going to head out into town for dinner, but I was happy we were staying and just eating here.

I ordered country ribs and it didn't disappoint!  It was quite different from any country ribs I've ever had before, but it tasted great, and I couldn't care less at this point.  Hahahahaha



The next morning I get to the airport at 7:00 with my flight being at 8:50..... No one in the airport, not even workers.  Well there were 2 people who were there just hiding in the shadows.



Finally at 7:45 the airport opened up and workers started to show up.  Finally, on the plane!





Bye Bye Belize!

It was some great views of the Cayes on the flight out.  All I could do is wonder what fishing could have been....



I get to Houston and back to reality.  Getting through customs is a cluster and I still have a headache dealing with it. 



I literally kissed the ground when I got back to San Diego.  I made it home and it felt great to sleep in my own bed, with no humidity and the AC on!

Well, thanks for reading and coming along the journey with me.  It was a lot to take in, but I hope you enjoyed it.
I still feel like I need to get a fishing fix in soon...

[Tim524]

 Fun and frustrating adventure at the same time, but it is something most folks will never experience. Hopefully next time your guide won't be holding his reels upside down Lets hit The Bay soon

[skrilla]

Great read. That's a lot of typing and sorting thru photos so thanks for sharing. THE most entertaing travel disclaimer I've seen hahaha.

[sasquatch]

Wow. What a trip.

[jrodda]

Nice to see you finally had a solid fishing day, but damn, having to fish off an underpowered catamaran sailboat! What a tough turn. Even if the trip didn't meet expectations in so many areas, that was certainly an unforgettable one. Glad the mystery meats haven't killed you yet and you're back home safe.

[KogaHead]

Nice you handled all the curve balls thrown at you!!!

[SevengillTheVC]

At least the fish are very vivid! That green SUV looks to be a pretty cherry Landrover Defender. Glad you made it back safe!