Glover's Reef Atoll ~ Watery Oasis in the Middle of Somewhere

Kate conducts marine research on a sea urchin skeleton in the shade of a beach palapa

Southwest Cay

Glover's Reef is my absolute, hands down winner for Most Beautiful Anchorage in Belize. Located 12 miles offshore, it is a pristine atoll described as a "coral necklace strung around an 80 square mile lagoon. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of only four coral atolls in the western hemisphere.

One-third of the atoll is protected as a marine reserve and the fish know it. We snorkeled a patch reef with an abundance of sea life and, most notably, a young nurse shark who surprised me as I was swimming around a coral head, not expecting to see this docile denizen of the not so deep. F.Y.I. The Pew Center for Ocean Science recently conducted a survey of the migratory patterns and health of the shark populations of the area with the cooperation of the Glover's Reef Marine Research Station.

View across the spectacular lagoon at Long Cay

Just a handful of boats were anchored at Southwest Cay and when we arrived at Long Cay with our friends, Kathy and Tom, on Jumbie after picking our way around the many coral heads in the inner lagoon, we were one of three boats there~with barely two feet under our keel. For scuba divers I'd heartily recommend the Off the Wall Dive and Resort as the wall dives on the windward side are supposedly fabulous. Even if you just snorkel, this would be the perfect spot for a lazy Belizean vacation. It's an hour ride from Dangriga, on the coast. On a boat, this is a destination only in settled weather, which is exactly what we had.