5 Reason to travel to Belize

With the 2010 travel season rapidly approaching there are several tropical paradises to consider. We'd like to suggest Belize, as travelers can take advantages of great deals and dollar conversion rates. Belize is located in the heart of Central America and includes spectacular water adventures for the family to enjoy. Here are 5 good reasons you should check out Belize:

1. Belize has the second largest reef in world located along its entire coastline, with thousands of miles to snorkel, scuba dive, and free dive.
   
   
2. Great Blue Hole is one of the premier dive sites and is highly recommended to visit. Jacques Cousteau in 1971 was the first to promote this wonderful underwater adventure which is considered one of the "Worlds Top 10 Diving Sites."
   
   
3. If you like to island hop, you can travel to and hike Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Coco Plum Cayes and hundreds of other islands (some of them are completely uninhabited and just waiting to be explored).
   
   
4. Cave Tubing is a favorite and unique activity for tourists. All one has to do is to sit back and enjoy channeling through amazing caves and waterways. It is an adventure that one will never forget.
   
   
5. With miles and miles of rain forest, one can hike and explore for days. Within the rain forests you can find several history rich Mayan sites.
   

The above tips were provided by Clayton Sikes, owner of Belize Surf & Sport, one of our favorite retail shops located outside the crew ship terminal in Belize City. Belize Surf & Sport retails everything from authentic souvenirs to Body Glove wetsuits and snorkel gear.

To contact Belize Surf & Sport, call 011 501-664-2502 (from the US) and 664-2502 (if in Belize).

- Posted by Mike Zahn of CWIC

http://www.destinationwater.com/- A C Walters Intercoastal Corporation

Whale Watching Tour in San Diego

Saturday, December 19 was a most beautiful day in San Diego, California. The sun was shining over the glassy, blue Pacific ocean and the sky was so clear that one could see all the way to the Islas Coronados just over the border in Mexican waters.

I set out with Adventure Rib Rides (www.adventureribrides.com), a whale watching tour company that utilizes US Navy SEAL Rigid Inflatable Boats (R.I.B), to share their wonders of the sea with men, women and children from all over the world. Unlike typical whale watching excursions that take place in large yachts that hold 60-200 people and allow whale watchers to view the sights from 25 feet off of the water, Adventure Rib Rides seat six passengers max. and sit an arms length distance from the water.

The tour was conducted Captains Ken and Sean who offered a wealth of information on the sights within the San Diego Harbor, whale behavior, oceanography and more.




Once we got out of port, we were amazed at the calmness of the ocean and quickly found ourselves in the middle of a huge pod of dolphins. Our new friends decided to follow us and play within our wake. I was able to brace myself near the front end of the boat and look into their eyes as they turned on their sides to get a better glimpse of us human beings.



















My favorite dolphin decided to turn on his back and swim upside down! It amazed me how fast he could move in such a precarious position. The connection I experienced with the personality-rich creatures was so very powerful...I'll never forget the moment as long as I live!

For 3 hours, we enjoyed the ocean and the refreshing sun shining above us. Since it is early in the season, we didn't see any whales...but I will take my friends and family again soon to experience the adventure of being on the ocean in a R.I.B boat.

For more information on Adventure R.I.B Rides, visit www.adventureribrides.com or call (619) 808-2822.

Post by Jen of CWIC

Whale Migration in the Pacific

It is that time of year again in the Pacific Ocean!! Thousands of whales (mainly Grey whales) are currently migrating south to breed in the warmth of the Mexican waters. Just today, I heard from a friend in San Diego that Grey whales aren't the only thing that has been gracing the waters down south -- more than a dozen Orca whales spotted off the coast this morning!

When I asked her what they were doing down in San Diego, she said that it is still a mystery to local scientists. "But you wouldn't believe it!" she said. "Local whale watching boats have reported that the Orcas were acting very similar to dolphins! They were jumping out of the water and interacting with whale watching boats like they've never seen!"

I'll be heading out to San Diego to catch some whale watching action this weekend and will bring pictures back to share. Stay tuned...

Posted by Jen

http://www.destinationwater.com/- A C Walters Intercoastal Corporation

Dive Into Your Imagination!

Annie Crawley, AKA "Ocean Annie," has become one of America's leading ocean-environ educators. Founder of www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com, her company changes the way new generations view the ocean. As an underwater cinematographer and educator, Annie has become a Les Brown Platinum Speaker.

CWIC Founder & President Cindi Walters met her at the DEMA Show 2009 in Orlando, Florida and realizing she is a true inspiration, invited her to be a contributor to our blog! We think you will enjoy Annie's perspective and encourage you to visit her site!

A Message from Annie
Breathing underwater changed my life. Originally from Chicago, I never dreamed that I would spend the past two decades living and working around the world. Traveling from Indonesia to Galapagos, Belize to Papua New Guinea, I have explored and documented underwater life on our planet! Inspired by the words of my grandmother when I was only 10-years-old, "You have to travel when you're a youngster because when you get to be my age, you can't climb the mountains!" After graduating from college with a journalism degree, I wasn't ready to get a job, start a family and do all the more traditional things that most of us are raised to pursue. So I saved my money and bought a plane ticket to Australia. There I learned to scuba dive in my second week and then didn't return back to the states for four years! Learning to Scuba dive gave me a freedom I have never experienced on land.

One of the reasons I was excited to contribute to CWIC's blog is because I would never have been able to Scuba dive if I had never learned to swim. From the time we were in diapers, my mom had us in the local swimming pool for family night swims. Eventually, I joined the swim team when I was 9 and grew up with green hair -- due to all the time we spent in the pool. What I didn't know at the time was that my mom had a fear of water and to this day she hates to put her head underwater. The amazing thing is that she didn't instill her fear in any of her children and sent us to swimming lessons. (She was a true hero, my mom...because the greatest of all heroes don't pass on their fears to those who they guide, but they help them exceed their very own limitations.) It is much easier to learn to swim when you are young, but I know that it can be done by adults who want to get over their fears of water...they too can enter into the magical world found when snorkeling and Scuba diving.

Children are 40% of our population and 100% of our future. A few years ago, I founded www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com to change the way that new generations view the ocean. I spent nearly two decades underwater and believe that real ocean animals are much more exciting than those in cartoons. A few of my favorite animals include pygmy sea horses the size of your baby fingernail; cuttlefish that communicate by changing the color and texture of their skin; and Whale Sharks, the largest fish in the ocean...some growing to be up to 60 feet in length!

I still pinch myself when I think about diving with Great White Sharks in Mexico and bottle nose dolphins in Belize. The ocean is the most magical place, and it was all possible because my mom taught me to swim and my grandmother told me to travel...and there is much more to be told.

I look forward to contributing again in the near future!!! If you have any questions, feel free to visit my website site and email!

http://www.destinationwater.com/- A C Walters Intercoastal Corporation