Administrator, Author at Chabil Mar Villas

Great Blue Hole Featured on Australia’s #1 News Site

Posted on April 11, 2014

Divers descend to stalactites in Blue Hole. Tim Rock/Lonely Planet Source: Getty Images

The jawdropping 310 meter wide Great Blue Hole in Belize is currently being featured on Australia’s #1 News Site http://www.news.com.au/. The story was published on April 7 2014 by Lonely Planet, the largest travel guide book publisher in the world which described it as an azure submarine sinkhole that is a paradise for divers in search of crystal-clear water that hides treasures in its depths.

The article reads:

Welcome to the Great Blue Hole near Belize, a spectacular sight which Lonely Planet has explored for the new book The World’s Great Wonders.

From above, it looks like an eye — a large, dark pupil surrounded by a sliver of turquoise iris, framed by the eyelids of the reef. But now that you’re within its embrace, it’s hard to get a sense of its circular shape.

A school of yellow angelfish linger by the reef. A lone parrotfish nibbles on the coral. Pressing on your scuba gear’s purge valve, you follow the stream of bubbles from fellow divers. As you sink lower, you are surprised by the absence of marine wildlife down here. You peer into the darkness, hoping for a glimpse of a turtle, or maybe a shark. But 40m down, there is an even more spectacular sight.

Stalactites. The long swords of limestone, some 10m in length, cling to the roofs of cave inlets. At this depth they appear dirty brown in colour. You approach them tentatively, aware that one flick of a wayward fin could shatter eons of history. After all, stalactites started to form in these caves over 150,000 years ago.

Read the full article here.

For more information about Belize or the Great Blue Hole, feel free to chat with our Concierge at: concierge@chabilmarvillas.com or contact our Reservations Manager at: reservations@chabilmarvillas.com. Or perhaps you would like to call toll free from the US or Canada: 1-866-417-2377.

Belize’s Picture of the Day

Posted on April 9, 2014

Belize’s picture of the day is of the beautiful Placencia beach and Caribbean Sea.

Photo credit:Aroundtheworld

Here’s a review from Fodor’s, the world’s largest publisher of tourist and travel information on Placencia Belize:

The Placencia peninsula is fast becoming one of the major visitor destinations in Belize, one that may eventually rival Ambergris Caye as the most popular resort area in the country. It’s one 16-mile- (26-km-) long peninsula, with three different but complementary areas: Northern Peninsula/Maya Beach, Seine Bight, and Placencia Village.

The former dirt track that ran 25 miles (41 km) from the Southern Highway to the tiny community of Riversdale and then down the peninsula to Placencia Village has been paved, and the road is now in excellent condition (beware the speed bumps, however). Beginning at Riversdale, at the elbow where the actual peninsula joins the mainland, you’ll get a quick glimpse through mangroves of the startlingly blue Caribbean. As you go south, the Placencia Lagoon is on your right, and behind it in the distance rise the low Maya Mountains, the Cockscomb Range ruffling the tropical sky with its jagged peaks. On your left, a few hundred feet away, beyond the remaining mangroves and a narrow band of beach, is the Caribbean Sea. A broken line of uninhabited cayes grazes the horizon.

The northern end of the peninsula from Riversdale south to Maya Beach once had just a few small seaside houses, and Maya Beach was a sleepy beach community. Now the towering five-story buildings of the Copal Beach condominium development, currently under construction, rise up out of the flat peninsula land. “For Sale” signs dot the roadside, supersize beach- and lagoon-side mansions are going up at The Placencia Residences and elsewhere, and several new condominium communities and resorts are open or planned (though some are struggling to find buyers). These new resorts and condo developments join a small group of laid-back seaside hotels and cabins. The beaches toward the upper end of the peninsula are some of the best on mainland Belize, and more restaurants and shops are starting to open here. One of the best restaurants in all of Belize, the Bistro at Maya Beach Hotel, is usually packed. There’s now even a small bowling alley in Maya Beach, Jaguar Lanes.

Roughly midway down the peninsula is the Garífuna village of Seine Bight, struggling to adapt to change. At both the north and south ends of the village upscale resorts and condo developments have sprung up to take advantage of the appealing beaches.

On a sheltered half-moon bay at the southern tip of the peninsula is Placencia Village. Founded by pirates, and long a Creole village, the community is now inhabited by an extraordinary mélange of people, local and expatriate. Most of the hotels in the village are modest, and the shops have tiny selections. Never mind, once you arrive you’ll probably just want to lie in a hammock with a good book, perhaps getting up long enough to cool off in the gentle waves or to sip a Belikin at one of the village saloons.

From anywhere on the Placencia peninsula you can dive along the reef, swim in the warm sea water, look for scarlet macaws in Red Bank Village to the southwest (between December and February), explore the Mayan ruins at Mayflower and hike to the waterfalls there, or, on a full day trip, travel to the Mayan sites at Lubaantun and Nim Li Punit near Punta Gorda, or treat yourself to some of the best sportfishing in the country.

Watch Now: A Mesmerizing Video of a Belize Vacation

Posted on April 8, 2014

Alex Parillo recently visited Belize and created this amazing video that summarizes the things he did on his vacation. Watch now to find out the beautiful and mesmerizing things that awaits you in Belize.

13 Photos That Will Make You Want To Visit Belize

Posted on April 4, 2014

Belize is one of the last unspoiled places on earth that offers a vast array of natural attractions for the adventure traveler. The country is a fabulous destination for scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, visiting ancient Maya cities, canoeing, zip lining, cave tubing and much more.

In things blog post, we are delighted to share with you 13 stunning and remarkable pictures of Belize.

Placencia in Belize Has the World’s Narrowest Street

Posted on March 28, 2014

Did you know that Placencia has the world’s narrowest street?

The Guinness Book of World Records recognized the “Placencia Sidewalk” which was constructed over 30 years ago as a means of wheel barrowing fish without fighting through the sand as the narrowest street in the world.

The street which runs to the center of the village is lined with homes, coffee shops, hotels, guest houses and restaurants.

For those who do not know, Placencia Village sits at the tip of a 16–mile peninsula in Southern Belize and is the only place on mainland Belize that offers unspoiled white sand beaches. The village is also known locally as “Barefoot Perfect.”

Miles of natural sandy beach, a virgin mangrove–fringed lagoon, a wonderland of coral–studded cayes just off-shore, nearby jungle rivers (home to the howler monkey) and pristine rainforests, Garifuna, Creole and Maya cultures and ancient ruins, all within a short tour away, make Placencia the ideal destination for the intrepid traveler.

For more information about Placencia or Belize, you can chat with our Concierge at: concierge@chabilmarvillas.com or contact our Reservations Manager at: reservations@chabilmarvillas.com. Or perhaps you would like to call toll free from the US or Canada: 1-866-417-2377.

Author: Administrator