Dive Review of
Isla Marisol in
Belize/Glover's Reef

 all over world 

Dive Conditions

[Unspecified]  

[None]The dive boat does not have a table for cameras but does have a fresh
water tank.  

Overall Rating

[None]Eddie Usher, the proprietor of Isla Marisol, and his family have
owned the former coconut farm and now rustic, laid back dive resort, for
more than a half century.  It is as good a land based diving experience as
one will find in the Caribbean, assuming you are there to just dive and
relax.  The dive package includes 3 boat dives a day, not the customary 2;
night dives are available.  Most of the dive sites are a 3-5 minute boat
ride from the dock. In spite of what may be written in some of the
literature, the diving around southwest Caye is as good as anywhere else on
Glovers.  Kitty, our divemaster, was very enthusiastic and accomodating and
good at finding marine life.  The corals, hard and soft, are very healthy
due in part no doubt to the fact it is 35-40 miles from the mainland and
unaffected by run-offs and there is relatively very little diving activity
on any of the cayes which comprise Glovers.  We saw in our week long stay
numerous nurse sharks, several out swimming, one 10' or more hammerhead, a
rare sighting in Belize, eagle rays, southern sting rays, many turtles,
lots of morays and the usual reef fish and critters which were in great
abundance on every dive.  There were particularly many varieties of
grouper, some quite large. The diving here has the distinction of being fun
and enjoyable for both beginning and experienced divers 
     The food is remarkable, assuming you like seafood.  There is no menu
- you sit down for meals and just wait to see what interesting and unique
dish Ms Fel, the chef, has prepared.  Nothing comes from her kitchen which
she has not prepared herself.  Pitchers of fresh juice, orange, grapefruit,
tangerine, lemonade, are on the table for every sitting.  So are plates of
fresh fruits.  Equally as fresh is the fish which is served, it having come
from the local waters that or the previous day.  Her dishes are Belizean
and each is made from scratch, including all forms of breads, wraps, jacks,
and something called journey cakes.  You will leave no meal hungry.
     The cabins would not be described as luxurious, but luxury is not the
intended ambiance of Isla Marisol.  They are comfortable and more than
satisfactory.  They do have a/c which we never used; overhead fans and open
windows were plenty.  The bar provides a great gathering spot, though you
might want to take your own special brand of spirits if that is important
to you. You should also take plenty of Deep Woods Off or other no-see-um
preventitive.  The staff at the resort is friendly and intent on doing
whatever it takes to make your diving experience a hassle-free and
memorable one.  That includes asking for your input for diving sites and
activities rather than forcing a pre arranged schedule on divers as some
resorts do.  
     I am a veteran of 15-20 live aboards and this is the closest resort
diving gets to the live aboard experience. Eddie had a dream or vision for
Isla Marisol and has been successfully implementing it now for 6 or 7
years, quite an achievement considering the distances across water that all
building materials and construction crews had to travel.  This is as good
as it gets for Caribbean diving  
     

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