Finding myself recently on the island of Caye Caulker in Belize, I spent a perfectly active Caribbean day in great company doing some sailing, snorkeling and exploring a small section of the Belize Barrier Reef. Located slightly offshore, the entire length of this coral reef system is roughly one-third of the 900-kilometer-long (560 miles) Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which stretches from Cancún on the northeast tip of the Yucatán Peninsula through the Riviera Maya down to Honduras making it one of the largest coral reef systems in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the New Caledonia Barrier Reef.) Vital to Belize’s tourism and fishing industries, it’s also a World Heritage Site and one of the richest eco-systems in the world. Continuously suffering damage from hurricanes, global warming, oceanic pollution as well as uncontrolled tourism, shipping and fishing, Belize’s fragile water-world is increasingly under threat despite passionate protective measures from Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. Witnessing such incredible beauty and fragility simultaneously made me feel enormous gratitude for every form and manifestation of life.
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