Sand Piper at Sunset

Sand pipers are common at Spanish Look Out Caye and make difficult photo subjects because they hardly stay still. I shot this at sunset after many spoils. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge is excellent for bird watchers and nature lovers in general.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Night Diving

Night dives are a different way of experiencing a dive site. Different creatures come out in the dark and you pay more attention to detail since your vision is concentrated on the beam of your dive light.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures.

Encouraging words

Many times beginner divers realize SCUBA diving is not what they expected. They experience anxiety and want to quit. Encouraging words by instructors go a long way in helping students overcome their fears of the sport.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Welcome to HPBAL

Guests receive a welcome drink on arrival at Hugh Parkey's Adventure Lodge.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Tools of the Trade

The right tools for the work at hand are required to provide effective service. At Hugh Parkey's Belize Dive Connection we rely on Scubapro dive Equipment to get the job done along with certified technicians to keep everything up to running. Scubapro rental and retail dive gear are available at our retail center on location at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge on Spanish Look Out Caye.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Hot Chocolate

Nothing like hot chocolate to keep you warm after a night dive. Anytime of year, regardless of the weather guests at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge have always enjoyed a cup or two of hot chocolate after their night dive.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

SCUBA Instructor with student

Patience is a virtue when teaching SCUBA to first-timers. Communication between student and instructor is necessary to understand strengths and weaknesses and make the best out of every situation. This will lead to a memorable experience and the students desire to continue practicing the sport.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is one of the many birds you will encounter at Spanish Look Out Caye, home of Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge. Wildlife is common at our island with pristing mangrove forests and wetlands.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures.

Dive Site: Chasbo's Corner

Named by Hugh Parkey after his son, Chuck Parkey, also known as Chasbo. This dive site on the Northwest side of the atoll is located at a point on the reef and is a fine example of wall diving on the Northwest side. Top of the wall is 45 feet and drops down to a ledge at 180 feet. Top of the wall consists of mostly scattered corals with defined sand patches in between covered in a forest of gorgonians. This point on the reef creates a slight current when the tide is changing bringing in plankton streams that nourish the corals. The wall consists mostly of plate coral and covered in soft corals with huge specimens of deep water sea fans and various other gorgonians as well as a variety of sponges. The current also attracts plankton feeders like huge schools of creole wrasse and smaller schools of scad and herring. They get so excited in the feeding frenzy that they attract predators of all sizes. Schools of black grouper, tiger grouper, dog snapper, cubera snapper, king fish, and cero stalk the water column. Solitary barracuda can be seen hovering close to the coral and sponges stalking prey. Schools of black durgon and yellow tail snapper are also in abundance here. Chasbo’s Corner is unique because we are occasionally treated with a pleasant surprise of unusual and strange sightings. Hammerhead, silky sharks, reef sharks, sailfish, pods of dolphin, pods of false orcas and even manatee have all been seen here before. This site is also excellent for a variety macro life. Various types of pipefish, slender file fish, decorator crabs, blennies, gobies, shrimp, cowries, and colonies of yellow head jawfish as well as the elusive sea horse are all present throughout this site. This unique site has been featured in international dive magazines before and is sometimes called the “Mini Elbow” by some dive operators.

Photo by Tony Rath

May Madness

It's time for May Madness once again and as usual you benefit by having absolutely no limit on arrival dates throughout May 1 - 15. That is right, you can arrive on any day at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge and we'll get you started. Take advantage of last minute airline deals to Belize in May and choose your package. The 8 Day/7 Night Dive Package includes 3 Days Barrier Reef Diving and 3 Days Turneffe Diving for only USD$1399.00. The 5 Day/4 Night Dive Package includes 2 days Barrier Reef Diving and 1 Day Turneffe Diving for only USD$799.00. Non-divers can choose the 8 Day/7 Night Island Adventure Package which includes 3 full-days Barrier reef snorkeling, 1 day Barrier Reef Snorkel/Wildlife Encounter Combo, and 1 day Altun Ha Mayan Site/Belize Zoo combo for only USD$1099.00. We also have a 5 Day/4 Night Island Adventure Package that includes 2 full days Barrier reef Snorkeling, 1 day Wildlife Encounter/Mangrove Kayak Combo, and 1 Day Altun Ha/Belize Zoo Combo for only USD$599.00. All packages include transfers, meals, purified drinking water, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages and Park Fees. Dive Packages also include tanks and weights while Adventure Packages include snorkel equipment as required. Prices do not include tax.

Upcoming Trade and Dive Shows

Stop by our booths and get the opportunity to win a prize or simply take advantage of our specials!!!!!

Beneath the Sea Dive Travel Show in New Jersey

Join Hugh Parkey’s Belize Adventures at “Beneath The Sea Dive Travel Show” in Secaucus New Jersey, March 26, 27, and 28, 2010. We will be set up at Booth 743, at the Meadowlands Expo Center, waiting for you to stop by and get detailed information on all the packages we have available and custom packages we can create to fit your specialized itinerary. We will also have specials to launch our dive shop at the Sunbreeze Hotel in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye.

London International Dive Show 2010 in London

27th - 28th March 2010
Excel London, Royal Victoria Dock, Newham, London, E16 1XL
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8943 4288

Discover the aquatic world that is the International Dive Show in London Excel. The expansive and renowned Excel exhibition centre in London will transform into a water wonderland as Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge joins the Belize Hotel Association along with hundreds of diving companies from all over the globe to showcase their products.
London International Dive Show 2010 will attract thousands of visitors into Excel London, all eager to sample the latest in the diving industry. We will have packages and giveaways to launch our dive shop at the Sunbreeze Hotel in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye and our continued dedication to dive consumers at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge on Spanish Lookout Caye, Belize City.
London International Dive Show 2010 in Excel London is London's premier scuba diving show and shouldn't be missed by anyone with an envy of gills.

Good morning from HP Belize Adventure Lodge

I got out of bed this morning after a much needed rest. Before stepping into the office I walked along the dock (yes, I live at work) and immediately noticed literally millions of sardines in the shadow of the dock. Crevalle jacks were darting in and out of the bait ball while a huge barracuda lay motionless a couple feet away getting cleaned by a juvenile Spanish grunt about 2 inches in size. About 5 large bonefish silted up the bottom of the shallow end irritating several upside down jellies. As I walked in front of the dive shop I carefully examined the bottom through the unusually crystal clear water and noticed 3 juvenile yellow stingrays. The largest was about 3 inches across. Yes, that's right, inches not feet. They seemed to be hatch lings in their settling stage. The sun was slowly rising over the horizon and I felt like I had just discovered something new for today. I remember working with Richard Foster filming fish migrations for National Geographic last year and I know he would have loved to be here with millions of fish just under the dock. We searched Turneffe Atoll for schooling fish and after a week, including 2 days at the Elbow during the full moon, he probably got 15 minutes of usable video but he got plenty of stock footage and was happy. If I had only known then.

How many people can say that they look forward to an exciting morning on the way to the office?
Photo Credit: Sunrise at Belize Adventure Lodge by Tony Rath.