Turtle Inn continues to be a haven on this otherwise disappointing coastline of the southern end of Belize. Yes, the Tourist Board will tell you of their perfect white powder beaches, but in truth these are to be found offshore on the myriad atolls. Since our last visit a year ago, if anything the hotel looks even better, the planting more mature and the feeling is very much of a settled resort. In a nutshell, here you will find easily the nicest rooms in Belize as well as certainly the nicest staff in the Caribbean.

There were, however, a couple of issues this trip relating to patchy food and some questionable dive service, but management has immediately responded and gone to some lengths to overcome these issues, the sign of a well run establishment not content to sit on it’s laurels. We look forward to hearing from any recent guests with their comments.

Whether you are visiting with friends, children or on your own, it is well worthwhile paying the premium for the oceanfront rooms, which are as close to the sea as you can be without actually being in it and as a consequence are cooled by the sea breeze. Arranged as two bedroom suites with an interconnecting sitting room these provide a really delightful quiet retreat filled with eastern charm, but we will not repeat ourselves as readers will already be aware of the full details from the book.

More importantly, you will want to know about the diving. When we first visited in June, we were right at the very end of the Whale Shark season. Yet, as luck would have it, one dive and we had a brief but very close encounter. Looking at the dive board, we were not alone in this as they had encountered Whale Shark literally every day. We therefore immediately planned to return in mid May at the full moon, apparently the peak season for a real Whale Shark fest.

Unfortunately, this year, for the first time in 5 years, all was not as advertised. Why was this? Whilst the number of divers is regulated by the Park Rangers, this peak period means that all available slots are used and so unlike our visit last year,  it was commonplace to come across other troops of divers underwater meaning it was a pretty crowded experience. The upshot was that we had a brief sighting of three Shark on one dive and nothing but bubbles on the others. Whether this is due to a change in water temperature and feeding habits or possibly just too many divers at this peak period is hard to tell, but we strongly advise you to check with the dive centre [scuba@turtleinn.com] before you book. They should be able to give you a heads up on the latest news and when your best chance would be.

Whilst talking about the diving, we did encounter a few issues about the way the centre was run, and whilst the instructors on the boat could not be more helpful and friendly, it would be nice to see more of a connection between the front desk and the Dive shop as well as more customer care from the top down. Again, management is aware of these failings and no doubt will be taking action to provide more ‘customer care’.

For full details please contact Original Travel or click on Holiday Enquiries.

ATOMIC AQUATICS FRAMELESS MASK

It seemed like this would be a good opportunity to try the new Atomic Aquatics mask (as of the time of reporting you have to look under ‘News’ on their web site)  and simply put, they live up to the companies reputation as producing the very best dive gear. With a relative low volume, wide and unobstructed field of view, coupled with their UltraClear coating, the clarity of vision is exceptional. One point to note is that the very efficiently sized mask case (included) is essential to any longevity for these masks. We normally throw our masks into our dive bags without using a case, but with these masks you really should look after them by always putting them back into the case as it would appear the UltraClear coating has a very high propensity to scratch and thus scramble your view. Aside from anything else it is good practice and you are guaranteed not to break your mask.

Mask adjustment could not be easier, beautifully and simply engineered.

We tried both the black and clear frameless, and whilst the clear looked very appealing, it naturally allowed a great deal of light through the skirt and in bright conditions was distracting. We therefore preferred the black skirt as it provided no distraction and focused your view. They also offer a two window Titanium framed ‘Subframe’ with a lifetime warranty which accepts corrective lenses, but whilst this has the advantage of being virtually unbreakable and engineered in a Brunel like manner, that benefit brings with it a very un-Atomic feature of weight.

In short, the best mask we have used, comfortable, easy to clear, exceptional vision and well worth the money; in fact so good that they have just won a design award. Please Atomic Aquatics, now turn your attention to BCD’s.