In the Gladden Spit Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, there are 3 small islands called the Silk (or Queen) Cayes. Around these islands and in the reserve one can snorkel for days and not get bored, but there is one spot in particular that we like to call Turtle Alley. Here huge loggerhead turtles come up to stare you in the face, stingrays zoom by and nurse sharks cruise around the bottom, all safe and harmless unless provoked. These critters hang out in the area waiting for scraps of food which is, most time the unwanted parts of lobsters, fish, and conch, that fishermen catch and clean in the area. They toss the scraps in the water and it makes for a yummy dinner for the critters.
The tour starts in Placencia Village at our private dock. Here you will meet up with your boat crew, get checked in and fitted with gear, we load up on the boat which we already prepped and ready to go after the captain gives a safety briefing. The boat ride is about an hour out to sea. After the boat ride we get ashore at the southernmost Silk Cayes, and meet the park ranger as he gives us a briefing about the history and the dos and don'ts of the park system. Your snorkel guides then step in and share about the first snorkeling adventure that will be around the island for about an hour. Once done you get to enjoy a beach lunch which is usually a beach BBQ. Then we relax on the beach a bit and let the tummies settle. When the group is ready we get in the boat and do a boat snorkel around a patch reef which will lead up to the area we call "Turtle Alley." Here is where you get to meet the fun critters, LoggerHead Turtles, Nurse Sharks, Stingrays, and Eagle Rays. We enjoy some encounters with them and then get onboard the boat via a provided ladder. When everyone is accounted for we head on back to Placencia as we reminisce on the day of adventure.