SPANISH LOOKOUT CAYE

This is a 187-acre mangrove island, located at the southern tip of The Drowned Cayes, which lie 10 miles east of Belize City. If you’re not researching manatees with Earthwatch, you’re most likely coming here to stay at Spanish Bay Resort (tel. 501/223-4526, spanishbay@belizediving.com). When you approach the resort from the sea on a sunny day, the simple white cabanas built over the blue-green water are quite spectacular. Five cabanas with 10 rooms, hot showers, and private baths are connected to the island by a dock. The resort offers popular three-night packages that include all meals and transfer to the island.

Diving is one of the favorite activities here. Manatees and dolphins are regularly seen foraging near the island. Juvenile reef fish, seahorses, lobster, and mollusks live among the red mangrove roots and seagrass beds. Tarpon and barracuda often come into the bay to feed on the abundant silversides. The resort is only one mile west of the main Barrier Reef and about eight miles west of central Turneffe Island.