Private Islands in Belize: Rendezvous Caye and Starfish Island

February 27, 2024 It's day 4 of our amazing catamaran adventure through the cayes and reefs of the Belize Barrier Reef! With our trip more than half way over, we are trying to soak up every moment!

In the morning, we headed to a nearby section of the reef to meet the team from the French Angel Expeditions Dive Shop so that Scott, Joel and Jill could complete their last two dives of the trip. We were able to anchor at a reef and were only a few minutes away from where the scuba crew was diving. Our snorkeling was fantastic, with lots of fish, Spotted Eagle Rays and Loggerhead Turtles.

Scott had an underwater adventure while diving today. Towards the end of their second dive, a group of 7 Spotted  Eagle Rays went by, and he swam hard to catch up with them and shoot some video. In doing so, he started quickly sucking down his remaining air, which was at 700 pounds when he started the chase. He realized his mistake and turned back to find his dive master. Once they reunited, Scott was very low on air, and feared he wouldn’t have enough to complete his safety stop and resurface. The dive master was ready to share air with him if needed, but he made it through with just a little bit of air left in this tank. It was a good reminder for all our divers about air preservation and awareness during the dive. The nice result was the video below that shows the gracefulness of the Eagle Rays.

After our diving and snorkeling was done, we headed out to open seas to do some more deep sea fishing on the way to our next island. This was our second try at catching something, but to no avail.  We really weren't fishing hard...just trolling a couple of lines off the back of the boat. We were excited for our next two nights, as we would be staying on small, private islands instead of the more populated islands we had experienced so far.

Our destination this afternoon was Rendezvous Caye - a quintessential tiny Caribbean Island! 

On approach, we could see the dock, shade structures, beach chairs, sandy beaches and the coral reef that surrounded the island. The lone person on the island when we arrived was the caretaker, and we all thought this was a job that we'd love to have!

We learned that this island is a popular cruise ship excursion, and on some days, several hundred passengers arrive at the same time on the excursion shuttles. Rueben knew their schedule, and planned for us to depart in the morning before the excursion arrived. After exploring the island, we met Rueben at the caretaker's quarters for a chance to feed and pet the local sting rays.

These rays are clearly used to being fed, as they swam right up to us, bumping our shins and practically trying to "crawl" up our legs. Sting ray mouths are on the bottom of their bodies, below the tip. To feed them, you either need to extend your flattened hand down under their bodies and allow them to suck the chunk of fish off your hand, or they'll start climbing your legs in search of treats!

Shortly after feeding the rays, 2 boats with 12 tent campers per boat arrived at the dock. They were on an excursion that involved 2 nights/3 days of snorkeling, fishing and island hopping. Their 1st night's accommodation were in tents, and they would stay in dormitories on a different island the 2nd night.

Even with the extra people on the island, we thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon. Bri and Rueben made sure our island experience was effortless. They stocked a bar for us on the beach, and delivered wonderful shrimp ceviche to us at appetizer time. Joel and I took a snorkeling cruise around the island, and apparently didn’t go out far enough as we were in very shallow coral. Rueben had to get our attention and had us come back to shore so we didn’t end up damaging any of the reef.

We enjoyed a stunning sunset with rays swimming by to say hello. They would bump our legs like little puppies, expecting us to have more treats for them!

Back on the boat for the night, we enjoyed grouper filet in a bed of saphron rice for dinner with cinnamon plantains for dessert. We played several more rounds of Liar’s Dice after dinner, then we watched the beautiful orange moon rise behind the waving island palm trees. It was magical!

The next morning, Day 5, we left Rendezvous Caye under strong winds, and sailed to Sergeant’s Reef for some more snorkeling. This site was formerly Sergeant's Caye, until Category 4 Hurricane Hattie destroyed the home and other structures on the island in 1961. Today, the island is gone and the area is now a reef just below the water level.   The foundations of the former home now create great fish habitat. A fun historic fact: Princess Margaret (sister to Queen Elizabeth) visited Sergeant's Caye in 1958 during her West Indies trip.

After snorkeling and lunch, we set sail towards the mangrove islands to look for manatees. In addition to providing a habitat for many different species, including manatees, the mangroves serve as a first line of defense against hurricanes and tropical storms by dissipating wave and wind energy. The roots and branches of mangroves also provide an ideal site for animals to feed, mate, and give birth.

Captain Rueben expertly guided us through the maze of channels in the mangrove islands, and ultimately took us into a small lagoon area where he'd had luck finding manateees in the past. His experience served us well, as we saw two pairs of manatees...one of which surfaced right next to the Tranquilo! With adults weighing between 400-1300 pounds, and growing from 8 1/2 -11 1/2 feet long, these slow, ambling "Sea Cows" were easy to spot when they surfaced, but their shy nature meant they didn't stay up long.

After enjoying our time with the manatees, we set sail for our final night's destination...Starfish Island. While this island was also a once-popular cruise ship excursion, it suffered serious damage from a hurricane several years ago and has yet to fully open to excursions. According to Rueben, Belize Sailing Vacations is currently the only company docking at Starfish Island.

We were welcomed by the island caretaker, Kevin, and two of his dogs, Socks and Teddy. Shortly after arrival, we noticed a man in a kayak who was struggling to make it ashore through the waves kicked up by the strong winds. It turned out to be Lionel, a 71-year old from a neighboring island. Once he was ashore and settled in, we learned that he often shows up when he sees lights or activity on Starfish Island. Kevin noted that island living can be lonely, and Lionel loves the opportunity to socialize!

Bri and Reuben again delivered appetizers and a bar to the beach. We explored the island, found shady palm trees to lounge under, and admired a weathered driftwood sculpture that featured all varieties of sealife.

Eventually, we all gathered at the cook shack where the "grillin’ and chillin’" for the night was centered. Brianna prepared us a big feast...she had cleaned out the fridge for our final dinner!

Scott was particularly enjoying the conversations with Kevin, Lionel and another local that had joined the party. When he expressed how much he envied their lives on these stunning islands, they genuinely thanked him, noting that island life has its challenges, and they appreciated his heartfelt reminder of what they had. It was a beautiful last night, and we ended with a campfire on the beach after our amazing dinner.

Breakfast the next morning was bittersweet...our last morning on this amazing phase of our Belizian journey. We had a traditional Belizian breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, refried black beans, cheese and fry jacks. We knew we were really going to miss Brianna's cooking!

Kevin stopped by with the dogs, and ended up sharing Teddy's adventures as an island dog.

Teddy survived a two-day Hurricane in 2017 after refusing to get in the boat with Kevin and the other dogs when they evacuated the island in advance of the storm. When Teddy bolted and ran to the other side of the island, Kevin had to leave him behind. Kevin and the other dogs returned to the island 3 days later, and Teddy was quick to jump in the boat as soon as they touched the shore!  He must have had a heck of a 3-days alone on the island during the storm.

Teddy also went missing for a month after he swam out to sea chasing some dolphins!  Kevin watched him chase them for a long time, and then Teddy disappeared in the mangroves. When he returned a month later, he was very skinny! What an adventurous life!

After one last picture on the Starfish Island dock, we were underway for the 2-hour sail back to the Cucumber Bay Marina, where our 6-day adventure exploring the cayes and reefs of Belize would come to an end.

We really can't say enough about the amazing service and high quality experience provided by Belize Sailing Vacations. It was an incredible experience that left us yearning for more!