Ambergris Caye Belize

Ambergris Caye is the largest of some 200 cayes along the coast of Belize. It is about 25 miles long and a little over a mile wide in some places and 4 miles at the widest point. Ambergris Caye is located on the Caribbean Sea just off the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Being on the barrier reef makes the island a popular spot for divers. It is 190 miles long and the second largest living coral reef in the world.

Ambergris Caye was a trading post in Mayan times and the narrow channel that separates Mexico and Belize was dug by the Maya to provide a trade route from the bay of Chetumal to the Caribbean. Following the Maya were whalers, pirates and the ancestors of present day residents many were fishermen and worked in the coconut plantations.

There are many different areas on the island and one main town. San Pedro town is about one and a half-miles long and in some places about a mile wide. Walking through town at many cross streets you can look to one side and see the turquoise waters of the Caribbean sea and to the other the lagoon where we sometimes go to get fresh fish.