Chapter One · Origins
Where Pioneers Chose
to Return
Since divers first came to Belize, a small number have always sought to explore what lies beyond the limits of recreational diving. Among the first, Sheck Exley, Mary-Ellen Eckhoff, and Paul and Jill Heinerth loved the country so much they started a dive shop — Belize Diving Services — on the small island community of Caye Caulker.
For the next 40 years, divers would mount expeditions and explore the depths of
The Great Blue Hole, the Deep Walls of Belize, Giant Cave, Winter Wonderland,
and finally the Caves of San Pedro.
These are some of the stories of the past 45 years of exploration in this extraordinary country — a chronicle of courage, technique, and obsession played out in the sapphire caverns and open-water abysses of the western Caribbean.
