Day 18: Belize

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bh.html

Discuss

[WMS]

Peaceful multiethnic democracy protected by the British, right?

[The Duke]

Wonderful country, I've been there and its great.

[afleitch]

Britain held on to it until 1981. Suprisingly late.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

For amusement, I often watch one of their local newscasts online. - http://www.channel5belize.com/

Their news (complete with appliance and cell phone ads) reminds me a lot of U.S. local news.

[angus]

nice diving.  and beautiful jungles as well.  Definitely worth the trip.  I can't vouch for the airports, as I have only entered the country overland at Corozal, on the Mexican border, and near San Ignacio (aka Cayo) on the Guatemalan border.  It's definitely a poor country.  But bear in mind that's a relative term.  If you're coming in overland from Guatemala it certainly won't feel like a poor country, but if you're coming from Mexico it will definitely have a smaller, less polished feel, though certainly not the stark difference you feel when driving from Mexico to Guatemala.  "You'd better Belize it!" was the BTB slogan when I was last there.  Not unlike the Mississippi tourism bureau slogan Harry used to post, but with "you better" on the front.   and in terms of ethnicity and economics, the two places have much in common. 

The Creole english of Belize is much easier to follow than the impenetrable Patois of Jamaica, at least to me, but it has a similar lilting and pleasant quality.  Of course you'll have to get used to the annoying brit spellings (kerb, tyre, colour), as well as some spellings which are clearly neither properly yankee or brit!  Those will throw you.  Unlike in Jamaica, the driving is on the right, which is nice.

Belize city is a dump, but it's more exciting that the capital, Belmopan, which was created in a Brasilia-inspired move by the Belizeans to move tourism toward the interior.  There are definitely ethnic factions there.  You'll meet spanish speaking mestizos in the hills, black creoles and black garifuna on the coasts, and blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pseudo-german/pseudo-english speaking menonites in various spots as well.  There's also a german-jewish community in Belize city, as well as some english descendant communities.  As in most countries, the blacks seem to be better for weed connections.  (No offense to anyone, just an observation.  In fact, it's an open joke among the creole that the belizean anglophone whites and mestizo hispanics don't know what good weed is.)  Of course, this ain't Goa.  Or Amsterdam.  Or Negril.  But the tootin's pretty good there.

There is a string of keys (or cayes as Belizeans spell it) off the coast.  I've been to two of them:  San Pedro, which is geologically part of the mexican chain, and tobacco caye, which is a five-acre island geared to dive outfitters and stoners and beachcombers.  Diving anywhere on that chain, from Cozumel, QR, all the way down to Utila, Honduras is excellent, I can assure you!  Crystal clear, and reef fishes and marine life of all kinds.  If you're into wreck diving, there are some spots for that as well, but the wrecks have been picked pretty clean.  For four hundred dollars they'll take you to the "blue hole".  Don't ask.

If you're into amateur archaeology, or meso-american culture in general, make a visit to Lamanai, in the jungle near Orange Walk.  It's not as majestic as Xunantunich, further West, but it has temples in various stages of restoration so you can see how the process works.  Very interesting.

You better Belize it.