PlanetEye

February 26th, 2008

Destination: Belize

Brendan

The Global Nomad

One of Central America’s anomalies, Belize feels like a piece of the Caribbean grafted to the mainland.

The only English speaking country in Central America, Belize’s food, music and culture have much more in common with its island neighbours than its Latin ones. That having been said, it has inherited an interesting mix of influences from its former British colonial overseers, its Latin neighbours and its varied native elements. Not overly cheap and short on ‘wow’ elements, some have asked “why Belize?” Aside from the fact that it is English-speaking (alone enough for the Xenoglossophobe…look that one up), my personal answer to that question is:

Diving
The entire length of Belize enjoys its own length of the second-largest barrier reef in the world, one that stretches from Mexico to Honduras. Divers and snorkelers come in droves for the clear water, abundant sea life and great visibility. There are a ton of affordable dive operators along the whole length of the country.

Caving
As much of the country has limestone under the surface, a massive cave system lies hidden ready for the spelunking. Tubing, caving, rappelling, etc all are great options for everyone from the afternoon warrior to the intrepid.

Birding
Killer birds. No really, I swear, they are really cool. Belize will make a birder out of anyone, with biodiversity and flashy species that put most of the world to shame.

Mayan Ruins
More about that to come.

Hot Sauce
Ok so this is my personal addition! I am obsessive about hot sauce, and Belize tops my very elite list of hot sauce capitals of the world. Two worlds: Marie Sharp’s.

Tags: Belize

Comments are closed.