Blogs from Belize Barrier Reef, Belize, Central America Caribbean - page 19

Belize!! Got to Caye Caulker at about midday today after getting up early AGAIN! Travelled on a bus with 11 English travellers to the Guatemalan border, and then across to Belize city for the water taxi. The weather here isnt great today, quite windy and rainy but still really warm and nice to be out and about in! Went for a walk around the perimeter of the whole island today, half of it through mangroves and tried some sea grapes, given to us by some local children! The island is very laid back, with Rastafarian and African American vibes. · Just taken our clothes to the laundry (cant. wait to get them back!!) and bought some Rum for later tonight with the English group. Bumped into Rodrigo and Sarah (the norweigans from Flores) too which was ... read more

(Day 797 on the road)I am not sure what to make of Belize. It seems to be a very complicated country somehow: An ex British colony (independent only since 1981), member of the Commonwealth, the only country in Central America that speaks English (and also the only that does not have access to the Pacific Ocean), a good amount of Spanish-induced slavery, a strong Maya culture to this day, high levels of violent crime, often battled by natural disasters that have prompted the capital to be moved inland (to Belmopan), an amazing array of wildlife, the second largest barrier reef in the world. As with many countries I visit on this trip, I had very little idea what to expect. One thing I did expect however were fairly reasonable prices given the poverty in the country ... read more

Coming from a country where your borders are pretty well defined by a couple hundred nautical miles of ocean, I've always found the idea of land borders a pretty strange concept - the fact that things can change so dramatically just by an arbitrary line someone drew on a map a couple of centuries ago is just weird to me. And nowhere has this difference between neighbouring countries been so apparent than crossing the border from Guatemala into Belize. Let's compare and contrast: - the national language of Belize is English (being a former British colony), making it much easier to communicate with everyone (though it took a day or two to change back from si and gracias) than in Guatemala and the rest of Central America, which predominantly speak Spanish. - the population density of ... read more

I had planned on flying down to Caracas for a quick visit but the trip fell through due to my travel partner no longer being able to go. Caracas is an expensive city and it would have cost me at least $400 for 24 hours there which was twice what I wanted to spend. So.......I went to Belize instead! A co-worker of mine named Jim came along. We caught a 7am Delta 737 to Atlanta. I had seat 10A at the window. It was a routine flight of about an hour. Our connection was a Delta Connection CRJ900 to Belize City and I was seated in business class seat 1A. We flew south over Florida and then turned west at about the Ft Myers area. The flight took us over the Florida Keys and over the ... read more

Wow haven’t updated for quite some time now. This past week of school actually managed to get pretty intense, with three midterm exams and an assignment due. But I got through it, and am currently laying in a hammock on the beach of beautiful Caye Caulker. This island is one of the only places I have been to where to can ask someone what they did that day, and ‘absolutly nothing’ is a totally acceptable answer. Although this caye is a little bit too touristy for my liking, the super-chill-paradise vibe is has going on totally makes up for it. It is a place where no one wears shoes, drinking gallon upon gallon of water a day is a must (which I learned the hard way), and after being here for about three hours, you’ll feel ... read more