Blogs from Ambergris Caye, Belize Barrier Reef, Belize, Central America Caribbean - page 7

Op Ambergris Caye in Belize zijn we uiteindelijk vier nachtjes gebleven. Op het eiland wonen veel Rastafari achtige types, al dan niet met lang haar. Een van hen ontmoetten we toen we de steiger af/het eiland op liepen; hij wees naar mijn gitaartje en het volgende gesprekje ontstond (althans, dit maakte ik op uit zijn gebrabbel): What do you play man, you play reggae? - Uh, I play all kinds of music. - You smoke herbs man? - No. - You should smoke the herbs man, you´ll play totally different things! Met deze tip in de zak waren we vol goede moed voor een relaxed verblijf hier. Welkom op het eiland! De mensen spreken er wel Engels, maar je kunt het het beste vergelijken met Jamaicaans Engels, wat gelijk associaties opriep met de film Cool Runnings, ... read more

Hello all my loved ones! I thought it time to give a more thorough update on my life in Belize so far. It has taken a bit to sink into this new experience and can now share more with you all. I now have my own apartment. The first few weeks I stayed at the spa which worked out at the time because there was an extra room there, a bathroom with hot water and shower, a security guard, and it was right in town, so anything I needed was readily available. Then I moved in with Sylvia, a born and raised Belizean woman. Sylvia is a personal Belizean chef for local parties as well as private breakfast, lunch's and dinners at resorts and private condo's. She is incredible, and food is her passion! I have ... read more

Destination #1 - San Pedro, Belize After a short series of flights from DC to Miami and then to Belize City, we began our Belize adventure! San Pedro is located on Belize's largest caye (pronounced key), approximately 35 miles north of Belize City. Since they sold one extra seat on our flight, I got to sit in the co-pilot's seat, totally sweet. I made sure not to touch the steering apparatus! The Town San Pedro is a bustling little town of about 15,000 people. The center of town consists of 2-3 streets that run parallel to the coast, full of gift shops, restaurants, dive shops, etc. Since San Pedro's main industry (and all of Belize's for that matter) is tourism, the entire town is there to ... read more

San Pedro has an eclectic mix of inhabitants. First off, you have the locals, who are born and raised in Belize. The Creoles make up 60% of the population and have 2 distinctive traits. They have some degree of African-European ancestry and use the local English-Creole dialect. Skin color varys from very dark to very light. The Mestizos speak Spanish and are a mix of Maya and European. They have come to Belize from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. The Maya, who are descendants of the ancient Maya and make up about 12% of the population. The Garinagu or Garifuna. They came from Saint Vincent which was a refuge for escaped slaves from the sugar plantations of the Caribbean and Jamaica. The Rastafarians. They believe in the eventual redemption of blacks and their return to ... read more

The hard life of a Belizean. I really feel naive here. I just had a very educational conversation with a Belizean security guard. I was on a very nice nightly stroll, and as I was sitting on the pier, the guard came up for a little conversation. He was asking me a lot of questions about where I come from and what Minnesota is like. I myself have been giving a lot of thought to is it easier or harder to live/work in Belize versus the US. As an american just arriving, I make quite a bit less to live on here. Even if I was as busy as I was in the states, it is considerably less. There are other things to factor in of course, like this is not my own business, I do ... read more