Blogs from Orange Walk District, Belize, Central America Caribbean

The ship tendered a few kilometres off the coast of Belize City, and we were on the first boat off. It took about a half hour to reach land, and once we did, we quickly found Roberto who was our contact to visit some Mayan ruins further inland. I hated being on a timer but sadly that’s the reality with this kind of travel and we had to be back by late afternoon or our ship would be off without us. We had some time to wander near the port because Roberto was still waiting for some others to join us. Belize is a small Central American country that was once ruled by the British. About 330 thousand people call it home and once one leaves the Caribbean coast and reef filled waters, and heads west, ... read more

And then it was time for our first little adventure - crossing the border to Belize! Despite all the internet research we'd done, there seemed to be no clarity around what the official rules were around paying exit and entrance fees, and whether they'd be included in the flight price or not. Being very persistent seemed to be at least worth a shot though, and indeed, with some crappy Spanish (es incluido en el precio del vuelo, estoy seguro!!) we were in the end made to sign the back of the supposed to be official receipt, and the 15 gbp fee per person was waved. Victory! No clue what we'll need to do on the way back, but we'll figure it out. We also managed to avoid the overpriced insurance scams, thanks to the information provided ... read more

Happy 2012 to all our blog readers! We were greeted into Belize in English, Spanish, Creole, Q'eqchi' and several other Mayan languages. As we got off a somewhat overcrowded ex-American yellow school bus in Orange Walk a nice gentleman with his wife and daughter ask us if we were looking for somewhere cheap to stay and offered us a ride to his friends hotel. He dropped us off and wished us happy travels. This kind of encounter has happened several times in almost every place we've been in this small nation. F.Y.I., The Hotel in Orange Walk was indeed very cheap (and clean), but 'basic' barely touches the edges when trying to describe this place... we especially will have fond memories of the sink built under the shower and we will remember our special stance so ... read more

It's been a long day, but we are finally here! Our flights went well and ran pretty much on time. We landed in Belize at 2:55p and our luggage came out within the first five bags. Incredible. The airport is very small, and there was a reggae band playing music around the baggage claim. It was a kind of fun way to be greeted. We zipped through customs and walked outside and found our driver. We had read enough things about not staying in Belize City and decided to head straight to Orange Walk. The drive from the airport took about 80 minutes. Our driver was really nice and informative. The drive was nice - it's really pretty around here. Lots of lush green jungle/trees all around. It is definitely warm and humid too, but not ... read more

After my brief stint in Mexico I retraced my steps south into Belize; having skipped straight across the country on the way to Caye Caulker my plan was to travel overland north-to-south taking in as many sights as possible along the way. Lamanai My first call was the town of Orange Walk in northern Belize, the town itself is not much to write home about (literally) but is situated close to the New River from where one can take a boat trip to see Lamanai, Belize's most famous Mayan ruin. I joined the other day trippers just outside town & we all piled into a 20 seater launch with our guide. The river is surrounded by forests and an impressive collection of flora and fauna abides close to the waterway, within minutes of departure we were ... read more