Top 5 Things We Love About Belize

---

Everyone is a little different in terms of their expectations for a vacation. We picked Belize to rest, relax and rejuvenate after a very busy year of work and here are our top picks about the place:

At the top of the list is the two little Islands we visited by boat tour, Laughing Bird Caye and Ranguana Island. Both are nothing short of spectacular right from the time you approach them by boat, white sand beaches, palm trees waving in the wind, pelicans fishing, beautiful warm clear ocean water, great snorkelling - basically these were just post card perfect for a tropical vacation expectation and something not to be missed.

In a close second is our accomodations. Without really knowing anything about the place, somehow we ended up in the nicest neighbourhood in Placencia. Sure there are some higher end resorts, but in terms of accomodations, our two bedroom, two bathroom townhouse on an island is modern and very comfortable. We have to give accaladates to Edwin and his wonderful family who caretake this place and went out of their way to do whatever they could to make our visit very special, including Kelsey, their 10 year old who made me a beaded bracelet for Christmas, which was my only gift this year (hug.)

Third is the food, wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables, things we've never had like sour sop fruit, purple sweet potatoes and the most excellent pineapple we've ever had called sugar loaf. Several exceptional restaurants in this tiny community provided us an interesting culinary adventure from local Belizian, Italian, American and even Chinese Dim Sum. But in case you're wondering, we haven't yet eaten the Gibnut (rat) although we are told it is good and tastes like pork, so we still have a couple of days for Ian to work up the courage to cross that off the list.

Fourth is the people, language and culture. The main language here is a version of English called Creole, followed by English then Spanish, but everyone knows a least minimal English, so it's nice to be able to communicate without resorting to sign language as we have in other places like Mexico or Costa Rica. No one here is ever in much of a hurry, people just live day to day. It's safe here, a place where kids can run around playing freely on the roads, dogs and cats wearing collars who are healthy and neutered.

Lastly, getting around is so easy. There's no stress of needing to have a vehicle here, you can easily walk from one end of Placencia to the other. The main method of transportation is bicyle and we really enjoy riding our bikes that came with our townhouse, something we hadn't done for a very long time. Need to go farther or get groceries? Easy, just grab a taxi or rent a golf cart for an hour or two.

---

Comments

[Cathy]

Laughing out loud!
Do so enjoy your all your stories, but Ian and the shorts certainly made us laugh out loud with tears streaming down my face! Could just picture it happening. Trying hard to imagine getting Eugene in my bathing suit bottom! LOL!! Sure are glad that you have had such an enjoyable and relaxing time there-just what you needed and deserved! Heaven knows that you both work hard enough at home. Guess you will be heading to Florida soon, hope you have a good trip there and enjoy Disney world!

[Miranda]

Yeahy!
I'm glad to see you are enjoying yourselves!!