posted by:

Journey Across Belize

Belize City Travel Blog | Travelogue | Travel Journal

In August 2006 we cruised to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Puerto Costa Maya. It was a great trip with a mix of activities ranging from new experiences, like a stingray encounter, to historical sites visits, including two Mayan ruins, to exploring a Mexican coastal village and time for relaxation at sea. It was our first family cruise and a great family vacation.
Andy99's Profile Table of Contents View All Photos Subscribe Print RSS Feed
World › Central America › Belize › Belize District › Belize City
« Previous Entry: Tulum Next Entry: Xunantunich »

Journey Across Belize

August 24, 2006
Belize City

Belize was a tender port as Grand Cayman had been. But, Carnival Miracle anchored considerably father offshore this time. The tender took about 10 minutes to travel from the ship to the dock in Belize City. Here, we connected with our tour to the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich. This turned out to be quite a wonderful tour and way to experience the country. It was not only an all-day tour to Xunantunich, but became a tour of Belize City and of the country itself.

We had two guides. A woman told us about Belize and the countryside we were seeing as we traveled from Belize City to Xunantunich, near the border with Guatemala.

Haulover Creek
We learned about the peoples that make up the country, the culture, education, and the languages spoken (English, Creole, Spanish, and Mayan). English is the predominant language, as the country was once British Honduras. There were surprises. Who knew, for example, there was a significant Amish population in Belize? Their farms supply the country with its dairy products. (We saw several Amish in their buggies in the countryside.) Expatriates from Hong Kong have brought modern supermarkets to small towns. Significant agriculture and technical assistance is provided by Taiwan. I noted a Taiwan Agricultural Mission station near San Ignacio as one example of this interesting cooperation.  A monument in a Belize City traffic circle acknowledges the assistance received from Taiwan.

 The country is poor, but it is a democracy and seems to be trying to become self-sufficient. Who would have expected to find rustic Internet cafes in rural villages?

But, before heading out to the countryside along the Western Highway, we drove around Belize City seeing Memorial Park, Marine Parade, Haulover Creek, the Prime Minister's residence, schools, and the cemetery with its above-ground plots. The capital has been relocated to Belmopan, but Belize City remains the commercial center of the country. A we traveled the Western Highway, frequent buses to Belize City passed and groups of people waited for them by the roadisde.

mswim says:
If you make it back to Belize you should try out the cave tubing expedition. It was really cool and relaxing. There was about a 30-45 minute hike through the jungle involved but it was all flat and very easy. It made your arrival at the river even more enjoyable because you could cool off. Belize City was interesting, I don't think I've ever visited a place that poor before so it was a unique experience for me. I got to see most of the sights you saw there as well. When we drove by the Prime Minister's house, he was standing outside with his dog and we got to talk with him.
Posted on: Oct 04, 2007
You need to be logged in to leave comments and smiles. Becoming a member is free and easy - Join the TravBuddy Community!
Belize City
Haulover Creek
Memorial Park
Taiwan-Belize Cooperation Monument
Cemetery in Belize City
Countryside House on Stilts
School at Teakettle, Belize
Internet Cafe
Maya Mountains
Western Highway
3,452 km (2,145 miles) traveled
Sponsored Links
Belize City, Belize
Belize City