Belize: proof positive that good things come in small packages

BY MICHAEL DEFREITAS
Dreamscapes Travel Magazine - October 2003

What do you get when you combine Australia’s beautiful barrier reef with an Amazon rainforest and ancient Mayan ruins? Well, Belize of course!

Sleek dark shapes circled the boat as mighty Caribbean rollers crashed on the outer fringes of the barrier reef. But here inside the reef, the waters of Hol Chan Marine Reserve were clear and calm.

By the time Captain Steve of Journey’s End Resort had tied up to the buoy, the water teemed with nurse sharks two metres in length, gray southern stingrays and large silver-sided horse-eye jacks. "Day dun call dis Shark Ray Alley fo nuttin," Captain Steve uttered from the front deck. "In dee ol days, da fisherman use dis part of da reef ta clean dare fish," he continued, "and da sharks an rays cum ta eat da scraps. But taday, we jus feed dem tourists," he joked, flashing a perfect set of pearly whites.

The sharks and stingrays were friendly enough to touch and snorkelling along this section of pristine reef was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The reserve, located three kilometres off the southeast coast of Ambergris Caye, was established in 1987 to protect this fragile section of reef. Today, the 10 square-kilometre park is one of Belize’s most popular marine attractions. A daily diet of fish scraps––not tourists––guarantees the cooperation of the marine critters.

A melting pot
Wedged between Mexico and Guatemala on the Yucatan’s Caribbean coast, Belize is Latin America’s second smallest country (less than half the size of Nova Scotia). It’s a melting pot of British colonialism spiced with African, Spanish and Mayan influences. And the great part is that it’s only a few hours’ flight from most major North American cities.

Beside having the world’s second longest barrier reef that offers some of the best diving, snorkelling and bone fishing in the Caribbean, Belize boasts large tracts of tropical oldgrowth rainforests, 1,000-metre mountains, 300-metre waterfalls, vast underground caverns and dozens of mysterious 2,000-year-old Mayan ruins.

Island hideaway
At the northern end of the barrier reef, a short hop from Belize City (the country’s capital), Ambergris Caye has long been a hideaway for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of big cities. San Pedro, the island’s only town, is a rustic blend of Caribbean fishing village and tourist boogie. Once the rowdy haunt of Blackbeard the pirate, the town’s laid-back demeanor, sandy streets and friendly people will have you wondering what day it is as soon as you step off the plane.

Like most of the hotels in Belize, those on Ambergris Caye tend to be small and intimate. From the modestly priced 70-room Journey’s End Resort (the largest), to the five lavish villas on the private rich and famous island hideaway of Cayo Espanto (one of the smallest), Ambergris Caye caters to every budget. Most hotels offer day tours to mainland attractions like the zoo and ruins, or boat trips to outer reef destinations like the Great Blue Hole and the Turneffe Islands.

A coastal town
A two-hour drive south of Belize City, at the tip of a long peninsula, is Placencia. This sleepy coastal community provides an ideal transition point between the sea and the rainforest. The reef is only 30 kilometres offshore and a host of mainland attractions are less than an hour’s drive away. The town itself is small and brags the narrowest main street in the world. Actually, it’s not a street at all, but a long concrete sidewalk lined with shops and restaurants.

A beautiful strand of white sand fringed with coconut palms runs almost the entire length of the peninsula and the beach is dotted with small cosy resorts, the largest of which is the 32- room, five-star Inn At Robert’s Grove. The Inn provides a good selection of water- and land-based adventures including some of the Caribbean’s best bone and permit fishing, scuba diving, hiking in the Jaguar Preserve, manatee viewing on the Monkey River and daytrips to the Lubaantun and Nim Li Punit Mayan ruins.

Rainforest and ruins
Further inland, cobalt-blue horizons give way to a sea of green, and a livelier Spanish chatter soon replaces the unhurried Caribbean lilts common near the coast. At almost 5,000 square kilometres, the Cayo District is the second largest of Belize’s six districts. Its vast tracts of undisturbed subtropical rainforests conceal some of Central America’s most important Mayan sites. Until the early 1990s, few visitors ventured this far inland unless they were heading to Tikal just across the border in Guatemala. Today, thousands come to hike the district’s extensive rainforests and explore the ancient ruins.

The busy border town of San Ignacio—the district capital—is the perfect base for exploring the rainforest and its great Mayan treasures. The region sports a great selection of small wilderness retreats like the Chaa Creek Lodge Rainforest Reserve Adventure Centre and Spa. Despite its long name, this wonderful 22-room retreat offers rooms hanging out over the forest canopy. Besides bird watching, river canoeing and hiking, there are tours to the magnificent ruins of Caracol, one of the largest Mayan cities ever uncovered, and the important Mayan ceremonial centre of Xunantunich.

Belize is a harmonious blend of old and new civilizations, vibrant cultures, friendly people and boundless beauty. It is one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets. Efficient, inexpensive local flights make it convenient and affordable to see the whole country on the same visit. So, if you’re looking for a spot with pristine reefs, virgin rainforests and mysterious ruins for your next vacation, try unwrapping Belize.

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