We’ve been travelling through eastern Mexico for the last month and are now in Belize, a beguiling country with pretty beaches, interesting architecture, and charming people. It’s small, with a population of just over 400,000, and hugs the Caribbean coastline south of Mexico and north of Guatemala.
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| Caribbean from Ambergris Quay, Belize |
Its Caribbean coast is dotted with islands, and our first stop in Belize was on one of the islands called Ambergris Quay. But getting there was a mission as we had a long bus ride through southern Mexico to the border town of Chetumal, then a 2.5-hour ferry ride on the Caribbean. After nearly 9 hours on the road and water, we arrived in the main town of San Pedro feeling travel-tired but excited.
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| Midde income Belize |
Various Amerindian societies called Belize home before the Mayas arrived in the 15th century BC. Then the Spanish came along in the 16th century AD. Two-hundred years later, the UK wrested it from Spain and called it British Honduras. It was re-named ‘Belize’ in 1973, and became independent in 1981. Belize is still part of the Commonwealth, and a middle-income country with help from tourists and ex-pats, but it’s a bit rugged around the edges in terms of jobs, health-care, education and infrastructure.
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| View from our apartment, San Pedro, Ambergris Quay, Belize |
Meanwhile, in San Pedro, we had the most wonderful waterfront apartment, with a view of the Caribbean and a host of bobbing boats and activity. We didn’t do much there except kick back and enjoy the ambience. The town is a bit grotty, but the beachfront is fabulous and we did many walks around the area.
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| Bright-coloured houses in San Pedro, Ambergris Quay, Belize |
Ambergris Quay has a small population of around 17,000 with most of them living and working in San Pedro in brightly coloured wooden buildings of various upkeep. They get around by foot, boat, bicycle or golf cart, but unfortunately, golf carts rule - there are hundreds of them clogging the roads, and polluting the air.
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| Large Bull shark off the pier, San Pedro, Ambergris Quay, Belize |
One of the things that Belize is famous for is its Belkin beer and we sampled quite a bit of that, and its wonderful seafood. One night we went to a restaurant sitting at the end of a long pier for dinner. The place is locally famous for the grey nurse and bull sharks that circle the pier waiting for food scraps. The bull sharks are big.
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| Marg ready for our snorkelling trip, San Pedro, Belize |
The island is surrounded by the second-largest reef in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and on one day we went snorkelling around the reef. We saw many small coloured fish, turtles, and sharks, including many little grey nurse, two large bull and a hammerhead. Our boat driver kept circling the hammerhead shark and you could see the shark becoming frenzied. We just wanted out of those sharky waters in that little boat!
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| Hokey Pokey Ferry wharf, Mango Creek, Belize |
After several days on the island, we had another long trip south and another little boat, this time to Placencia. It’s on a peninsula near the south of Belize, with a lagoon on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other. Our trip required a ferry from Ambergris Quay to Belize City, a taxi through that city – nothing to see there – a long bus ride south to Mango Creek, then a 15-minute ride on the Hokey-Pokey ferry.
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| Our local beach in Placencia, Belize |
Our hotel in Placencia village (pop 2,000) also had a great sea view, and the manager was wonderful. She sent one of her staff to meet us in Mango Creek, who then accompanied us on the ferry ride and ensured we got to the hotel ok. And the Belizean people are like that – very considerate and quite lovely.
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| People at bus terminal, Belize City, Belize |
Belize is a very multi-ethnic country with people of Mayan, African, Afro-European, Asian, North American and European descent. This ethnic mix makes for a very laid-back, and interesting country in terms of its culture, cuisine and language. Placencia embodies this ethnic mix, and we met some lovely people, had some wonderful meals, tasted Rumpopo the Belizean version of eggnog, and other local delights while sitting by the sea.
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| Main street, Placencia, Belize |
Placencia is known for having the narrowest main street in the world, according to the Guiness book of records. It is a colourful main street that’s for sure, and locally it’s called ‘the sidewalk’. We walked a long way on the sidewalk, stopping from time to time to admire handicrafts or to enjoy a cocktail or nibbles at one of the many eating places.
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| View from our Christmas eve restaurant, Placencia, Belize |
We spent Christmas in Placencia and just loved the quiet and peaceful ambiance of a place that is usually so vibrant. We’d booked ourselves in for a Christmas Eve dinner at a nearby restaurant. It had 6 flights of outdoor steps to reach it, and spectacular views once you arrived at the top. The meal was great too.
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| Rural house en-route to San Ignacio, Belize |
We had a nice laid-back time in Placencia, enjoying just being there. After several days, we moved on again, this time to the northwest to a town called San Ignacio. It is a small town on the edge of the jungle that forms the border between Belize and Guatemala.
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| Local bus but not our bus, Placencia, Belize |
Getting to San Ignacio was our most challenging experience so far in this part of the world. We baulked at paying US $350 to get a car-transfer for the 3 to 4-hour drive. So we caught the local bus, which took a couple of hours to get to the capital, Belmopan. Apart from the frigid air-conditioning, and picking up every stray person and their goods en-route, the ride was ok.
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| Waited 3 hrs in the hot sun here in Belmopan, Belize |
However, that was the best part of this trip. We’d booked a shuttle to pick us up in Belmopan and expected a wait of around 1-hour between getting off the bus and picking up the shuttle. However, we waited around 3 hours and no shuttle, so we grabbed the nearest taxi. Overall, it cost us a quarter of what the transfer would have cost, but it took ages. Then again, it was also a cultural experience!
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| Selling chili at the farmers market, San Ignacio, Belize |
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| Street in San Ignacio, Belize |
It is however, not cheap when it comes to food and accommodation as everything is pegged to the US dollar. But if you want to buy something and you are told its US$10, and you feel that is too much and say so, the price can drop to Belize $10 in a wink, which is actually half the original price! And, you can bargain in English, Creole, Spanish, Mayan, or Garifuna. Such an interesting place.
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| Suburban San Ignacio, Belize |
But as we reflected on Belize, its ruggedness, its patchiness in terms of development, and its politics, we felt glad that we’d had a passing acquaintance with the country. It is quite unique. As I write this, we are waiting for a shuttle to take us across the border to Guatemala, but that’s in the next blog.
This post is the sixth in a series that tells the story of our travel in Mexico and Central America. The first post in the series can be found here.