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Hosting a member of the Royal Family is a responsibility in itself, but for the managers and staff of The Lodge at Chaa Creek one of the most important tasks was keeping Prince Harry’s visit under wraps until the royal entourage departed, Chaa Creek owner Lucy Fleming said today.

Yesterday, March 2nd 2012 we had the privilege of hosting Prince Harry at our beautiful eco resort – The Lodge at Chaa Creek. Prince Harry was in Belize as part of a Diamond Jubilee tour in honor of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who is celebrating 60 years on the throne.

For more than 500 years, the Maya kings ruled the New World’s richest and most advanced civilization. But then, around 800 C.E., the Maya empire began to collapse and its kings soon disappeared; by 1000 C.E., most of its great cities and temples lay in ruins. What happened?

Belize features predominantly in global, pop culture this year, like no other. In case you have been able to avoid the 2012 meme over recent years, what makes this year so special for Central American countries, like Belize and neighboring Mexico, is a cosmic prophecy foretold by the ancient Mayans.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is hosting Tales of a Maya Shaman, a presentation by Dr Rosita Arvigo DN on 20 February 2012 as part of the Chaa Creek 2012 Maya lecture series.

Here in the home of Adventure Romance, the managers and staff at Chaa Creek would be seriously remiss in not wishing lovers around the world a Happy Belize St Valentine’s Day.

With all the attention on the Heartland of Maya during 2012, it’s great to see such positive news and reviews from such internationally recognised travel experts as Trip Advisor and now the BBC and Lonely Planet. It shows that people recognise Belize not just for its position in the heartland of the Maya, but as a high quality, interesting destination in itself.

An exotic Valentine’s Day in a tropical paradise has suddenly become more affordable with the Lodge at Chaa Creek offering a twenty per cent enticement for lovers to enjoy a romantic getaway in the Belizean rainforest.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is now accepting bookings for the Belize Rainforest and Barrier Reef Vacation, a new for 2012 all-inclusive vacation package that allows visitors to explore Belize’s Heartland of the Maya rainforests as well as the Belize Great Barrier Reef in one affordable holiday, according to Chaa Creek’s marketing administrator.

Archaeological finds are nothing new at Chaa Creek, but a new discovery this week (21 January 2012) is definitely something out of the ordinary – an ancient Maya household was accidentally unearthed in the middle of town near the eco resort’s downtown offices in San Ignacio, Belize.

Having half its member resorts recently listed among the top 25 hotels in all of Central America by a major travel website shows how cooperation results in customer satisfaction, Rainforest & Reef Resorts of Belize member Lucy Fleming said.

Belize’s rich Maya heritage is something that all Belizeans share and take pride in, and it’s been wonderful to see representatives from so many different sectors – government, private industry, art and cultural groups along with a range of individuals, work together to present and promote our real Maya heritage as world attention focuses on Belize.

Lucy Fleming, who with her husband Mick owns and operates Chaa Creek, has been living in the Maya heartland for over three decades and said she is looking forward to the opportunity to join other locals as well as Mayanists, scholars and archaeologists in setting the Maya record straight.

Today’s Belize Photo of the day is the Collared Aracari Toucan and its scientific name is Pteroglossus torquatus. This social toucanet breeds from Southern Mexico and throughout Central America making its year-round home in the tropical rainforests.

As predicted, so-called experts, pundits and armchair archaeologists are now coming out of the woodwork to make the most of the 2012 phenomenon. Some of it is well intentioned, some of it is blather, and frankly some of it falls under the category of, “I blog, therefore I exist”.

Belize is the only country in Central America with English as the official language. The small country, measuring 180 miles long and 68 miles wide, is a popular vacation destination for tourists whose native language is English. But Belize is good for much more than just lounging in white sand while watching the shimmering teal waves roll in and out while drinks, ordered in English, are replenished. Behind the luxurious resorts and relaxing vacation packages, Belize is an adventure destination.

As with the arrival of every New Year, all of us here at Chaa Creek once again invite our many friends around the world to join us in looking forward to the future with fresh perspectives, aspirations and hope as new opportunities and challenges present themselves.

With the long awaited arrival of 2012, there is growing interest in the ancient Maya civilisation, and this is a double edged sword. On one hand, it is good to see this rich, highly advanced ancient culture finally getting the attention it deserves. Hopefully, this attention will turn into greater research opportunities leading to a better understanding of this enigmatic civilisation.

Last year a couple friends of mine took my advice to get married in Belize and absolutely positively loved it, as you do. OK, I’m somewhat partial, having been married there myself, and now with other people asking, I thought I’d put down ten reasons why a Belize Wedding is my idea of nuptial nirvana.