Belize would not be the Belize that we know and love if it wasn’t for the many contributions of the Garifuna, and their proud history if one of the most interesting and enduring sagas humanity has known, beginning with a fateful shipwreck off St Vincent’s Island in the Caribbean in the 1600s, when surviving African slaves made it to shore and mixed with the local Arawak, or Carib, population.

Today is a very important holiday in Belize as the entire country takes time out to celebrate one of the most defining moments in our nation’s history – the arrival of the Garifuna people, or Garinagu, to the shores of Belize.

Today’s Belize photo of the day is the Belize and Garifuna Flag in Dangriga. Today also marks a special day since every year on November 19, we celebrate Garifuna Settlement day throughout the country of Belize.

Garifuna Settlement Day celebrates the arrival of the first Garifuna in 1832, descendants of the Black Caribbeans who were first deported from St Vincent in 1797. The day showcases their rich, unique culture with music and a staging of the arrival by the first settlers at the port.

With so many wonderful options it was hard to decide where to call home. On the one hand, you have the gorgeous turquoise waters, white-sand beaches, and swaying palm trees of the islands, or cayes as they’re called in Belize.

On the other hand, you have the rainforest, rivers and ruins of the Cayo area in the west. If you like the water but don’t want to live on an island, you’ve got coastal towns like Corozal, Placencia or Hopkins, or you can live in the middle of nowhere in Orange Walk, or off the Hummingbird Highway…

I like to see the lobsters and fishes in clean water. I also like the mountains and the rivers. The water that goes from the mountains in the creeks and rivers should be nice and clean. All the animals have to drink that water! The river water that goes in the ocean should be clean so the ocean stays clean.