Belize is Paradise on Earth – Here’s 5 Superb Reasons Why!
Anyone who lives in Belize will tell you that it is absolutely gorgeous here year round. Most of us would rather not live anywhere else – frankly, even those of us who leave miss home like crazy. It’s easy to repeat (as we all invariably do) that Belize is mother nature’s best-kept secret, that we’re the jewel of Central America, that Belize is paradise.
…But if someone asks you what makes Belize paradise on Earth – what do you say then? Here’s a crash course speech for the next time you’re faced with the question.
1 Best mix of regional cultures
To say that we’re either Caribbean or Central American exclusively is somewhat of a falsehood. Belize fringes on the edge of both, we borrow the cooler parts to add to our cool parts to make a lot of really cool cultural customs – cool right?
Our peoples within themselves are still quite varied in terms of heritage and practice, we even wrote a Belize Cultures blog about it! Our first language is English, followed closely by kriol and then Spanish, and then quite a bit of other languages you probably would never expect to hear here. Being in and around Belize will give you tastes of that trademark Caribbean “relax” personality punctuated quite nicely by Central American latino fire for life and action.
The fire isn’t exclusive to our latinos here when it comes to the cuisine cooked up by our local creative heads in the kitchens. Most dishes that are eaten here have been borrowed in one form or another from all corners of the world. Here they’ve been given a new home and new life spun into them by incorporating local ingredients to make something truly unique each time. No two are the same here, and that refreshing jolt of personality and culture is one of the heavenliest things about being here.
2 Friendly to travelers
We’ve mentioned this before, but it can’t ever be overstated that Belizean people are super friendly. A genuine kind of friendly that will earn you a warm smile and a happy “Hello!” just for showing up.
In Belize it’s common for people to give each other the time of day just for making eye contact, saying hi or good day to someone you don’t personally know is absolutely not weird here. What do we find odd? When people comment “that’s so cool, you all still say hi to each other for no reason”.
It’s almost a dumbfounding concept to a Belizean to intentionally pass someone, look at them, and not even pass a smile. So next time you’re here, especially if it’s your first time around – be prepared to make a lot of friends!
3 Fresh, Never frozen
The above claim is meant in no way to undermine a certain fast food chain whom we won’t mention – or to poke holes in their credibility. The true definition that phrase, however, is found right here in happy little Belize. You might be wondering what we mean by that; we mean everything. Belize doesn’t suffer from frostbite because luckily there is no frost here. Winter sports are a ton of fun, skiing, snowboarding, and gentle snowball fights are all the rage but so is having a sand ball fight (it’s not much of a fight).
The phrase also applies to our food, of course, many districts and towns have an active network of hard at work farmers who do their best to grow the most colorful, plump and freshest veggies you will see in all your lifetime. Anything you pick up at a market was picked but a few hours ago on a farm that is but a few miles away. Even the grocery store freezer stock doesn’t need to stay frozen for long. The fresh and organic craze in Belize isn’t much a craze but just a way of life we grew accustomed to living, it’s the way things are done around here so none of it needs to be forced. The upside of that for you? Fresher, truer tasting everything!
4 Laid Back attitude
We spoke about this in brief in the first category, but it’s probably worth more than just a mention. Belize is no stranger to hard industrious work, our lack of industrialization means that a great many labors are exactly that; Labor – the manual kind. This isn’t to be mistaken with an uncaring attitude either. What we mean when we say Belizeans are laid back is that we try to take it all in stride. Of course, there are things that get us fired up really quick and makes us forget the go slow thing – like the meat pie man on a crowded day or the words “Fresh coconut water!”.
Everyone has their quirks. The coolest part about this laid back attitude? It is so contagious because when you’re in Belize life is totally a ball and there’s nothing to worry about.
5 Truly wild
This is no overstatement. Belize has some of the lowest human population density in the entire region, a lot of the country is still covered in pristine forest, grassland and marsh. All this undisturbed land probably has more than a few of our natural locals way past excited.
While driving on the highways we’re sure you’ll notice at least one of our tapir crossing signs, and these aren’t pranks – they’re real. We are also home to the world’s only jaguar sanctuary in the south, with the region’s highest and healthiest jaguar population. Our zoo; The Belize Zoo, is a haven for our multi-legged, winged, and slithery house guests, and unlike many zoos, this one is a home for rescues and showcases our home’s natural biodiversity in a sustainable way.
You stand a pretty good chance to see other critters that don’t have designated crossings, gray foxes on your mountain hikes, oxen in the north, manatees near the coast all in their natural habitats (except maybe the oxen). This all is before we hit the reef – Belize is home to the longest stretch of coral reef this side of the world (literally). The Belize Barrier reef is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the area, you could literally spend days there and not see it all.
Paradise is defined differently by every person. As for us, we all agree that Belize is a literal paradise on Earth, a wonderful slice of this planet that could not have been replicated anywhere else… We like it that way.
Are there any other things that make Belize paradise on earth to you? Let us know in the comments!
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