Learn about Belize’s geography, history, climate, and people.
It is hard to imagine an environment that is more vividly alive than the jungle–lush, teeming, unfurling, changing, challenging, chaotic, diverse, primal, light, dark, and unpredictable. Embracing life’s unpredictability led Lucy from her New Jersey girlhood to finding her place in the world on the banks of the Macal River.
The lights have gone up on the 8th annual Belize International Film Festival, bringing to a close four days of independent film industry networking and the showing of films from around the world, further cementing Belize’s reputation as something more than just a pretty face – the little country is maturing into a cultural and artistic powerhouse in the region and the world.
And they should be proud. When you consider that this plucky team from a little developing country of fewer than 350,000 inhabitants had the skill and courage to take on the highly trained and richly resourced team from the United States, with a population of well over 300 million, you get an idea of what determination means.
We’ve just received word that US President Barrack Obama has nominated a new ambassador to Belize, and by all indications Justice Carlos Moreno sounds like a very good choice.
As mentioned here earlier (Let’s hear it for the Belize Home Team! 1 July), this is the first time the Belize Jaguars will compete in the tournament, and the eyes of the world are turning to what will be a true David and Goliath match as the Jaguars take on the US team July 9 at the historic Jen-Went field in Portland, Oregon.
In a David and Goliath match of suitably epic proportions, and for the first time in history, Belize will be going mano a mano against the USA for the 2013 soccer Gold Cup.
When people think of Belize, the first things that usually come to mind are the world class dive sites, the pristine rainforests, the remnants of the vast Maya Empire dotting the landscape, and the warm friendly smiles of the Belizeans
People are always asking what the “don’t miss” things to do in Belize are. Oh, where to begin? Do you want to spend your time … Read more
Across the world from Australia to Trinidad and Tobago, word is out that the Belize International Film Festival is a prestigious event, and having your film accepted to be shown at it is a big deal.
You find all sorts of things when you Google “Belize”, and today’s discovery was a blog by a Kevin Edmunds, posted on the North American Congress on Latin America website.
“When the proposal to build a large cruise ship facility at Crawl Caye in Southern Belize was announced, alarm bells were set off all across the Belize,” Mr Young said. “It’s not just environmentalists who were concerned, but stakeholders in Belize’s tourism industry as well. We have a great reputation as a clean, environmentally conscious travel destination, and that’s something we want to maintain,” he said.
By way of a brief background; the GMO issue escalated earlier this year when rumours circulated that the Government of Belize was about to give the green light to the importation of seed stock. Understandably, this threat was taken very seriously, and a group of concerned citizens, Belizeans Against GMOs (BAGMO – and we promise to try to keep the acronyms at a minimum) launched a GMO Awareness Month to educate the public about this issue.
Representatives from our own BELTRAIDE, which promotes trade and investment in Belize, have been meeting with members of Mexico’s equivalent, ProMexico, to exchange ideas on developing and promoting various goods and services.
Organised by Trip Advisor’s Virtual Tourist, the 8th Wonder election is attracting attention the world over with many countries, states, municipalities, towns and organisations rushing to get their local wonders recognised internationally with the big ones.
With the world’s second largest barrier reef (some say the world’s longest living barrier reef), huge tracts of unspoiled rainforests surrounding ancient Maya cities and temples, pristine rivers, waterfalls, hundreds of lovely little islands and a stunning Caribbean coast, what’s not to be happy about? Oh yes, then there’s the people. Nowhere on the planet will you find a more multicultural mix of happy souls who have long ago worked out how to live in harmony. Just about everyone who comes to Belize remarks on the natural, easy going friendliness and warmth of Belizeans. And it’s infectious – after a few days even the most harried travellers notice a spring in the step and a propensity towards smiling. It just grows on you…
Given the enthusiastic response during this week’s launch of a new book of stories, poems and drama at the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City, literature continues to thrive in Belize.
According to the official Earth Day website ( earthday.org), over 1 billion people in 192 countries are participating in earth’s day activities in their communities and helping depict the face of climate change. At Chaa Creek, we have started to organize this year’s Eco Kids Summer Camp Program which is a week long summer camp scholarship program for Belize’s resident school children.
Fox News’ recent pick of The Lodge at Chaa Creek as a one of the world’s most outstanding jungle and rainforest retreats marks the third time the Belize eco resort has been featured by the US news agency this year, and is further proof that the tiny Caribbean country is coming into its own as a premier travel destination, marketing administrator Larry Waight said today.
Chaa Creek naturalist guide and Natural History Centre assistant manager Brion Young said that several people had recently called his attention to an April 2013 article in Travel + Leisure magazine, and that this highlights the importance of celebrity endorsement of local conservation efforts.
It’s a country of freedom-seekers. The pirates came to ply their pirate trading out of view. The Mennonites came from Germany and the Netherlands so they could be Mennonites without anyone bothering them. The British came to do their banking in private. And the folks from the surrounding countries have made their way across Belize’s borders over the decades in search of safety.
Ambergris Caye hovers in a vacation sweet spot: just enough amenities to make it exciting, but not so overdeveloped that you’re tripping over flip-flopped tourists. A mangrove swamp is the eye of this white beach island, the largest in Belize, and golf carts are the main form of transportation along the sandy roads.
With the easterly breeze and the calm waters, conditions on Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye are perfect for wind and kite surfing. There are schools on both islands offering lessons and rentals. For the serious surfers, it is possible to windsurf the 12 miles between Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye and back, although a pit stop is recommended!
If you are looking for a holiday destination that is small and friendly, plan a trip to Belize. This beautiful country is often overlooked by those searching for a Caribbean paradise, but their loss is your gain because if you take a trip to Belize you will soon discover paradise on earth. And there is more than enough to keep you occupied 24 hours a day as you will see from the following list of the 25 things you can do on a Belize vacation.
Bryony Fleming Bradley, who manages the Hilltop Spa at Belize’s Chaa Creek eco resort, said that the March 16 2013 Huffington Post article confirms that the health benefits of a tranquil vacation are now well documented.
Yes, in the heady multicultural mix that is Belize, the Irish are well represented. From the early days of the Baymen and buccaneers, many of whom hailed from the Emerald Isles, to present day Belize, Celtic surnames and even the odd lilt of a brogue are common. Irish priests have always been an integral part of Belize’s religious and educational life, and the Royal Irish Rangers were stationed here for years.
Ms Fleming and her husband Mick moved to the tiny English speaking country over 30 years ago just as it was making the transition from the former crown colony of British Honduras to the modern, independent nation of Belize.
Often described as entries into the watery Maya underworld, caves were used by the Maya for religious purposes and they strongly believed that life and death occur at the liminal zones ( see anthropological definition of liminal below) between this world and the other world.
Protected rainforests, Maya ruins, Caribbean beaches and the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. Add English as the official language and the widely accepted U.S. dollar, and you can get a great vacation on easy mode in Belize.
“We were happy to see Chaa Creek picked as one of Fox News’s best ecofriendly resorts, and then, I noticed that our good friends and partners in two all-inclusive Belize vacation packages, Chabil Mar, were also on the list,” Mr Waight said. “What that means for our guests is that when you book one of those packages, you can rest assured that you’re getting the best, most eco-friendly inland and Caribbean beach resorts.
Mick Fleming is something of a legend in this part of Belize, a larger-than-life character who, more than 30 years ago, with $600 in his pocket, made his way to Belize City, where he met a guy in a bar who owned a piece of land in the jungle he was interested in selling. Mick bought, thinking he’d try his luck as a farmer. The farming was tough going, but, in time, Mick identified another opportunity. Travelers were beginning to find their way to this remote region. They’d happen upon Mick and ask if he had a place where they could spend the night.