Feb 20, 2008
Belize, Part 2 the details
It is now a couple of days later and I have time to collect my thoughts on our wonderful visit to yet another country in Central America, Belize. In the 1970?s British Honduras changed their name to Belize due to confusion with the mail having Honduras, as another country in the region. On September 21, 1981, Belize was given their independence from England. So Belize is the only English speaking country in Central America. When we crossed into the border I felt literate again. I could read the signs, the money is 2 to 1, so all I had to do was divide the price of what I wanted in ? and I knew what it cost. Fortunately they let us use US Dollars in the places we visited in our day. The entire trip was an experience. We had to clear immigration and import customs to get into Belize. We are fortunate to have had guides handle the details for us but we did have to stand in the lines and present our passports for stamping. When we boarded the van again Terry commented on the Toyota, Hilec, which had a stick shift with a diesel engine and was very comfortable for 10 of us. This vehicle is only available in third world countries. No emissions standards etc? Our driver gave us information as we drove down the road. Disclaimer: No reliability on my memory of details.
In the early 70?s Guatemala tried to invade Belize and Margaret Thatcher had Harrier jets fly over fly over and the invading troops split. However it is notable that Belize was the only country in Central America to gain their independence without any blood shed. The Belize dollar still has the Queen on it. Belize is a small country with a population of only 275,000 representing over a dozen cultures. The Chinese have established numerous businesses. There are many Mennonites in Belize who raise 50% of the beans and rice, which are staples of the Belize diet. Mennonites are not allowed to export any of their products due to their tax advantages. Sugar Cane is the second largest economic benefit to the country because 5 years ago Tourism passed it as the biggest. So we cheered that we are Number 1. We are the Tourist. Belize has much to offer and I would return here in a minute!
We boarded boats to traverse the New River to our destination of the Lamanai Ruins. I felt like we were in a James Bond movie as our boat drivers drove very fast around the twists and bends of the river and the breeze blew our hair doos out the window. We were hanging onto our hats. This river is in a thick jungle and we could see the vines Tarzan might have swung from. We observed many, many kinds of birds, noted several species of flowers and plants. My favorite plant was a snake cactus, which wraps itself around a tree and gets it?s nutrients from the air. It is a twisty kind of cactus. (On the way home we saw a fresh water crocodile.) When we docked, we had lunch of a typical Belizean diet; beans, rice, chicken, potato salad and fried banana. Then we set out to tour the Lamanai Ruins. On the way, we saw Howler monkeys in the trees right over our heads. Whoo hoo what a treat! Upon arrival to the Temple, many climbed to the top of the big temple that is the highest spot in Northern Belize. I sat at the bottom and cheered on the climbers. I was impressed with the number who could manage such big deep steps. In fact I presented the Chicken Award to John and Marilyn Long because they did the entire climb, hand in hand. I also noted Connie who was fulfilling life long goals of climbing pyramids, despite her fear of heights. Fern froze on his way up but did manage the climb. The humidity is over 90% and I am HOT just sitting. We made a gift shop run and Terry got a T-shirt with a Toucan, the State bird of Belize. I purchased a necklace that matched a dress I bought in Veracruz. We stopped at a Chinese owned grocery store on the way home and I bought rum, which was only $13 US. I also purchase salad cr?me, which was the base for our potato salad lunch and Mary Sharp hot sauce for Terry. Never mind that I do not drink rum, it was a bargain. We had to unload from the vans and go through the reverse process to get back into Mexico. I am so grateful to live in the USA where travel between states is so easy.
When new arrived back in the Chetamul RV Park, those caravaners who had stayed behind welcomed us with a party of hors d?ourves and the men were in costume???? The margaritas were a thank you provided by Ted and Anne for assisting with their alternator problems and putting up with their generator for days.
We are international travelers.
Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 0
Temperatures: High 83 Low 78 Humidity 84%
GPS Coordinates: N 18 33.676 W 88 14.913
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