Cloud 9 on Tour: Belize

The crossing from Mexico at Chetumal was relatively uneventful and we pitched in for our first, with Sigrid and Peter, night in a wild camp next to the sea near Corozal.

Orange Walk

Up until 1981 Belize was a British Sovereign State and was known as British Honduras until 1973. Despite now being independent for over 40 years, it has remained in the British Commonwealth and many British customs and features still remain. Their laws are based on British Law and their currency has the Queen on it, but best of all they Speak English.

We really didn't know what to expect in Belize, the first of our Central American Countries. To say we have been completely blown away would be an understatement. We absolutely love it. It's clean and beautiful. the people are very nice. There is very little garbage along the road side, the Sea is Turquoise blue and the scenery is a lush healthy green with palms, trees and banana plantations. The kids all wave as you drive by.

In addition to the Indigenous Belizian Maya, Belize is a melting pot of immigrants such as the Garifuna community who originate in Africa and the Caribbean. The Mennonites who arrived from Mexico in the late 50s and immigrants from neighbouring states such as Guatemala and Honduras.

More recently however, there has been an increase of arrivals from the USA, Canada, and Europe, who have made Belize their new home.

Belize has some of the thickest, densest tropical jungles on the planet. The British Army still send their guys here for training.

Deep within one of these tropical jungle regions is Belize Zoo. It is actually a rescue centre for native animals and birds that have either been injured or discarded pets.

Tapir

White Tailed Deer

Howler Monkey

Jaguar

Placencia is the town at the Southern tip of a Peninsular that sits between the Carribean Coast and a large Brackish water lagoon. This area was slightly different from other regions we had seen in that there were large gated expensive developments, Individual Designed Houses and Hotels adjacent to poorer areas occupied Mayan and the Garifuna people.

The town itself was very pleasant although somewhat more expensive than other areas. Nearly all the Supermarkets and Grocery stores are owned by the Chinese community, who very cleverly don't put prices on any of their produce and watch you go pale when they tell you the total cost. It had a strong Caribbean feel about it

We managed to celebrate Peter's birthday 3 times.

A good place to leave our bag when we went swimming.

The small coastal village of Riversdale was a perfect stop, right on the beach. A lovely community feel. We waited for the small fishing boats to come in to buy our fresh Lobsters.

From this

To this in 15 Minutes

Hopkins is a very popular coastal town. It attracts both international travellers and locals. Again we got a prime spot on the beach

Over 60% of Belize is forest and jungle, mostly within the 17 National Parks. Mayflower Bocawina is a great example of this.

Hermans Cave was fun to explore and float on inflatable tubes through the underground river.

We mentioned the different Communities that exist in Belize and the Mennonites are present right across the country, but mainly in the two areas called Spanish Lookout and Shipyard.

Originating in Europe the Mennonites have migrated to many countries. The Belizian ones travelled down from Chihuahua, Mexico in 1958. If you are not familiar with them, the Mennonites are a deeply religious, insular community that do not ordinarily embrace modern technologies such as Electricity, Phones or Machinery etc. However, some of the groups within Belize have modernised and integrated with other Belizians.

They dominate the Construction, Engineering and Agriculture industries.

The more orthodox members in Shipyard can often be seen working the fields by hand and using Horses and Carts as their primary means of transport. They have their own languages called Plautdietsch or Mennonite Low German .

These three images are courtesy of Google

We found ourselves slowly edging towards the border with Guatemala near San Ignacio, but couldn't resist a relaxing couple of days at The Big Rock Waterfall.

San Ignacio was our last stop before crossing into Guatemala. A very friendly town on the Macal River. Behind a very nice hotel was the Green Iguana Conservation Project

By Sheer luck, we arrived in San Ignacio at the same time as their annual Canoe Race called the Ruta Maya. About 70 teams, including the British Army, set off at 7am from the town's Wooden Bridge on a 4 day race finishing 170 miles away in Belize City. The prize money for winning is quite substantial so most teams took the event very seriously.

We hadn't met Dan and Geraldine of Dolly's Diary's, but we had plenty of hours on the phone .

A relaxing couple of days with great food, drink and games occured at San Ignacio in Belize.

Crossing borders late in the day is not our preferred time as unforseen delays can put you under pressure. We usually like to stop close to the frontier the night before and cross the next morning.

Pat arranged to stop on a small farm with a familly about 20km prior to the Mexican border in Belize.

This turned out to be a very special moment in our journey that we will remember forever.

Magali Gladys and her Husband Alfredo own and run a small farm with cattle goats and chickens. Along with their three amazing sons Chris, Steven and Carlos, they work the land and care for the animals every day.

In addition to the livestock they also own a large collection of trees including the now rare Mahogany. Planting seeds and growing saplings has become another source of income.

Their hospitality was second to none. A truly inspirational family with huge hearts.