Things I Learned in Belize

It’s pouring down with the most intense tropical storm imaginable, so while I wait to find out if my snorkel trip is going to be cancelled or rescheduled, it’s a good time for a review. So here’s a recap of important things I’ve learned on this vacation: Chill out! Eddie says the Mayan shamen assure him the world won't end in 2012. 1) Stop worrying about...

Going Maya

I’m not someone who can lie around a beach for too long. After a few days, I need to get out and explore the country. I’m a veteran of a few Belizean jungle trips. They are never exactly easy or comfortable, but you can’t leave the country without doing it. So I signed myself up with Searious Adventures for a day trip to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai, notable as the...

Discovering Garifuna Music

Andy Palacio and the Garifuna Collective deserve to be the next breakout stars along the lines of the Buena Vista Social Club. But maybe they already are. His highly acclaimed Wátina CD went to Number One on the world charts and resulted in Palacio being named a UNESCO Artist for Peace, for his efforts to preserve and promote the unique Garifuna culture. Maybe everyone knows about...

Swimming With The Sharks

Today was spent on Belize’s reef, specifically at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. In this one shallow area of the reef, near a cut that leads out to the wider ocean, are a variety of ecosytems, from coral forests to sea grass fields. The result is a congregation on any given day of at least 80% of the acquatic species native to the Caribbean. Compared to Australia’s Barrier...

An Englishman Abroad

Nothing brings into sharp relief how different the English are from the Americans than a vacation. There is a certain kind of American who immediately, upon traveling to someplace new, wants to get immersed into the culture, no matter how messy or inconvenient. I am that American. Our first trip to Belize was spent mostly in an Eco-Lodge (the fabulous Lodge at Chaa Creek) high in the...

Belize It Or Not!

Did I forget to mention I was going on vacation? Well, I almost forgot it, too. See while I was wrangling grapes and manhandling the crush for three months, my husband was working 12 hour days trying to navigate his company through these difficult times. The good news: with the Christmas season upon us, and toward the end of their traditionally strongest quarter, things are looking...