"Ya Betta Belize It!" a Belize Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

Although I had a Belizian friend decades ago while attending university, it was the pages of VT-members 'Windsorgirl' and 'JetLagCity' that got me thinking that maybe the place really does have possibilities! Having recently retired, I finally had enough free time on my hands that perhaps I could actually go somewhere and linger for a while. With another Canadian winter looming on the horizon, the matter was settled - my wife and I booked ourselves for a 3-week jaunt around the country and also decided that we should try backpacking while we were at it!

Belize more than met our expectations. The weather was great, the people fantastic and the scenes gorgeous! We did our usual thing of arranging our own accommodations before leaving, except for a 3-day stint when we had a rental vehicle lined-up and were footloose and fancy free. Our trip had quite a mixture of experiences, starting with sandy beaches and snokeling coral reefs off the north coast at Caye Caulker and Ambergris Cay. Our rental allowed us to visit a Black Howler Monkey sanctuary as well as the Belize Zoo, both located in the savannah forests of the mainland. It also enabled us to check out more of the coastal life in Belize, at the tiny village of Hopkins where we saw Manatees swimming just off the beach. After returning our rental vehicle, that part of our trip was followed by some amazing birdwatching at the Crooked Tree inland fresh water lagoon before we headed deeper inland. We really hit our peak along the border area with Guatemala, enjoying the Mayan ruins of both Xunantunich in Belize and the world famous Tikal National Park (slipped over the border for a couple of days for that one), as well as a tubing trip through the Belizian jungle as we dealt with the rapids of the Mopan River. Finally, swimming into the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave for a deep underground exploration of its 1100-1700 year old Mayan sacrificial remains was something completely different!

We enjoyed great accommodations and a variety of food as we moved around Belize and I still cannot get over how many locals and travellers we had the privilege to meet and talk with. Give Belize a try if you get the chance - you won't be disappointed! My 'General Tips' map shows our travels in Belize as well as where we found accommodations.