Belize’s Charm Is Difficult to Describe But Easily Experienced

Tourist arrivals in Belize are on a record pace in 2014 as the once-sleepy country on Central America’s Caribbean coast is on target to host nearly 1.1 million visitors this year, the most in the country’s history.

The country’s emerging profile brings back thoughts of my own limited travels in the country on Central America’s Caribbean coast. It’s small wonder that tourism in Belize is growing. The country has a stunning array of attractions, from some of the most impressive Mayan ruins found anywhere to one of the world’s most extensive cave networks and one of the world’s longest barrier reefs.

But Belize also has a quirky nature all its own that is sometimes hard to define. Perhaps it’s the mixture of Mestizo, Mayan, Caribbean, Creole and Garifuna cultures that make Belize a place where everyone can feel somewhat at home. Or the easygoing charm of the array of small beachside towns beyond the capital of Belize City.

Whatever it is, I had that feeling almost from the first day in 2012, when I joined a small group of reporters offered an opportunity to travel around the country for several days with a representative of the Belize Tourism Board (BTB).

I say almost because the first day, which we spent in the capital of Belize City, was fairly routine as we mainly chatted with tourism officials. The second day quickly turned to the extraordinary as we left Belize City aboard a Tropic Air flight bound for San Pedro.

Tropic operates Cessna aircraft accommodating three to 14 passengers and is billed as “The Airline of Belize,” providing service throughout the country’s network of small towns and cays.

PHOTO: A view of Belize’s blue waters from above. (All photos by Brian Major)

Tropic’s pilots and ground crew are thoroughly professional and refreshingly friendly with passengers. But all I could think as I boarded our plane, sitting directly behind the pilot, was how I’d never been as close to an airplane’s controls in flight. It was eerie.

I decided to look out the window, which was filled with the deep rich blue of the waters surrounding an array of lush and languid-looking cays and small islands. I can’t recall ever witnessing a more beautiful sight from the air.

When we landed we were in San Pedro, a beach-side community of 12,400 on Belize’s Ambergris Caye. San Pedro is small. So small in fact its narrow streets are traversed mainly by golf carts. Locals and tourist alike zoom around like an outdoor bumper-car course.

Our BTB host was charming in her own way but seemed at certain intervals to tolerate our at-times goofy group as much as host us. She pointedly refused to sign off on a golf-cart excursion, which I strenuously, but ultimately fruitlessly lobbied for. Something about insurance. I sure she also noticed we were a bit too eager to get into those carts for a competitive (and no doubt borderline reckless) rally around town. Perhaps next time.

PHOTO: Golf carts are San Pedro’s primary mode of transportation. 

Still we managed to enjoy ourselves as our SUV wound its way amidst what looked like a toy version of downtown along Front Street, past little restaurants, bars, ice cream shops and souvenir stands.

Belize’s barrier reef extends for more than two miles along San Pedro. The beach is lined with open-air bars and restaurants, dive shops, excursion boats and water taxi stations. We had a good time and ended the day with a few beers and a gorgeous sunset at the over-the-water Palapa Bar and Grill.

One day later I was floating in an inner tube down a shallow river toward the entrance of a cave network running through the rain forest at the Cave’s Branch adventure park and jungle lodge.

It was my first-ever spelunking experience and revealed an eyeful. Following an expert Cave’s Branch guide, we traipsed through underground pathways that led to cavernous halls where generations ago ancient Mayan peoples held their holiest of ceremonies, doubtlessly observing their most treasured traditions. Pottery and artifacts from those days remains in the caves, along with ancient altars, obsidian blood-letting blades, and the foot prints of the Shaman and priests dating back to 400 A.D.

PHOTO: Exploring a cave network.

I’d always thought of caves as cold but they were mostly warm inside and a bit humid. At times we encountered colonies of bats that peered at us through the dark from the cave’s vast ceilings.

Later our guides prepared an underground picnic spread with tortillas, cold cuts and fresh fruits and vegetables. Our headlamps provided the illumination as we ate to cave’s echoing sounds.

A day later were driving across the country to Placencia, another beach town located on a tiny sliver of peninsula pointing out from Belize’s southeast coast. Very few docks extend from Placencia’s shoreline, creating miles of uninterrupted views of the Caribbean and plenty of long stretches for walking the beach.

Like so many small beachfront towns, Placencia’s main street is sleepy and sunny during the day, with an occasional SUV, Jeep or golf cart rambling past. None of the small residential and commercial buildings seems remarkable in any particular way, but somehow all seem almost charming in some way.

A very small street runs adjacent to Placencia’s beach and contains a few decidedly non-aggressive souvenir stands. Hand-painted signs along the route bear slogans including “Judge a person by the contents [sic] of his character, not the colour of his skin.”  

That same day we embarked on a snorkeling trip to Laughing Bird Cay National Park, a protected area and World Heritage Site off Placencia’s coast with Splash Dive Center, a local scuba and snorkeling operator.

I’m not big on snorkeling. I’m more of the lay-on-the-side-beach-with-a-book type. But I did venture into the waters briefly to observe the colorful array of coral and underwater life.

But for me the real treasure was the Garifuna musical group that serenaded us as we prepared to depart the Splash dock out to Laughing Bird Cay, located on a broad strip of white sand surrounded by deep blue waters.

The soul-stirring rhythms created by this multi-generational group of musicians, dancers and singers brought broad smiles to the faces of our entire group. I was delighted to find the same troupe waiting for us when we arrived at the park. Their joyful music filled our hearts as we dined on a delicious lunch of barbecued chicken and fish.

PHOTO: Garifuna dancers at Laughing Bird Cay.

That evening we visited Placencia’s tiny downtown, stopping to dine at Rum Fish y Vino, a gastro-bar featuring local draft beers and classic comfort foods with a Belizean twist.

Our little group grew giddy and likely somewhat loud as we sat on the open-air terrace enjoying some very good wine. As we joked and laughed as the warm evening air rippled with what peals from what we thought was a goat.

At one point I remember asking with a tone of mock annoyance, “Whose goat is that?” That’s when our guide explained that we were hearing a frog.

I should have known. That’s Belize, a country full of surprises.