Images of Belize. Photos by Alan J. Shannon
by Alan J. Shannon
While Belize may be gayer than say, Kenya, those who have been to Kenya could tell you that this comparison wouldn't exactly lead them to believe that Belize would roll out the pink carpet for gays and lesbians. On the other hand, this unspoiled Latin American country hardly treats us like persona non grata. But going to this mountainous and jungle-cloaked country for the gay scene would be as ridiculous as going to South Beach for the snorkeling. As they're fond of saying in this former British colony, 'It's all about the Nature.'
When I wrote for Viva, a travel and culture magazine focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean, I first heard the buzz about Belize. Situated just below the Yucatan Peninsula in a quiet corner of Latin America, this diminutive country has the goods. What Belize has over its neighbors to the north, Cancun and Cozumel, is an utter lack of crowds or giant hotels, and an abundance of exquisite Mayan ruins, untrammeled forests, and the Western Hemisphere's longest barrier reef—second in size only to Australia's.
While those with giga-bucks have known about this place for 20-odd years and snatched up hundreds of islands and mountain forests, there remain plenty of pristine islands, jungle lodges and beach towns for travelers of more proletarian backgrounds looking to island hop, not island shop.
One of my first impressions of the country was its unsettled feel. Approaching the airport, the view out the plane window offered no glimpses of subdivisions, suburbs, skyscrapers or clogged highways. Instead, the view offers a seemingly unending canopy of vivid green jungle occasionally interrupted by a ribbon of roadway or a house. And Sidetrack bar—excluding the roof deck—seems larger than the country's main airport in Belize City. The walk from the tarmac to customs approximates the distance between Daley Plaza and City Hall. We're talking petite.
My friends and I spent our first day in the country's sole population center, Belize City ( 70,000 ) , but you might just as well skip it. And given that enticing beaches, islands, resorts and the jungle are all within an hour, there's no need to linger in this sleepy Caribbean town.
The Jungle West
Our first destination was the jungle's Banana Bank Lodge about an hour west of Belize City. At Banana Bank, reached via a quick boat crossing of the clear-running Belize River, guests stay in simple, thatch-roofed cabanas or frilly, tropical-colored rooms in the main house. Since I harbor a dislike of all things pink ( possibly excepting a pink Speedo—and not on me ) , I was thankful we bunked down in a cabana.
In Belize, nearly 40 percent of the land is protected parkland, monument or wilderness area. In addition to a growing number of tourists, tapirs, crocodiles, sea turtles, boa constrictors, manatees, scarlet macaws, jaguars, ocelots, spider monkeys, anteaters and howler monkeys abound.
Belize's interior retains a rough-and-tumble cowboy feel to it. Unlike its more densely populated neighbors, this one-time hideaway for British pirates boasts an abundance of flora, fauna and forest, but not so many people. A word of caution, though: in Belize, you can hurt yourself having fun. On our first day at Banana Bank, we booked a horseback ride into the neighboring jungle. After signing liability waivers, we rode well-trained, mellow horses on some harrowing, muddy jungle paths. My horse slipped, stumbled and then tripped while carefully picking its way down a steep, slick ravine, but recovered only to frantically scramble up the opposite bank of the ravine, nearly leaving me behind in the creek. I hung on, having come to understand why tourists sign a liability waiver before signing up for nearly any activity in Belize. Things are still a little wild here.
In the mellow, sweet-smelling mornings and breeze-kissed late afternoons of the Belize interior, the skies and trees came alive with chattering parrots and parakeets, as well as howler monkeys ( whose calls resemble shouting more than howling ) . At the Banana Jungle Dome, Karen McDonald leads yoga classes held either poolside or on a 30-foot high platform a short hike away in the jungle. A friend and I booked a class for the late afternoon that included squawking parrots, near-constant birdsong and a cleansing breeze. The $15, perfectly paced class had to be the hands-down winner for setting over any other place I've unrolled my yoga mat. Even if yoga's not your thing, a session in a jungle setting has the calming affect of probably a half dozen pina coladas.
Mayan Monuments
Unlike the access-restricted Mayan ruins of Mexico, Belize's architectural sites are decidedly hands-on. Caves scattered with ancient skulls, pottery shards and other undisturbed artifacts can be fully explored. From Banana Bank, my friends and I climbed nearby Xunantunich ( wa-nan-too-nitch ) , overlooking the hilly Guatemalan border and within a scant 50 miles of the granddaddy of all Mayan ruins, Tical. Xunantunich's dominant feature, visible for miles around, is the virtual skyscraper of its 130-feet tall castillo.
Our guide reminds us to view the one-time city with the mindset of the Mayan—celebrating the harmony of man and nature. This is easily achieved when sitting atop the 13-story pyramid, a light breeze drying perspiration from the climb up, and views of the seemingly endless blanket of vivid, jungle-green forest cloaking the undulating countryside. During our visit, we initially shared the site with a group of American college students on a class trip, but after their hurried visit, we had the pyramid and nearly the entire temple ruins and grounds to ourselves.
Getting to the ancient ruin of Xunantunich is reminiscent of an Indiana Jones adventure. A manually operated, two-car ferry is pulled along a taut cable spanning the Belize River by sinewy Mayans. No electric motors or bridges here.
With around a hundred Mayan archeological sites, Belize has plenty to explore. Two other popular sites include the unexcavated and unrestored Lamanai, and Altun Ha, which dates from 600 BC.
Ambergris Caye
Snorkeling or diving on Belize's Great Barrier Reef is akin to golfing St. Andrew's in Scotland. With some of the finest and longest coral reefs in the world, Belize offers a diversity and abundance of marine life duplicated in few spots. Since the much-photographed, 400-feet deep Great Blue Hole warrants a full day-trip, we opted for closer snorkeling sites near Ambergris Caye. Aptly named Shark Ray Alley might be crowded with up to a dozen boats, but there's plenty of reef and sea animals for every diver. As our boat pulled up, an eight-foot nurse shark and two manta rays glided by just feet under our boat.
Our guide, Rocky, led us on a Disney-like tour of Shark Alley, and later Coral Gardens. Feeding and petting the rays, he attracted a cluster of fish that we touched or came eye-to-eye with. Moving on from the rays, Rocky chased a nurse shark and then wrestled with it ( I'm not making this up ) , hoping to provide us the opportunity to feel their sandpaper-like skin. This particular shark was in no mood to be petted, but I got to witness an undersea wrestling match that rivaled anything I ever saw in a Tarzan movie.
While Ambergris and neighboring Caulker Caye are major destinations for the Belize-bound, both offer plenty of small accommodations, sand streets, and no chain hotels or restaurants. Fast food here isn't McDonald's—it's fresh-peeled papaya or mango or bananas brought from the mainland.
Munching Down
Food-wise, Belize can't offer the diversity or sophistication of Mexican cuisine; however, there's plenty to like about the country's culinary proferrings. For obvious reasons, seafood's a sure bet here. One of the best local dishes is seafood or chicken ( order beef at home, but skip it here ) in a coconut milk sauce. Flavorful on its own, the dish becomes downright delicious when paired with popular sides such as plantains, creamy cole slaw or rice and beans. Reasonably priced lobster and conch abound, though ubiquitous conch fritters are leaden and likely to inflict serious damage to your heart and arteries.
Rum drinks are cheap and plentiful. Given the abundance of fresh tropical fruits, rum-laced smoothies and fresh-squeezed juices offer easily attained relief from the heat at reasonable prices. If you're feeling butch, order locally produced Belikin Beer ( available in stout or regular ) .
And The Piece de Resistance
Best of all, though, the diminutive country, like the Yucatan Peninsula, is not even a half a day's plane ride away. So why bother with South Beach or Florida when for just a few hundred dollars and few hours' plane ride more, you can be in the Tropics where February or March cold snaps mean the 70s? You better Belize it.
Banana Bank Lodge, bbl@starband.net
Belize Jungle Dome,
www.greendragonbelize.com
DuPlooy's Jungle Lodge, www.duplooys.com
Tropic Air, 501.226.2435
Ambergris Snorkel Guides: Jerry Ack, 501-226-3105
Ambergris: Tradewinds Paradise Villas, nellie@btl.net
