How far would you travel to indulge your passion for chocolate? How about Belize? The entire nation has been devoted to chocolate since the Mayas began harvesting beans and turning it into any number of delicious dishes, but they weren’t around long enough to turn their raw chocolate beans (official name cacao) into a flourishing industry around 2600 years ago. In fact, chocoholics call Belize…
When North Americans relocate to Belize seeking a simpler way of life – or when couples tell families and friends that they’re planning destination weddings–leave it to one person in the crowd to decry Belize in the summer for four reasons. You may have heard them yourself. But we’re here to set you straight. -Summer temperatures in Belize aren’t any different than many U.S. locations,…
Whether or not you’ve been to Belize, you may have heard rumors that this country is an epicenter of excitement because there’s so much to do and see in a small country where everyone speaks English and the landmass is small enough to get around quickly. But there’s a secret we feel compelled to share that could surprise you: Some people come to Belize to…
There’s a very good chance the Easter experience you have come to expect begins and ends with dressing up in church-appropriate finery, watching kids ferret out colorful eggs, hanging out with the Easter Bunny and finishing the day with a meal that consists of baked ham, a slab of butter that’s shaped like a lamb and desserts that tip the scale on creativity. This end-of-winter…
Social scientists say the tradition of spring break began with the construction of Florida’s first Olympic-sized pool in 1928. So many college students showed up to party, and a tradition was launched. By the time the 1960 cult film, “Where the Boys Are,” romanticized the experience, spring break had become every student’s favorite holiday. Where the fun is For those eager to work on their…
According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “there is mounting empirical evidence that interacting with nature delivers measurable benefits to people.” What kind of benefits? Huge ones. Spend time in nature and your physical health, psychological well-being and cognitive performance all get a boost. Who knew that a Belize Nature and Jungle Tour could deliver so many benefits? Whether it’s on…
Whale sharks are the largest non-mammalian marine animals in the world, and yet they can be surprisingly elusive. Often submerging to depths inaccessible to human divers, whale sharks circumnavigate the tropical seas of the globe every year in search of food. Despite the fact that they are sharks, whale sharks pose almost no danger to humans. Whale sharks use special pads lined with thousands of…
Nim Li Punit and Lubaantun are two of the most iconic and interesting ancient Maya sites in Belize. Once bustling cities with tens of thousands of inhabitants, the sites were abandoned for unknown reasons about 1,000 years ago and were slowly reclaimed by the surrounding jungle, only to be rediscovered in the past few decades. No one is quite sure what the original name was…
Although the landscape of Belize is dotted with hundreds of caves, probably the most famous one is Actun Tunichil Muknal, commonly known by locals as the ATM cave. Only rediscovered by modern archeologists 25 years ago, the more than three miles of cave tunnels and caverns were once used by the Ancient Maya to perform sacrifices and important religious ceremonies. Some people refer to the…
One of the top tourist destinations in the region, Belize has more than 400 islands that stretch from north to south along the Belize Barrier Reef, part of the second-largest barrier reef in the world after Australia’s. With more than 100 types of coral and some 500 species of tropical fish, the barrier reef is paradise for scuba divers and snorkelers. Swimming through vividly…