Goodbye Guatemala…hello Belize, our last stop in Latin America. The town of San Ignacio, Belize is only a few hours away by collectivo (shared van transport) from the famous ruins of Tikal and the island town of Flores in Guatemala where we spent a few days, so it made sense for us to cross the border there. San Ignacio is only a small town but it’s firmly on the travellers map for adventure tourism like cave tubing. Not much fancying this activity, we still enjoyed a couple of sights in and around town, but more than anything we were enthusiastic to experience the change in culture that Belize offers in comparison to its Central American neighbours.
San Ignacio also turned out to be an important place for us as a couple. You can find out more here in this extra special post: Getting Married in Belize!
“You can speak English here” our taxi driver cheerfully informed us as he packed our bags into his taxi at the sweltering border. It really was as simple as that, we crossed a line drawn in the sand and we could ditch the pigeon Spanish and speak the Queen’s English (OK, not quite, but it certainly made a change!). And wait a minute, isn’t that the bloody Queen on Belizean currency?!
A bit of history
Belize’s history is a bit complicated, and the result is unique mix of cultures. There are Maya (the original pre-Colombian indigenous race), Garifuna (descendants of black slaves who moved from Honduras), Mestizo (those of Amerindian and Spanish descent), Creole (descendents of British colonists/loggers and black slaves), a whole host in between, plenty of Chinese shop owners and even some Mennonites!
English is the official language of Belize, but you will hear the population conversing between themselves in Creole. Creole is an actual language although many of its words can be identified as English. It’s a lot of effort even for a native English speaker to get a handle on Creole, but don’t worry, the locals will tone it down significantly so that you can understand.
Other than the obvious differences in ethnic make-up, the other big change upon entering Belize is that the pace of life slows almost to a standstill. Of course most of Central America is hot and sleepy, but the residents of Belize seem to take it to the next level. Having the Caribbean coast helps immensely too!
What not to miss
Having just visited the vast Tikal in Guatemala, we opted to visit a small Maya archaeological site in San Ignacio. There are other major sites also within striking distance of the town like Caracol and Xunantunich, but sometimes we find that it is the lesser known sites that turn out to be more enjoyable, because they are less frequented and more tranquil. Whilst being small enough to visit in less than an hour, the site of Cahal Pech is certainly not dull. There are the usual temples, a ball court and a maze of tunnels which are fun to explore. There was even an archaeological team excavating whilst we were there, peeling back the layers of structures built on top of each other.
An easy visit from the town is the Green Iguana Sanctuary which is housed at the higher end San Ignacio Resort Hotel. The sanctuary collects and hatches eggs so that they can be released into the wild and the population boosted. Green iguanas are in danger due to their meat and eggs being considered delicacies despite the practice being illegal. It’s a short educational visit where you get to hang out with, feed and hold iguanas of various ages. The iguanas seemed to like Jess’s hair more than anything!
This is Caribe!
As mentioned before the change in culture is immediately apparent upon crossing the border. The place is unmistakably Caribbean. The first thing you notice is the enormous quantity of giant barbeques standing in front of every house, from the poor ramshackle to the middle class areas, literally every home has its own grilling device, with some having seen better days and others resembling train steam engines in sheer size. One thing is clear, grilled meat is king here and people will happily sell you their freshly grilled chicken or pork cooked with their own secret recipe and sauces at every time of the day…but especially at breakfast.
We also enjoyed eating at a legendary local restaurant called Ko Ox Han Nah, which seemed to have a good mixture of tex-mex style dishes alongside classic Caribbean fare.
Elderly men and woman watching the world go by sitting on their porch sipping cold beers are everywhere and the overall feeling is that time is a relative concept here. There’s no need to rush everywhere, just go slow, and enjoy yourself whilst at it. After the relative hustle and bustle we experienced in Honduras and Guatemala this was a nice change, or more like an inevitability, given that the sun is particularly unforgiving and that temperatures can reach levels only tolerable if you are a land iguana! Despite the weather and temperature challenges, we enjoyed our return to the Caribbean and it goes without saying that San Ignacio and the nearby capital of Belmopan will forever have a special place in our hearts due to our marriage. Next stop, a honeymoon on the Belize barrier reef!
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