BELIZE

The former British Colony of British Honduras has been on its own since 1981, but the lingering residues of British occupation still influence much of what you will experience most everywhere in Belize.

The exception is Ambergris Caye, a treasured spot for divers and snorkelers, which is populated mostly by Spanish speaking Mestizos, some of whose families have been on the island for more than a hundred years.

Ambergris Caye is a seven mile long, one mile wide island, forty miles east of Belize's mainland.

Ambergris Caye is sheltered from the Atlantic by the second longest coral barrier reef in the Americas, which runs parallel to the entire eastern shore of Ambergris Caye about two miles away from the shoreline.

Ambergris Caye is the staging area for a vast diving adventure zone, extending many miles along the outer edge of the barrier reef.

There are some three hundred islands off mainland Belize. Only about five of the islands have any siginificant population.

Ambergris Caye is home to about 4,000 people, without the tourists.
Most of the population of Ambergris Caye are Spanish speaking, though the official language of Belize is English.

Places to stay:

Victoria Inn
Banyan Bay Villas
Carribbean Villas
Coral Bay Villas
Corona del Mar
Ramon's Retreat
Matra Chica
Captain Morgan's
Banana Beach Resort
Coconut Beach Resort
The Tides

Getting In and Getting Out

Surprisingly easy. To get to Belize, one flies into the Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City, the largest city of Belize, but not its capital. American Airlines flies into Belize City daily from Dallas, Texas and Miami, Florida. Continental Airlines flies in and out twice a day from Houston, Texas. Grupo Taca also flies in and out of Belize City, from Atlanta and Miami.

The airport departure lounges, separate ones for Continental and American Airlines, are both air conditioned. The ground personnel at the airport are uniformly friendly and helpful. The interisland flights coming into and out of Goldson International Airport are frequent, run by Tropic Air and Maya Island Airlines, as well as Atlantic Airlines, which runs large two engine turboprops. The Tropic Air flights are in Cessna 1000's and like aircraft, which are one engine turbos, and seem to be quite safe, on time and efficient. Maya Island runs older planes, less often, but seems serviceable, too.

Communications, Once you are here.

BTL -- the Belize Telephone and Telecommunications Company is the only game in town. Luckily, it works, for cell phones and the internet, though be no means cheap, at about $.83 Belize a minute for cell phone calls, which is $.415 U.S.