My employer is offering a technology workshop to two of its employees this July in Belize S.A. All expenses payed for a week.
3 questions
“I’m the best there is Fats. Even if you beat me, I’m still the best.”
(Paul Newman in The Hustler)
No. But I’ve been to nearby Costa Rica. It was beautiful.
I don’t know about safety but the people I’ve met from there are very friendly and easy going, much like Polynesians. Most, I believe, are of mixed African and Indian heritage. They speak exellent english and are much easier to understand than people I’ve met from Jamaca or Barbados.
Actually it’s in Central America, not South America. It’s located on the Carribean side of the isthmus. It used to be called British Honduras.
That’s all I know about it other than that it is increasingly becoming a popular tourist distination.
BTW- That’s “Indian” as in "Native (Central) American.
If you do a search for “Belize” in GQ, I posted more or less the same question a few months ago, as Eldest Son’s rainforest club at school is planning a trip there this summer. The consensus was that it was a safe place to go, and a great place to visit.
-Melin
Who is NOT Straight Dope Staff
Siamese attack puppet – California
I’ve been to Belize twice, for over a month each time. The country is very safe. It is in Central America not in South America. The country is due south of Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula. The offical language is English although most people speak Spanish as well. There are some fantastic Maya ruins throughout the country including Carocol, Lamanai, and Altun Ha and of course Cerros (where I dug). Belize is also famous for their diving.
It is hot and humid in the summer (very hot and very humid). If you do go, take insect repellant. Oh yeah, the last thing to worry about, botflies http://www.nejm.org/content/1997/0337/0006/0429.asp . If you have any more questions, let me know.
“He love people, all of them, washed and unwashed; he loves his wretched pack of sponging relatives. He shoots people, arrests people, but he doesn’t like it.”
It’s fairly safe from what I’ve heard, and has a large British presence (including several military units) thanks to our colonial/Commonwealth hangover.
I never touched him, ref, honest!
Crusoe Takes A Trip
Belize was formerly British Honduras, which explains why English is the common language. The country consists of two areas - the mainland and several islands off the coast called the Cayes (pronounced keys). When I visited, I stayed on Ambergris Caye, the largest and most populated of the islands. I loved it. It was very quaint, not commercialized like a lot of the Carribean tourist areas. The Belizean government is big on ecotourism, trying to encourage tourism without impacting the ecosystem too much. For example, on Ambergris Caye, most people drive electric golf carts instead of cars. There are no big Hiltons and Sheratons, but there are a bunch of Mom and Pop type hotels and B and B’s.
I didn’t get a chance to visit the mainland (other than the airport in Belize City) so I don’t know much about it. I visited in October and it was very hot and humid. I can only imagine how unbearable it would be in July or August. But I still had a lot of fun snorkeling and such. Belize is home of the second largest barrier reef in the world, so the snorkeling and diving is excellent. The people were very friendly, and my overall experience was wonderful. I highly recommend it, as long as you go knowing that it’s a little bit primitive (primitive in the sense that there aren’t many big fancy hotels or McDonalds on every corner.)