Unbelizable.

4/29/11

Here we go again! The next chapter in the Megan-Swan-Is-Too-Scared-To-Settle-Down travel series brings us to beautiful Belize. I really should start a blog or something but my team already has one at http://belize.help-international.org/

Or my co-director, Kyle, brought his wife who is also keeping a blog on our adventures at sundanceromance.blogspot.com 

But for my own peace of mind and just to tickle my creative side, I’ll be sending my own side of the story to you guys. Delete the emails at will, but next time you are about to check Facebook you might think to yourself, “Hey, I wonder what Meg is doing down in Belize…”

Right now, I’m sitting on a rooftop balcony in San Ignacio, Belize. The palm trees are sifting through the heavy jungle air and the sun is beginning to break through the smoke-filled sky (there was a huge forest fire yesterday). This place is perfectly picturesque--from the church on the hill (whose bells ring incessantly every morning at six sharp for a full hour) to the hodgepodge of colorful stucco homes crammed between the makeshift shanties, Belize has proven to be both eye candy and positively depressing in the same glance.

I landed in Belize City on Thursday, greeted by “Jesus is our Lord” spray-painted across a crumbling cement hotel, the first visible building from the airport. We spent our first day scrambling around the city in an old Chevy van Kyle is leasing. I was so glad that he was driving because he’s driven in Mexico, Chile and Peru and understands how nuts Latino drivers are. I couldn’t believe just how dirty, crowded, and (for lack of a better term) ghetto Belize City is. A traveler we met could only describe Belize City as “ugly”, and I soon found out why. We were told not to go out at night in the city because after 7 all the gangs roll out, and naturally a tourist is a two-legged bull’s-eye. It’s pretty typical of what you would expect from a large and poverty-stricken city—burnt out buildings, 3-4 people performing balancing acts on bicycles, and  malnourished dogs roaming the streets. Until we got to the market street, I was surprised to see almost no women and children—just crowds of men. 

A few bright spots in the dark city: Belize was once a British colony and still pays tribute to the Queen—this means that Belize has Cadbury chocolate, McVitties Digestive cookies, and Hob-nobs. Happiness. The other ray of light is the fruit stands! Pineapples and bananas are strung across the open stand, and you can buy all sorts of indigenous fruit: mangos, bananas, citrus, and mami (like a papaya crossed with an avocado).

Before the sun went down, we decided to leave the comfort and warmth of the city to find what Belize is known for: white beaches and crystal blue water. We didn’t find either. A few miles out of Belize City is Cucumber beach, a used-to-be happening tourist attraction before the huge storm of 1969 that wiped out most of the city and caused the capital to be moved inland to Belmopan. The water was brown and the cabanas trashed, but it was still refreshing to see the ocean before heading back to the jaws of the city. Ok I’m making the city sound a lot worse than it actually was.

Highlights of Belize City:

• Manatee debuts floating down the river next to the place we stayed
• Surviving driving while sharing the road with frantic cars, bicyclists, and dogs
• Kyle forgetting $2000 US and both he and his wife’s passports when we left
• The first sweet sounds of Belizean Créole
• Our neighbor’s dog perched on the roof all day (keeping a close watch on their laundry)
• Ben & Jerry’s ice cream can be found in Belize! One pint for just $12 USD! A steal of a deal.