BELIZE The birthplace of chewing gum (no, really) and also a country of dichotomies - on one hand, a playground of rich tourists sunning themselves on the beaches and going scuba-diving in expensive resorts. On the other hand (and sometimes within a few feet of this gluttonous wealth) were a series of impoverished, deprivated shanty towns and shacks, rife with some of the worst poverty wed seen on the whole trip. It was also the most different place we visited up to that point. Ruled by the British until the 1980s (the Queen was still on the bank notes); the culture and people were Caribbean, not Latin American; very few spoke Spanish, the main language was English (spoken in a heavy patois). Because of this cultural difference, the people were about the only thing that made visiting this country worthwhile - friendly, funny and geniune...but outside of the Belize Zoo (best small zoo in the world), there wasnt much to draw poorer travellers there and tourists shouldnt go until the vast amount of money the government gets from tourism starts getting spent on the working people of the country, currently going through hell.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 12:51:55 +0000
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