Map 1: Mexico and Central America
Map 2: Yucatuan Penusinla, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaruagua
Map 3: Actual Road Trip Route (Yellow & Brown Line) and Flight Route (Pine Line)
Showing posts with label Belize. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belize. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Maps: Tracing Our Recent Road Trip from Merida to Belize
I've meant to map out the route that we took on our recent road trip from Merida, Mexico to Belize. After looking around online, I finally found a website that has world maps available for free. So, I decided to give it a shot, and below are maps that trace the route that we took:
Sunday, January 7, 2007
So Many Chinese in Belize!
I feel that this topic deserves a separate blog entry for a couple of reasons: 1. Many Chinese (and many other nationals) don't even know where Belize is on the map. 2. I know Chinese immigrants are every where, but I didn't expect to see SO MANY Chinese in a country like Belize. Historically, China and Belize had very little connections. Unlike the official relationships that China had sought after during the 50s and 60s with Africa, there seems to be a void in the official China-Belize relationship.
On a short trip of merely 4.5 days in Belize, everywhere we went, we saw Chinese. I was absolutely surprised and intrigued by this phenomenon. We made a point of talking to the Chinese we met in trying to find out how and why they ended up there.
When we drove through Corozal on our way to San Pedro, I was surprised to see many Chinese signs of restaurants and general stores in both English and Chinese in a small city like Corozal. Once we arrived in San Pedro, my surprise was taken to a different level - Why here?!
On our first day in San Pedro, we strolled around in the evening and saw a Chinese restaurant (see pic), and ventured upstairs to strike up a conversation with the restaurant owners, a couple from Guangdong. They told us that there are 81 Chinese on this tiny island alone and there is a girl from Xinjiang!
We continued our walk; soon, we ran into three Chinese, two adults with a young girl. M and I opened up the conversation with "ni hao!" After finding out the young lady is also from Xinjiang, the conversation took an interesting turn - we both wanted to find out more about each other. She made some very interesting comparisons and comments about San Pedro and Wulumuqi where she is originally from:
"This place is so shabby; it doesn't even have paved roads. It doesn't have high rise buildings. Wulumuqi is so much more advanced than this place!"
"When I first came here, I wanted to leave immediately. But, since my brother and sister-in-law are here, I feel that I have to be near them. Now I'm getting used to it. But I still miss Wulumuqi; after all, that's a big city - you know that - you lived in Shanghai!"
"Before I came here, I thought this place woud be like Paris or New York with big fancy buildings! Look at this place, it has nothing - just a bunch of country bumpkins! I look down on them - they eat with their feet up on the table and have no manners at all!"
"I followed my older brother here. He didn't know that Belize was so backward. He has many friends who emigrated to Autralia; he actually meant to get a visa to go to Australia; instead, the visa agency in China took the processing fees and gave him a visa to come to Belize - a place that we had never heard of before!
"Most of the Chinese here are not very well educated. I went to college. I want to find someone who is well-educated. Let me know if you know somebody from the States."
Then, the next day when we were out walking again in the evening, right next to Rebacca's Clinic (the Xinjiang girl's massage and acupuncture business), we ran into a Taiwanese woman who was a shop assistant at a gift store. She only works on the island shop every other week. She is in Belize with her 17 year old son who is going to high school there. For her, it's all about giving her son's the best high school education to the best of their ability. Her husband owns a business in Taiwan and pays their son's education. The son did his middle school in New Zealand. Right now, she started working recently to kill time since her son spends most of his time in school now and he is old enough to take care of himself. She is thinking about sending her son to a college in the States, if possible. When they have time, they travel to neighboring countries like Mexico and Guatemala to expose her son to the world. It sounds like her son has seen a lot for a 17-year-old.
After chatting with the Taiwanese lady, we then chatted with the sister-in-law of the Xinjiang girl for a long time. She holds a different view from the more fashionable Xinjiang girl whom we talked with the day before. She has two kids, one of whom was born in Belize - something that they couldn't have done in China. She enjoys coming to the island - fresh air, beautiful scenery and peaceful. She and her husband run a similar clinic in Belize city. She also shared with us a couple of horrible crimes in Belize city. One of which is rather gruesome: a Chinese shop owner with a baby in his arm got shot in his own store, and his store got robbed; later on, he became a vegetable and had to be shipped back to China. Chinese and Indians own and run a lot of restaurants, general stores and other businesses. They often become targets of robbery and crimes.
Caye Caulker, a teeny-weeny island where I really didn't expect to see many island residents, not to mention, Chinese! Yet, there they are. Our first stop was a small general store owned by a Chinese guy who also rents out bicycles. We rented our bikes from him. Then, off we rode around. We saw a couple of Chinese restaurants. Then, at the end of the pier while waiting for our water taxi, we saw a Chinese guy sitting on the edge of the pier fishing! I chatted with him a little bit. He is here all by himself leaving his wife and a kid behind in China. He said he wanted to make and save enough money, then he would go back to China to reunite with his family - no plans of staying permanently according to him.
When we arrived in Belize city, from the car we were in, we could see Chinese-looking people on bikes, in shops or walking on the streets, it astonishes me to see so many Chinese immigrants among a city with predominantly black and mestizo population. After a while, my surprise over this really should get old; but it still strikes me as something rather peculiar. Why Belize? I didn't see as many Chinese in Mexico! I was told that the Chinese now accounts for 5% of the Belize population!
The puzzle becomes a bit clearer after we arrived in Corozal. I basically forced a conversation on a Chinese guy who was watching Hong Kong TV series on Satellite TV in the restaurant where we picked up our dinner. He was planning a trip back to China after having worked for a Chinese factory here for seven years. He complained about the long journey that he was about to make: Corozal >> Cancun, Mexico >> Amsterdam >> Beijing >> Tianjin. He wasn't particularly interested in answering my questions. But when he did answer, his answers were revealing.
To sum up, it seems that there are a few things unique to Belize that really attract Chinese immigrants:
1. Easier for Chinese to get a visa to come to Belize.
2. English is the first official language, which many Chinese have learned in school.
3. Belize is still considered a member of the British Commonwealth - their currency still has the Queen's head shot. Travelling to the UK can be made easier in the future.
4. Acquiring Belize citizenship is relatively easier compared to other countries such as the U.S. and Canada.
5. The next generation's education is the parents' top priority. Their kids can be better prepared to become global citizens with education in multiple languages.
6. Business opportunities abound (and maybe the higher artificially fixed exchange rate to US dollars helps too: 1 US$ = 2 BZ$ vs. 1 US$ = 8 RMB).
On a short trip of merely 4.5 days in Belize, everywhere we went, we saw Chinese. I was absolutely surprised and intrigued by this phenomenon. We made a point of talking to the Chinese we met in trying to find out how and why they ended up there.
When we drove through Corozal on our way to San Pedro, I was surprised to see many Chinese signs of restaurants and general stores in both English and Chinese in a small city like Corozal. Once we arrived in San Pedro, my surprise was taken to a different level - Why here?!
On our first day in San Pedro, we strolled around in the evening and saw a Chinese restaurant (see pic), and ventured upstairs to strike up a conversation with the restaurant owners, a couple from Guangdong. They told us that there are 81 Chinese on this tiny island alone and there is a girl from Xinjiang!
We continued our walk; soon, we ran into three Chinese, two adults with a young girl. M and I opened up the conversation with "ni hao!" After finding out the young lady is also from Xinjiang, the conversation took an interesting turn - we both wanted to find out more about each other. She made some very interesting comparisons and comments about San Pedro and Wulumuqi where she is originally from:
"This place is so shabby; it doesn't even have paved roads. It doesn't have high rise buildings. Wulumuqi is so much more advanced than this place!"
"When I first came here, I wanted to leave immediately. But, since my brother and sister-in-law are here, I feel that I have to be near them. Now I'm getting used to it. But I still miss Wulumuqi; after all, that's a big city - you know that - you lived in Shanghai!"
"Before I came here, I thought this place woud be like Paris or New York with big fancy buildings! Look at this place, it has nothing - just a bunch of country bumpkins! I look down on them - they eat with their feet up on the table and have no manners at all!"
"I followed my older brother here. He didn't know that Belize was so backward. He has many friends who emigrated to Autralia; he actually meant to get a visa to go to Australia; instead, the visa agency in China took the processing fees and gave him a visa to come to Belize - a place that we had never heard of before!
"Most of the Chinese here are not very well educated. I went to college. I want to find someone who is well-educated. Let me know if you know somebody from the States."
Then, the next day when we were out walking again in the evening, right next to Rebacca's Clinic (the Xinjiang girl's massage and acupuncture business), we ran into a Taiwanese woman who was a shop assistant at a gift store. She only works on the island shop every other week. She is in Belize with her 17 year old son who is going to high school there. For her, it's all about giving her son's the best high school education to the best of their ability. Her husband owns a business in Taiwan and pays their son's education. The son did his middle school in New Zealand. Right now, she started working recently to kill time since her son spends most of his time in school now and he is old enough to take care of himself. She is thinking about sending her son to a college in the States, if possible. When they have time, they travel to neighboring countries like Mexico and Guatemala to expose her son to the world. It sounds like her son has seen a lot for a 17-year-old.
After chatting with the Taiwanese lady, we then chatted with the sister-in-law of the Xinjiang girl for a long time. She holds a different view from the more fashionable Xinjiang girl whom we talked with the day before. She has two kids, one of whom was born in Belize - something that they couldn't have done in China. She enjoys coming to the island - fresh air, beautiful scenery and peaceful. She and her husband run a similar clinic in Belize city. She also shared with us a couple of horrible crimes in Belize city. One of which is rather gruesome: a Chinese shop owner with a baby in his arm got shot in his own store, and his store got robbed; later on, he became a vegetable and had to be shipped back to China. Chinese and Indians own and run a lot of restaurants, general stores and other businesses. They often become targets of robbery and crimes.
Caye Caulker, a teeny-weeny island where I really didn't expect to see many island residents, not to mention, Chinese! Yet, there they are. Our first stop was a small general store owned by a Chinese guy who also rents out bicycles. We rented our bikes from him. Then, off we rode around. We saw a couple of Chinese restaurants. Then, at the end of the pier while waiting for our water taxi, we saw a Chinese guy sitting on the edge of the pier fishing! I chatted with him a little bit. He is here all by himself leaving his wife and a kid behind in China. He said he wanted to make and save enough money, then he would go back to China to reunite with his family - no plans of staying permanently according to him.
When we arrived in Belize city, from the car we were in, we could see Chinese-looking people on bikes, in shops or walking on the streets, it astonishes me to see so many Chinese immigrants among a city with predominantly black and mestizo population. After a while, my surprise over this really should get old; but it still strikes me as something rather peculiar. Why Belize? I didn't see as many Chinese in Mexico! I was told that the Chinese now accounts for 5% of the Belize population!
The puzzle becomes a bit clearer after we arrived in Corozal. I basically forced a conversation on a Chinese guy who was watching Hong Kong TV series on Satellite TV in the restaurant where we picked up our dinner. He was planning a trip back to China after having worked for a Chinese factory here for seven years. He complained about the long journey that he was about to make: Corozal >> Cancun, Mexico >> Amsterdam >> Beijing >> Tianjin. He wasn't particularly interested in answering my questions. But when he did answer, his answers were revealing.
To sum up, it seems that there are a few things unique to Belize that really attract Chinese immigrants:
1. Easier for Chinese to get a visa to come to Belize.
2. English is the first official language, which many Chinese have learned in school.
3. Belize is still considered a member of the British Commonwealth - their currency still has the Queen's head shot. Travelling to the UK can be made easier in the future.
4. Acquiring Belize citizenship is relatively easier compared to other countries such as the U.S. and Canada.
5. The next generation's education is the parents' top priority. Their kids can be better prepared to become global citizens with education in multiple languages.
6. Business opportunities abound (and maybe the higher artificially fixed exchange rate to US dollars helps too: 1 US$ = 2 BZ$ vs. 1 US$ = 8 RMB).
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
From Corozal, Belize Back to Merida, Mexico (Day 5, 12/29, Friday)
We got up around 7am - early enough to make it back to Merida late in the afternoon - and headed for the border-crossing point. A few miles away from the border, we were stopped by a soldier at a checkpoint. He kept asking us for our paperwork on car insurance after we showed him the proper papers we have for the car. The tension was escalating as we talked through the window. This guy was obviously trying to scare us into bribing him. We were not going to let him have his will. Finally, he let us pass after we firmly told him many times that we have the exact papers that he was asking for. What a pain having to deal with the whims of these border patrols!
At the border-crossing point, we went through the whole process again - a stamp at one counter, then another at a different counter. We then drove to the Free Zone hoping that we would find the kind of cooking ring that R was talking about and Punta Rock CDs that Denis recommended. We were told that the Free Zone is duty free and has a wide selection of commodities. Maybe we were there too early (8:30am); the whole place looked like a flea market full of crappy stuff. Rows of concrete box-like stores lie randomly and listlessly under the scorching sun. Loud speakers as tall as me were blasting cacophonous Latino pop music. There were people waiting outside of storefronts that were not open yet. I checked out a few stores and didn't see anything worthy of buying. We fled quickly from the "Flea Zone."
Leaving the Free Zone and all the English signs behind, we drove to the other side of the border - Mexico. We stopped at Bacalar and did a quick drive-through: there is a beautiful park right next a lagoon and an old Mayan fort. The rest of the drive from Chetumal to Merida was quick and easy. This time, we avoided the small villages and stayed on the expressway all the way to Merida. It took only about 4.5 hours. We got back around 3pm when comida dishes were still warm on the table.
The rest of the day was spent on sharing our road stories with the fam, eating and resting.
At the border-crossing point, we went through the whole process again - a stamp at one counter, then another at a different counter. We then drove to the Free Zone hoping that we would find the kind of cooking ring that R was talking about and Punta Rock CDs that Denis recommended. We were told that the Free Zone is duty free and has a wide selection of commodities. Maybe we were there too early (8:30am); the whole place looked like a flea market full of crappy stuff. Rows of concrete box-like stores lie randomly and listlessly under the scorching sun. Loud speakers as tall as me were blasting cacophonous Latino pop music. There were people waiting outside of storefronts that were not open yet. I checked out a few stores and didn't see anything worthy of buying. We fled quickly from the "Flea Zone."
Leaving the Free Zone and all the English signs behind, we drove to the other side of the border - Mexico. We stopped at Bacalar and did a quick drive-through: there is a beautiful park right next a lagoon and an old Mayan fort. The rest of the drive from Chetumal to Merida was quick and easy. This time, we avoided the small villages and stayed on the expressway all the way to Merida. It took only about 4.5 hours. We got back around 3pm when comida dishes were still warm on the table.
The rest of the day was spent on sharing our road stories with the fam, eating and resting.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Belize Trip: Cave Tubing and Belize Zoo (Day 4, Thursday, 12/28)
We got up at 6am, packed our bags, walked to the airport and got on a 14-seater airplane headed for Belize City at 7am. From the airplane, we had a bird's-eye view of the city: There is not a single glitzy skyscraper in this biggest city in Belize. Many sections of the city appear to be in need of repairs and maintenance. I wonder if the city was in a better shape before the destructive Hurricane Hattie hit in 1961; maybe money was poured into building the new capital, Belmonpan, and left the old capital unattended. We had read and heard about Belize city's reputation as unsafe; and we were warned not to walk out after dark. All in all, it was a rather grim picture.
Denis, our tour operator, was already at the airport waiting for us. He then drove us to the Water Taxi Terminal to wait for possibly another 6 tourists who might join us. While we were sitting in the car waiting, a couple of people came by and knocked on our window asking for money; adding to the weary and dreary scene, there were several homeless people sitting on the sidewalk spacing out. Inside the car, we chatted with Denis, later his assistant, Mr. Rancho while Denis went looking for the tourists. It amazes me that they both speak 3 different languages: English, Spanish, Creole. In fact, a lot of people in this country can do that. It just shows how diverse this country of merely 280,000 people is.
Mr. Rancho himself has a very fascinating story: His great great grandfather came to Belize from India and moved to an area near Corozal, which he later named Calcutta. His grandfather was a bush doctor who cured many snake bites for people in town including himself (otherwise he could have lost one of his legs (or his life). He is very knowledgeable about plants, animals and history of Belize and he also managed to keep himself updated on current events.
Denis' 6 other customers didn't show up. So, Rancho drove us through the city and soon we were on the Western Highway heading towards the cave-tubing destination. Savannas on both sides of the road are full of lush plants and animals. When Mr. Rancho spotted an alligator resting on the bank of a river, he pulled the car to the side so that we could have a good look at the alligator basking in the sun.
We turned south off of the Western Highway about 40 miles away from Belize City and had a "road massage" (in Rancho's word) on a bumpy gravel road for about 15 minutes; then we were in a jungle - green and lush. At the parking lot, people were lined up for inflated inner-tubes. We changed into proper outfit and joined the line. Another couple (they both love travelling and have lived overseas at different places for many years) joined us. We were handed off to a teenage tour guide (to-be), Elmert, who led us through the jungle barefooted. Then, two of his uncles joined us while we were hiking. Basically, we had 3 tour guides taking care of four tourists! That's quite a service.
After 30 minutes of hiking through the jungle, we reached the place where we would launch our inner-tubes. As they say, the water was indeed refreshing, not cold. We sat in the tube in pairs with M's feet rest on my tube. The river carried us gently down the river under a cave where there are stalagmites and stalactites formations. All cave-tubing people wore headlights which created a moving web of dancing light on the ceiling of the cave, adding an extra mysterious aura to the cave.
After cave-tubing, we were all hungry for lunch. Stopped at a restaurant called "Los Amigos" off the highway and had a nice lunch (roasted chicken, cole slaw, rice and beans). There was a parrot in a cage right alongside the restaurant that grabbed a lot of tourists' attention. She shouted out random English words like "hello" and "What's up!"
Then, we went to the Belize Zoo, where we saw some amazingly beautiful and interesting animals such as Jaguar, Toucan, Jaribu Stork (a big bird on the verge of extinction) and Black Howler Monkey (their howling could well be used in a horror film to mimic the sound of a gigantic monster approaching, yet they are not big).
On the way back to Belize city, we stopped at a prison store near Hattieville, a town named and founded afer Hurricane Hattie in 1961. All the items in the store are made by prisoners and the proceeds from selling these items will be used to subsidize prisoners' monthly stipends.
At a Belize downtown hotel, Mr. Rancho dropped off the couple who spent the day cave-tubing and going to the zoo with us as a group - we really enjoyed their company. We then picked up our tour operator, Denis and off we hit the road again for Corozal. To get to Corozal district, we had to drive up north through Belize District and Orange Walk District. Corozal is the northernmost city in Belize where we had left our car a few days ago. The 2.5 hour drive allowed us to have a glimpse into the northern part of Belize. We passed through a few small villages and towns; and they were all decorated in Xmas lights; even ramshackles were wrapped in glowing ornaments in shape of Santa Claus or Xmas tree. It's very green and lush all the way through. A couple of sugar plantations and refineries can be seen from the highway. In fact, sugar is the biggest industry in Belize; and 15% of EU's sugar is from Belize.
We picked up our car from Mr. P's house, and followed Dennis to his house at his invitation. His house is located on the outskirt of the small, quiet and peaceful city, Corozal, where we would be staying for the night before heading back to Merida. He has an impressively big plot of land on which he built his own house. Wherever I go, I tend to use China as a reference point. Belize is an interesting case. It appears to me that many people own a car and a house, yet the poverty (maybe crime also) is very mush visible, and in some cases, alarming. Then again, China is a huge. It would be hard to do a fair comparison. Denis has a beautiful wife and two little children. When we were there, they happened to be watching the movie "Cars." They were very hospitable. After chatting for a while, my stomach told me that it's time to leave.
Driving around the town for a while, we checked out the best hotel - as the road sign claims - in town: The hotel appears to be right on the waterfront, yet there was no windows facing the water; and the room we looked at was stuffy. So, we kept on driving and settled with a hotel called "Hotel Los Palmos" in the city.
Then, we went looking for a place to get some food. The choices are many and few: There are many restaurants, but the majority of them are Chinese restaurants. The one Mexican restaurant we went to was closed for the day. Now after travelling in Belize for a few days, I was still amazed by the number of Chinese here in Belize. Anyway, we went to one of the Chinese restaurants and picked up some food for ourselves and the night guard of the hotel to go.
The hotel room was clean enough, but the hot shower can only be called a luke-warm shower. We showered, ate and fell asleep on an interview about Gerald Ford, who just passed away, on CNN.
Denis, our tour operator, was already at the airport waiting for us. He then drove us to the Water Taxi Terminal to wait for possibly another 6 tourists who might join us. While we were sitting in the car waiting, a couple of people came by and knocked on our window asking for money; adding to the weary and dreary scene, there were several homeless people sitting on the sidewalk spacing out. Inside the car, we chatted with Denis, later his assistant, Mr. Rancho while Denis went looking for the tourists. It amazes me that they both speak 3 different languages: English, Spanish, Creole. In fact, a lot of people in this country can do that. It just shows how diverse this country of merely 280,000 people is.
Mr. Rancho himself has a very fascinating story: His great great grandfather came to Belize from India and moved to an area near Corozal, which he later named Calcutta. His grandfather was a bush doctor who cured many snake bites for people in town including himself (otherwise he could have lost one of his legs (or his life). He is very knowledgeable about plants, animals and history of Belize and he also managed to keep himself updated on current events.
Denis' 6 other customers didn't show up. So, Rancho drove us through the city and soon we were on the Western Highway heading towards the cave-tubing destination. Savannas on both sides of the road are full of lush plants and animals. When Mr. Rancho spotted an alligator resting on the bank of a river, he pulled the car to the side so that we could have a good look at the alligator basking in the sun.
We turned south off of the Western Highway about 40 miles away from Belize City and had a "road massage" (in Rancho's word) on a bumpy gravel road for about 15 minutes; then we were in a jungle - green and lush. At the parking lot, people were lined up for inflated inner-tubes. We changed into proper outfit and joined the line. Another couple (they both love travelling and have lived overseas at different places for many years) joined us. We were handed off to a teenage tour guide (to-be), Elmert, who led us through the jungle barefooted. Then, two of his uncles joined us while we were hiking. Basically, we had 3 tour guides taking care of four tourists! That's quite a service.
After 30 minutes of hiking through the jungle, we reached the place where we would launch our inner-tubes. As they say, the water was indeed refreshing, not cold. We sat in the tube in pairs with M's feet rest on my tube. The river carried us gently down the river under a cave where there are stalagmites and stalactites formations. All cave-tubing people wore headlights which created a moving web of dancing light on the ceiling of the cave, adding an extra mysterious aura to the cave.
After cave-tubing, we were all hungry for lunch. Stopped at a restaurant called "Los Amigos" off the highway and had a nice lunch (roasted chicken, cole slaw, rice and beans). There was a parrot in a cage right alongside the restaurant that grabbed a lot of tourists' attention. She shouted out random English words like "hello" and "What's up!"
Then, we went to the Belize Zoo, where we saw some amazingly beautiful and interesting animals such as Jaguar, Toucan, Jaribu Stork (a big bird on the verge of extinction) and Black Howler Monkey (their howling could well be used in a horror film to mimic the sound of a gigantic monster approaching, yet they are not big).
On the way back to Belize city, we stopped at a prison store near Hattieville, a town named and founded afer Hurricane Hattie in 1961. All the items in the store are made by prisoners and the proceeds from selling these items will be used to subsidize prisoners' monthly stipends.
At a Belize downtown hotel, Mr. Rancho dropped off the couple who spent the day cave-tubing and going to the zoo with us as a group - we really enjoyed their company. We then picked up our tour operator, Denis and off we hit the road again for Corozal. To get to Corozal district, we had to drive up north through Belize District and Orange Walk District. Corozal is the northernmost city in Belize where we had left our car a few days ago. The 2.5 hour drive allowed us to have a glimpse into the northern part of Belize. We passed through a few small villages and towns; and they were all decorated in Xmas lights; even ramshackles were wrapped in glowing ornaments in shape of Santa Claus or Xmas tree. It's very green and lush all the way through. A couple of sugar plantations and refineries can be seen from the highway. In fact, sugar is the biggest industry in Belize; and 15% of EU's sugar is from Belize.
We picked up our car from Mr. P's house, and followed Dennis to his house at his invitation. His house is located on the outskirt of the small, quiet and peaceful city, Corozal, where we would be staying for the night before heading back to Merida. He has an impressively big plot of land on which he built his own house. Wherever I go, I tend to use China as a reference point. Belize is an interesting case. It appears to me that many people own a car and a house, yet the poverty (maybe crime also) is very mush visible, and in some cases, alarming. Then again, China is a huge. It would be hard to do a fair comparison. Denis has a beautiful wife and two little children. When we were there, they happened to be watching the movie "Cars." They were very hospitable. After chatting for a while, my stomach told me that it's time to leave.
Driving around the town for a while, we checked out the best hotel - as the road sign claims - in town: The hotel appears to be right on the waterfront, yet there was no windows facing the water; and the room we looked at was stuffy. So, we kept on driving and settled with a hotel called "Hotel Los Palmos" in the city.
Then, we went looking for a place to get some food. The choices are many and few: There are many restaurants, but the majority of them are Chinese restaurants. The one Mexican restaurant we went to was closed for the day. Now after travelling in Belize for a few days, I was still amazed by the number of Chinese here in Belize. Anyway, we went to one of the Chinese restaurants and picked up some food for ourselves and the night guard of the hotel to go.
The hotel room was clean enough, but the hot shower can only be called a luke-warm shower. We showered, ate and fell asleep on an interview about Gerald Ford, who just passed away, on CNN.
Belize Trip, Caye Caulker (Day 3, 12/27, Wednesday)
We woke up late in the morning without any plans, but we had talked about a couple of different options: exploring Ambergris Caye on a golf cart, or going over to Belize City and walk around there for a few hours. It turned out that all golf carts were rented out and they were not cheap to rent ($50 a day). We hesitated. It's hot. My arms were getting burned. After wallowing in our wishy-washiness for a while, we decided that we would go and check out Caye Caulker and maybe catch a water taxi to Belize City.
We got on the water taxi. Instead of getting another boat, the taxi operator squeezed every body in, the boat was more than full. Local and tourist passengers were all jammed in together. Most of the tourists are from the US judging from the conversations going around on the boat. One guy has moved to Caye Caulker from Montana about two years ago.
Caye Caulker is a small sleepy, laid back fishing town, now also a popular tourist destination. In fact, it didn't become a tourist spot until the late 1960s and early 1970s when some hippies found their way there. Before that, it's an island that specializes in coconut processing, fishing, lobster trapping and boat building. Even its name 'Caulker' was said to have originated from the word 'caulk' or 'cork' when fishermen and explorers would work on their boats here (corking their boats). Then again, another story goes that the name 'Caulker' is actually from the Spanish word 'hicago" referring to a kind of cocoplum trees that were abudant once on this island. At the small water taxi terminal, there was a sign that says "Welcome to Hicago," I almost pronounced it as 'Chicago!'.
We walked for a couple of blocks and ran into a store run by a Chinese guy. He owns a general store and also rents out bikes to tourists. We picked out two bikes for BZ$8 per bike for two hours. It's a great way to see this island on a bike. We randomly rode around on different roads and trails, and from one end to the other end. The island is small: about 4 miles long, and 0.5 mile at its widest point and it was split into two halves by 1961 Hurricane Hattie, which created a natural shallow area for snorkelling and swimming.
We had lunch - two big shrimp and lobster Burritos - at a Cabana-styled restaurant near the beach, with Reggae playing in the background and sea ripples glistening in sight. Then, we returned to the water taxi terminal only to find out that we missed the boat headed for Belize. No disappointment. We were on island time. No pressing agenda. We rented snorkels and fins at a local store where the owner was racking his brains trying to figure out why Ebay woudn't accept his credit card. Michael helped him and he gave his own special snorkel to Michael. That was a good deal.
We walked to the Split where there were people swimming and snorkelling. We joined them in the fun. I didn't see many big marine creatures, just little fish and little sting rays.
Compared to San Pedro, Caye Caulker is definitely more laid back: fewer golf carts trucking around, less dusty. Everything seems to be in a nonchalant mode which quelled some tourists' urge to make a loud statement of their presence.
We hopped on the last water taxi at 3:50pm heading back to San Pedro. The ride was quick and fuss-free, except my eyes were hurting from irritation caused by sea water that seeped through snorkels earlier.
While I was resting my eyes in bed, Michael went out and made arrangements for the next day: Cave Tubing and Belize Zoo, which turned out to be the highlight of our whole trip!
We got on the water taxi. Instead of getting another boat, the taxi operator squeezed every body in, the boat was more than full. Local and tourist passengers were all jammed in together. Most of the tourists are from the US judging from the conversations going around on the boat. One guy has moved to Caye Caulker from Montana about two years ago.
Caye Caulker is a small sleepy, laid back fishing town, now also a popular tourist destination. In fact, it didn't become a tourist spot until the late 1960s and early 1970s when some hippies found their way there. Before that, it's an island that specializes in coconut processing, fishing, lobster trapping and boat building. Even its name 'Caulker' was said to have originated from the word 'caulk' or 'cork' when fishermen and explorers would work on their boats here (corking their boats). Then again, another story goes that the name 'Caulker' is actually from the Spanish word 'hicago" referring to a kind of cocoplum trees that were abudant once on this island. At the small water taxi terminal, there was a sign that says "Welcome to Hicago," I almost pronounced it as 'Chicago!'.
We walked for a couple of blocks and ran into a store run by a Chinese guy. He owns a general store and also rents out bikes to tourists. We picked out two bikes for BZ$8 per bike for two hours. It's a great way to see this island on a bike. We randomly rode around on different roads and trails, and from one end to the other end. The island is small: about 4 miles long, and 0.5 mile at its widest point and it was split into two halves by 1961 Hurricane Hattie, which created a natural shallow area for snorkelling and swimming.
We had lunch - two big shrimp and lobster Burritos - at a Cabana-styled restaurant near the beach, with Reggae playing in the background and sea ripples glistening in sight. Then, we returned to the water taxi terminal only to find out that we missed the boat headed for Belize. No disappointment. We were on island time. No pressing agenda. We rented snorkels and fins at a local store where the owner was racking his brains trying to figure out why Ebay woudn't accept his credit card. Michael helped him and he gave his own special snorkel to Michael. That was a good deal.
We walked to the Split where there were people swimming and snorkelling. We joined them in the fun. I didn't see many big marine creatures, just little fish and little sting rays.
Compared to San Pedro, Caye Caulker is definitely more laid back: fewer golf carts trucking around, less dusty. Everything seems to be in a nonchalant mode which quelled some tourists' urge to make a loud statement of their presence.
We hopped on the last water taxi at 3:50pm heading back to San Pedro. The ride was quick and fuss-free, except my eyes were hurting from irritation caused by sea water that seeped through snorkels earlier.
While I was resting my eyes in bed, Michael went out and made arrangements for the next day: Cave Tubing and Belize Zoo, which turned out to be the highlight of our whole trip!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Belize Trip: Snorkelling and Exploring San Pedro (Day 2, 12/26 Tuesday)
We got up at 7am, went downstairs and had a simple breakfast (fruit salad, cereal, hardboiled eggs, toast, OJ and coffee) in front of the porch. Palm trees were swaying in cool breeze. The sand on the beach had been combed and raked in neat patterns. There were boats zooming to and fro in different directions on the water. We walked down the Woody's Wharf to the pier where a boat would pick us up for a snorkel tour. There were 7 people in our boat.
Our first stop was the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. We each paid $10 to the patrol ranger for parking the boat in the Reserve. Our guide, Albert, emphasized that we should follow him closely in the water. After putting on snorkels and fins, one by one, we jumped into the sea. The water was pleasantly warm and clear! Schools of fish swam next to snorkelers. I could almost feel their touch when they swam by me. The coral reefs were not as colorful as what I had seen in waters near Thailand (Co Phi Phi). Then again, we only saw a tiny part of long barrier reef that Belize is famous for. There are many brain corals (they literally look like a brain except that it's hard!) and fan-shaped purple-colored corals. I got a couple of scratches when swimming too closely to corals. My favorite part was gazing down at a deep valley - I felt as if I was skydiving except that I was floating and supported by cozy, clear and warm water. There are a couple of holes in the valley and a couple of snorkelers dipped into the hole to see what's in there. Michael was doing quick dips into the deeper level of the sea to see better - something I haven't learnt to do. I wish our guide had pointed out some interesting marine life down there.
Coming out of the water, we shivered. It was cold out on the boat compared to being in the water! The second stop was Shark Ray Alley. For some reason, we only stopped for about 5 minutes. We saw a huge sting ray with the body as big as a 8-person round table and a long tail, and we also saw a shark. The water there was murkier than Hol Chan area. But before we could explore more, we were called out to the boat and headed back to San Pedro on a bumpy ride. It was so bumpy that the boat was literally jumping up and down above the waves and splashing water into the boat. I nestled next to Michael trying to stay dry. It was a wet, bumpy and funny ride!
It's about noon when we got back to our hotel. The sun was beating down glaringly. I could feel the heat and humidity crawling all over my skin. We went searching for a lunch place. The dry sand and dirt on Barrier Reef Drive, the main street in town, got stirred up into the air by golf carts, main transport means on the island, we wanted to retreat back into our AC-controlled hotel room for a siesta so we settled for a restaurant nearby and had fish tacos and a burger there.
We woke up from siesta late in the afternoon. Feeling energized, we went for a long walk exploring San Pedro. We had dinner at Celi's Bar and Restaurant recommended by other tourists and Lonely Planet Guide. The grilled fish was exceptionally good. Then, we ran into a Taiwanese women and chatted for a long time and then knocked on Rebacca's Clinic and had a long time chat with the Chinese woman we met the day before (more on that in my entry about Chinese in Belize).
We strolled back along the beach to our hotel and ended our night on a mellow note without any plans confirmed for the next day.
Our first stop was the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. We each paid $10 to the patrol ranger for parking the boat in the Reserve. Our guide, Albert, emphasized that we should follow him closely in the water. After putting on snorkels and fins, one by one, we jumped into the sea. The water was pleasantly warm and clear! Schools of fish swam next to snorkelers. I could almost feel their touch when they swam by me. The coral reefs were not as colorful as what I had seen in waters near Thailand (Co Phi Phi). Then again, we only saw a tiny part of long barrier reef that Belize is famous for. There are many brain corals (they literally look like a brain except that it's hard!) and fan-shaped purple-colored corals. I got a couple of scratches when swimming too closely to corals. My favorite part was gazing down at a deep valley - I felt as if I was skydiving except that I was floating and supported by cozy, clear and warm water. There are a couple of holes in the valley and a couple of snorkelers dipped into the hole to see what's in there. Michael was doing quick dips into the deeper level of the sea to see better - something I haven't learnt to do. I wish our guide had pointed out some interesting marine life down there.Coming out of the water, we shivered. It was cold out on the boat compared to being in the water! The second stop was Shark Ray Alley. For some reason, we only stopped for about 5 minutes. We saw a huge sting ray with the body as big as a 8-person round table and a long tail, and we also saw a shark. The water there was murkier than Hol Chan area. But before we could explore more, we were called out to the boat and headed back to San Pedro on a bumpy ride. It was so bumpy that the boat was literally jumping up and down above the waves and splashing water into the boat. I nestled next to Michael trying to stay dry. It was a wet, bumpy and funny ride!
It's about noon when we got back to our hotel. The sun was beating down glaringly. I could feel the heat and humidity crawling all over my skin. We went searching for a lunch place. The dry sand and dirt on Barrier Reef Drive, the main street in town, got stirred up into the air by golf carts, main transport means on the island, we wanted to retreat back into our AC-controlled hotel room for a siesta so we settled for a restaurant nearby and had fish tacos and a burger there.
We woke up from siesta late in the afternoon. Feeling energized, we went for a long walk exploring San Pedro. We had dinner at Celi's Bar and Restaurant recommended by other tourists and Lonely Planet Guide. The grilled fish was exceptionally good. Then, we ran into a Taiwanese women and chatted for a long time and then knocked on Rebacca's Clinic and had a long time chat with the Chinese woman we met the day before (more on that in my entry about Chinese in Belize).
We strolled back along the beach to our hotel and ended our night on a mellow note without any plans confirmed for the next day.
Merida to San Pedro, Belize - A Seven-hour Journey (Day 1, 12/25, Monday)
We had two different alarm clocks set at 7am to make sure that we could get up the next day (12/25), and make it to Belize within reasonalble time frame (catching the last flight or ferry to San Pedro on Ambergris Cayes from Corozol in Belize). We got out of bed, not without any reluctance; packed two small backpacks and off we hit the road.
The streets were quiet on the morning after Xmas Eve; the air was cool and breezy. Soon, we were outside of Merida city limits following signs pointing to Chetumal, the biggest city closest to the Mexico-Belize border. It seems like a fairly streightforward route to Chetumal according to our 1998 edition Mexico road map: YUC HWY 261-> MEX HWY 184 -> 293 -> 307 (South > South East > South).
At the beginning, going through villages and towns along the route was a moving visual delight enjoyed in our car: old churches, local markets, pedi-cabs, stray dogs, people loitering in front of store fronts or peddling fruits or snacks on the roadside; except that the road signs are poorly marked and there are numerous topes (speed bumps). We knew we may have missed the 'real' expressway. After a while, our attention shifted to trying to find our way out of these villages; and our frustration grew. We passed a string of villages and towns with names sounding very otherworldly - Pustunich, Yotholin, Oxkutzcab and Tzucacab - just to name a few. Finally, with positive (and negative) help from locals and our own road-trip savvy, we managed to navigate out of the maze of confusing road signs and a nimiety of speed bumps after hitting a town called "Justicia Social (Social Justice)" - what a name for a town!
The rest of the driving was largely care-free. After passing Buenavista on MEX 307, a real expressway - wide and smooth - stretched out proudly into the horizon. In no time, we drove through the border town, Subteniente Lopez, 7? miles away from the M-B border on the Mexico side and arrived at the border at about 2:00pm. Passing the border was fairly easy, except one officer fussed about us not having a written authorization for driving M's parents' car. After making us aware what he could have done in this situation, he let us pass. Alas, We arrived in Belize!
National borders are such an arbitrary thing. The scenary didn't change much; it was a continuation of same trees and similar plants along side the road. The only differences are that signs were marked in English, Belize's official language and we started seeing more black people.
After 6.5 hours of driving, at 2:30, we finally reached Corozol in Belize, and fortunately, we were able to leave the car with Mr. Pamar, father of Pamela through whom we booked a room in Hotel Corona del Mar in San Pedro. With the good luck in the car-parking arrangement, we manged to catch a 14-seater airplane at 3:30pm to San Pedro.
The ride on the small airplane was thrilling. Being on a small airplane provided a vantage point for viewing the changing terrains and water colors down below. We could see shallow waters where barrier reef are streching along the coast line beyond our vision. Different shades of green and blue are the dominant colors on the natural pallette here. We landed in San Pedro after 15 minutes of soaring into and gliding through the sky.
Taxi cabs lined up for business; one driver peddled his service zealously. But we chose to walk to our hotel knowing it's a small town; in fact, the widest part is only about 1 mile. With sun slowly and gloriously setting, we walked along the ocean front side all the way to our hotel, passing many piers, hotels and restaurants all facing the gleaming Caribbean Sea. We also passed a stinky landfill which will soon become (or already is) a piece of precious ocean-front property.
We checked in Hotel Corona del Mar (Crown of the Sea) and unwound for a short while in our room with oceanfront view on the 2nd floor. Then, we headed out to explore the island. We had great conversations with people and I was intrigued by a phenomenon - there are so many Chinese living in Belize (!) - which I will explore in a seperate blog entry. The night ended with a delicious meal at Jambel Jerk, a Jamaican restaurant that played Bob Marley's MTV video clips non-stop.
The streets were quiet on the morning after Xmas Eve; the air was cool and breezy. Soon, we were outside of Merida city limits following signs pointing to Chetumal, the biggest city closest to the Mexico-Belize border. It seems like a fairly streightforward route to Chetumal according to our 1998 edition Mexico road map: YUC HWY 261-> MEX HWY 184 -> 293 -> 307 (South > South East > South).
At the beginning, going through villages and towns along the route was a moving visual delight enjoyed in our car: old churches, local markets, pedi-cabs, stray dogs, people loitering in front of store fronts or peddling fruits or snacks on the roadside; except that the road signs are poorly marked and there are numerous topes (speed bumps). We knew we may have missed the 'real' expressway. After a while, our attention shifted to trying to find our way out of these villages; and our frustration grew. We passed a string of villages and towns with names sounding very otherworldly - Pustunich, Yotholin, Oxkutzcab and Tzucacab - just to name a few. Finally, with positive (and negative) help from locals and our own road-trip savvy, we managed to navigate out of the maze of confusing road signs and a nimiety of speed bumps after hitting a town called "Justicia Social (Social Justice)" - what a name for a town!
The rest of the driving was largely care-free. After passing Buenavista on MEX 307, a real expressway - wide and smooth - stretched out proudly into the horizon. In no time, we drove through the border town, Subteniente Lopez, 7? miles away from the M-B border on the Mexico side and arrived at the border at about 2:00pm. Passing the border was fairly easy, except one officer fussed about us not having a written authorization for driving M's parents' car. After making us aware what he could have done in this situation, he let us pass. Alas, We arrived in Belize!
National borders are such an arbitrary thing. The scenary didn't change much; it was a continuation of same trees and similar plants along side the road. The only differences are that signs were marked in English, Belize's official language and we started seeing more black people.
After 6.5 hours of driving, at 2:30, we finally reached Corozol in Belize, and fortunately, we were able to leave the car with Mr. Pamar, father of Pamela through whom we booked a room in Hotel Corona del Mar in San Pedro. With the good luck in the car-parking arrangement, we manged to catch a 14-seater airplane at 3:30pm to San Pedro.
The ride on the small airplane was thrilling. Being on a small airplane provided a vantage point for viewing the changing terrains and water colors down below. We could see shallow waters where barrier reef are streching along the coast line beyond our vision. Different shades of green and blue are the dominant colors on the natural pallette here. We landed in San Pedro after 15 minutes of soaring into and gliding through the sky.
Taxi cabs lined up for business; one driver peddled his service zealously. But we chose to walk to our hotel knowing it's a small town; in fact, the widest part is only about 1 mile. With sun slowly and gloriously setting, we walked along the ocean front side all the way to our hotel, passing many piers, hotels and restaurants all facing the gleaming Caribbean Sea. We also passed a stinky landfill which will soon become (or already is) a piece of precious ocean-front property.
We checked in Hotel Corona del Mar (Crown of the Sea) and unwound for a short while in our room with oceanfront view on the 2nd floor. Then, we headed out to explore the island. We had great conversations with people and I was intrigued by a phenomenon - there are so many Chinese living in Belize (!) - which I will explore in a seperate blog entry. The night ended with a delicious meal at Jambel Jerk, a Jamaican restaurant that played Bob Marley's MTV video clips non-stop.
Friday, December 15, 2006
A Quick Glance at Belize - History and Its Peoples
Belize is located in Central America. On its northwest border, lies Mexico; on its southwest border, lies Guatemala; and on the eastern side, it boasts a long coast line facing warm blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, which hosts miles of barrier reef, coral reef and atolls (环礁).
It’s the only country in Central America where English is the first official language. The reason for that, of course, is historical. Unlike Mexico, Belize had been a British colony for a long time until the 1970s. Even now, they still recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their sovereign. Its current name - Belize - was only adopted in 1973. Before that, it was called British Honduras. How did the British end up there?
Similar to the rest of the American continent, before the Europeans ‘discovered’ this ‘new’ continent, there were Amerindians – in this area, the Maya – living here. The Maya civilization thrived for centuries, peaked in the 9th and 10th century, and suddenly suffered a mysterious decline around the 11th century. The first Europeans, the Spanish sailors, came to the shores of Belize in the early 16th century (1508). Their control over this area was crippled by repetitive attacks by the British, French and Dutch pirates, who started looting Spanish ships in this area in the 17th century. In particular, they raided Spanish ships for logwood, which was a high-profit commodity of the time, due to its ability to generate colors for dying wool. These different colonial factions fought over the rights to cut logwood. Later on, these wood cutters became known as“baymen,” who were mostly British nationals. In the late 18th century, they were able to negotiate themselves a sweet deal and push the Spanish rule away from that area, and eventually gained full control of the area after winning the Battle of St. George’s Caye in the late 18th century.
After logwood, mahogany wood became another hot commodity as a top choice for making luxurious furniture. To supply sufficient labor for cutting down mahogany tress, these white British settlers started bringing African slaves from Africa and other parts of Latin America such as Nicaragua. This practice, over time, also changed the demographic composition of Belize. When the British abolished slavery in 1833, these freed men stayed in Belize.
The 19th century saw Belize in the control of a couple of powerful British private companies. There were protests and riots against the racist British rule. One of the protests was launched by WWI veteran soldiers, who weren’t allowed to fight shoulder to shoulder with their fellow British solders in the trenches.
In the first half of the 20th century, Antonio Soberanis rose to be a leader of anti-colonial rule. In 1964, Belize achieved its self-governing status as a British colony. After a series of pro-independence movements, Belize finally achieved its independence in 1981.
The demographic mix of Belize is multiracial and multi-ethnic. The creoles used to be the majority of the population, now they account for about 25%. The Mestizos make up about 65% of the current population. The rest are the Maya, the Garifuna, the Mennonites and other ethnicities.
Trying to get a clear understanding of which ethnicity is which can be daunting at first. Here is my version of oversimplified interpretation:
It’s the only country in Central America where English is the first official language. The reason for that, of course, is historical. Unlike Mexico, Belize had been a British colony for a long time until the 1970s. Even now, they still recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their sovereign. Its current name - Belize - was only adopted in 1973. Before that, it was called British Honduras. How did the British end up there?
Similar to the rest of the American continent, before the Europeans ‘discovered’ this ‘new’ continent, there were Amerindians – in this area, the Maya – living here. The Maya civilization thrived for centuries, peaked in the 9th and 10th century, and suddenly suffered a mysterious decline around the 11th century. The first Europeans, the Spanish sailors, came to the shores of Belize in the early 16th century (1508). Their control over this area was crippled by repetitive attacks by the British, French and Dutch pirates, who started looting Spanish ships in this area in the 17th century. In particular, they raided Spanish ships for logwood, which was a high-profit commodity of the time, due to its ability to generate colors for dying wool. These different colonial factions fought over the rights to cut logwood. Later on, these wood cutters became known as“baymen,” who were mostly British nationals. In the late 18th century, they were able to negotiate themselves a sweet deal and push the Spanish rule away from that area, and eventually gained full control of the area after winning the Battle of St. George’s Caye in the late 18th century.
After logwood, mahogany wood became another hot commodity as a top choice for making luxurious furniture. To supply sufficient labor for cutting down mahogany tress, these white British settlers started bringing African slaves from Africa and other parts of Latin America such as Nicaragua. This practice, over time, also changed the demographic composition of Belize. When the British abolished slavery in 1833, these freed men stayed in Belize.
The 19th century saw Belize in the control of a couple of powerful British private companies. There were protests and riots against the racist British rule. One of the protests was launched by WWI veteran soldiers, who weren’t allowed to fight shoulder to shoulder with their fellow British solders in the trenches.
In the first half of the 20th century, Antonio Soberanis rose to be a leader of anti-colonial rule. In 1964, Belize achieved its self-governing status as a British colony. After a series of pro-independence movements, Belize finally achieved its independence in 1981.
The demographic mix of Belize is multiracial and multi-ethnic. The creoles used to be the majority of the population, now they account for about 25%. The Mestizos make up about 65% of the current population. The rest are the Maya, the Garifuna, the Mennonites and other ethnicities.
Trying to get a clear understanding of which ethnicity is which can be daunting at first. Here is my version of oversimplified interpretation:
- Creoles (Kryoles): descendants of Europeans and Africans (e.g. French/Spanish + African; sometimes they are called mulattoes)
- Mestizos: descendants of Spaniards and Amerindians (e.g. Spaniards + Mayan)
- Garifuna: descendants of Africans and Amerindians (e.g. Africans + Caribs/Arawaks)
- Mennonites: a Christian group (many of them are descendants of Germans and the Dutch) that came into being as a result of the Protestant Reformation in the 15th Century. Their beliefs are often characterized by emphasis on community, simplicity and Pacifism. They are also the best farm hands in the world. They move to wherever they can be allowed to have religious freedom and military exemptions. They are scattered in tightly-knit and predominantly rural communities in all four continents. Most of the Mennonites in Belize traveled all the way from Canada, and some migrated out of Mexico and other parts of the Americas.
OK, That's Belize's history in one page!
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