We have spent the last ten days in Belize - a small country of little over a quarter of a million people. (If you collected stamps as a kid then Belize is what used to be British Honduras.) Belizeans are a diverse mix of the descendants of English eighteenth century setters and loggers, African slaves and Mayan people. A majority speak English - with a Caribbean lilt. And it is very laid-back.
We visited the historical sites in Belize City where most of the buildings are made of wood and then spent three days at a village in the north west called Crooked Tree, surrounded by lakes and a nature reserve. We canoed across the lake and walked the system of elevated wooden boardwalks through the tropical forest, a project that was funded by the UK aid budget. A marvellous array of wetland birds.
Belize has a series of offshore islands or cayes and a long reef. We stayed on sleepy Caye Caulker where we swam, snorkelled and watched the colourful celebrations for the 24th anniversary of Independence Day.
We are now in San Ignacio in the west of Belize up in the hills near the border with Guatemala. Today got off to an exciting start with an earth tremor that shook the bed and rattled the walls!
