Let’s get one thing straight right from the start, Belize is not Mexico. While many of their enticing attributes draw similar parallels there are yet big differences. Yes the waters in both countries are a beautiful turquoise color and can be as clear as the day is long, and the beaches are comprised of a lovely, white, soft sand but the amount of development, at least in the area where we were at, is years behind the level of development, and commercialization, of Mexico.
The first quick lesson I learned on our adventure was the possible inability to procure in Belize what we are so used to being able to get in the US, and in Mexico. So here’s what happened; on the way to the airport my husband wanted to stop and buy a carton of cigarettes at the convenience store but because I was worried about getting to the airport in enough time I hastened him from stopping. “You can just buy some when we get there” was what I said, but boy was I wrong and I got an earful about the deliverance of information with the authority of knowledge versus speculation when we discovered that I was very incorrect with that statement. That was rough, but a good lesson about speaking upon a subject with consciousness. Now, I think the lecture I got had a certain amount to do with the fact that getting to Belize, and the 2 hours standing in line to process at the airport were incredible stressors for him. Word from the wise… do not fly into Belize on a Saturday; the airport is very small and apparently Saturday is the busiest day for arrivals and departures so the wait time is astronomical. Fortunately, Nate was able to get some cigarettes, not his preferred type, but he got some nonetheless. This was a common theme throughout the places we went in Belize. There aren’t clothing shops for beachwear if you forgot a cover-up, the grocery stores were much smaller and maybe a little more primitive than we are typically used to, intermingling the food aisles with automotive products and the distinctive phosphorus smell of fertilizer. There are absolutely no chain fast food restaurants anywhere in Belize. My advice is, if you need it in Belize, you’d better bring it with you.
So why Belize then? Well let me show you.
From the landscape to the food, the offerings of Belize will inspire survival and adventure. Yes, there are punctuations of luxury, such as the “Castle House” AirBnB that we stayed at, but much of Belize is deeply rich in colour and flavor and texture, not common convenience. For us, it was a different experience than the typical, drinking-all-day-on-the-beach vacation but it totally piqued our senses of awareness and gratitude.