Belize was where I spent the least amount of time, only 5 days, and although it is associated with white sand beaches and clear water, which it certainly does have a lot of, there is much more to it, and I wish I would have had an additional 5 days there if I am honest!
I traveled from Flores to Belize City by bus, and had the afternoon in the city before heading to the cayes. Belize City, though not the capital, has lovely museums and is located right on the water, with easy access to the cayes by ferry.
I went to the Museum of Belize, which had an exposition on the history of slavery on the island, and the Museum of Belizean Art, housed in the old Government House. It had an absolutely amazing collection of work, featuring many women artists, which you all know is something I look for! I also saw the Cathedral of St. John and the High Court of Belize.
The next day I headed to Caye Caulker, which is about an hour ferry ride. It is one of most popular cayes, if not the most popular, and it is small enough to be walkable, as the northern half is uninhabited. The water is shallow and lovely for swimming, and the other main activity is to go either snorkeling or scuba diving, as Belize is home to the second largest coral reef after Australia (the more you know!).
I’m no scuba diver, but I did spend 3 hours snorkeling, as well as seeing some sharks (the guide swam with them, I stayed in the boat, thanks), rays, and even a manatee! Love.
I also went to San Pedro, the other popular island, for a day. It is known as the party island, and absolutely lived up to its reputation. Most people move around by golf cart, so with one of those rented, I went to the most popular beach, Secret Beach, which was really a handful of restaurants that had set up tables, etc. in the water along with bunches of beach chairs and umbrellas.
All in all, it was nice to have a relaxing few days before heading back to see more ruins. Did I mention the temps were in the 90s (40 in Celsius) every single day? I just accepted being 100% covered in sweat, unfortunately.
Before heading back to Flores for my flight back to Guatemala City, I stopped in Benque Viejo del Carmen, right on the Belizean/Guatemalan border, to go to the Xunantunich ruins, much smaller than Tikal but just as lovely, with the additional bonus of being able to see both Belize and Guatemala from the tops of the pyramid-structures.
There were so many other places I would have loved to see, including more ruins such as Altun Ha, as well as cities with Garifuna culture, such as Dangriga, which is also close to Tobacco Caye, yet another place I wanted to go! For the future, as always.
