Visitors Guide to Belize City
The first thing you want to do is forget everything you've heard about Belize City. It's really not what many of the guidebooks make it seem, and for the open-minded traveler who's looking for a genuinely fascinating city experience, Belize City delivers.
The first thing you want to do is forget everything you've heard about Belize City. It's really not what many of the guidebooks make it seem, and for the open-minded traveler who's looking for a genuinely fascinating city experience, Belize City delivers.
With the international airport just
about 10 miles outside the city in Ladyville, chances are this will be your first
taste of Belize. Likelier still is that it will be an assault on your senses
initially, at least until you get used to the frenetic pace and the congestion
of cars and people that seem to constantly occupy every inch of the place. But
Belize City is a storybook of culture and history that definitely can't be
appreciated by its cover.
Thought to be built on a foundation
of rum bottles, logwood chips and loose coral sitting barely inches above sea
level, Belize City gives up ground to the encroaching Caribbean every year.
Visited by more than its fair share of natural disasters, one has to admire the
persistence with which Belizeans maintain this hub as their commercial and
social center, established as such in the early 1700's by the buccaneer Baymen of
St. George's Caye.
With a population of 70,000, it's
now home to over a quarter of all Belizeans who themselves have a love hate
relationship with their erstwhile capital city. Since the hurricane in 1961 the
government moved further inland to Belmopan hoping the people would follow, but
they didn't. Instead they chose to stay, and though they complain about it
constantly they somehow crave its bustle and pace, not to mention the
opportunity for commerce and socializing presented by such a large
concentration of people.
Mestizo and Maya are here in
relatively small number along with the Garifuna who also make up only a small
minority. The dominant cultural lean is toward the mixed descendants of the
European buccaneers and their African slaves who fall into the Creole classification,
while prominent along the street side shops and restaurants are communities of
Chinese, East Indians and recent immigrants from other Central and South
American countries.
The Swing Bridge after Hurricane Hattie
The city is generally divided into
north and south by a swing bridge that sits at the mouth of Haulover Creek
where the Belize River meets the Caribbean. The old bridge is the only
functional manually operated swing bridge left in the world and turns open
twice a day to allow high mast boats upriver or out to sea. The evening opening
at 5:30 pm is a sight to behold as it causes intense traffic and people jams on
either side of the bridge, erupting an assortment of minor crises that are
dealt with and accepted as part of the city's daily routine.
The north side's Marine Terminal is
a relatively large building where you can catch boats bound for the northern
cayes. The same building also houses the Marine and Coastal Zone Museums that
offer displays and exhibits of the reef and the cayes along with descriptions
of the eco systems that support them.
If you stop in Belize City, there are many different foods that every visitor should try:
- Rice
and beans, chicken and salad: A main meal in the Kriol culture is
coconut white rice and red kidney beans cooked together and served with
stewed chicken, chunky potato salad and strips of fried ripe plantains. To
sound like a local when you order it, say rice and beans, chicken and salad
like it’s one word.
- Fry
Jacks: A breakfast favorite. At local markets, fry jacks are
served alongside refried beans and stewed chicken. Warning: you can never
eat just one!
- Cow
Foot Soup: If you can get past the name, the hoofs of a cow are
the main ingredient; this deliciously hearty soup is a lunch specialty but
locals also enjoy as a late night meal.
- Meat
pies: The verdict is still out on which of the three Belize City
connoisseurs make the best pie, but everyone agrees meat pies should be
eaten hot.
- Cashew: The fruit is stewed with sugar for a delicious sweet treat and used as the main ingredient of a sweet wine. But most deliciously, freshly prepared cashew nuts make the stuff in the can pale in comparison.
Additional sights to be taken in
here include the Fort George Lighthouse and the Baron Bliss Memorial. The
latter is a tomb and memorial to Baron Victor Bliss who visited Belizean waters
and was so impressed with the fishing and the hospitality he was afforded, he
left a trust fund for the Belizean people that amounted to nearly two million
dollars. Since 1926 that fund has helped build some of the city's health
clinics, libraries and much of its social infrastructure. A national holiday on
March 9th commemorates the Baron's death and honors his memory with a yacht
regatta.
Photo by Tony Rath
Also on the north side next to the old U.S. Embassy compound is Belize's newest, and arguably its most
compelling attraction, the Museum of Belize. Built in 1857, what was formerly
Her Majesty's prison is now an immaculately restored building that will journey
you through 362 years of Belizean history and over 3000 years of the Maya
legacy. From the people, to the landscape, to the physical city, the stories
are covered in pictures, words, and brilliantly delivered displays. The
building's second story is an archeological treasury of artifacts and
explanations that leaves you with a real sense of the extent and impact of the
Maya civilization. A visit to this extraordinary place will give you a fuller
appreciation of the citizens, the city and the country that surrounds it.
There are many other historically
significant sites around the city including St. John's Anglican Cathedral and
Government House, both testaments to the British occupation. The former, built
by slaves in 1812, is the oldest known cathedral in Central America, while the
latter is now a museum that once served as the official residence of the
appointed governor of Belize. Steeped in colonial history, the museum features
exhibits that chronicle the glory days of British Honduras, and its expansive
manicured grounds recall the elaborate receptions that were hosted here not so
very long ago.
Culturally and historically, Belize
City could make a case for being the birthplace of modern Belize. A small but
somehow sprawling metropolis, it seems in the midst of an identity crisis
that's been around as long as the country itself. Just 21 years since
independence, it is in many ways a microcosm for the country as a whole, and
its self-acknowledged paradox of culture and custom make it a remarkable place
to experience. One of the most appealing things about this frequently
misunderstood city is that it doesn't pretend. If you're up for a real
understanding of how Belize came to be everything that it is, and everything
that it isn't, there isn't a better place to start than Belize City.
For more information see our services below:
· International Business Companies (IBCs)
· U.S. Dollar Accounts
· Asset Protection
· Bahamas, Panama, Seychelles & other Foreign IBCs
· Trust and Trustee Services
· Belize and Panama Private Foundations
· Local Company (Chapter 250)
· Belize Dollar Accounts
· Mail Forwarding and Virtual Office Services
· Work Permit and Residency Services
· Nationality and Passport Services
· Qualified Retired Persons Program (QRP)
· Licensed Escrow Services
· Purchase Agreements
· Owner Financing Agreements
· Land Title Investigation
· Transfer of Title
Email: gomezisl@btl.net
I notice that most pictures on you ad show the photographer's credits. Kindly include Noel Escalante for the "Flag Monument" and the "Mestizo Girls". Thanks,
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