Amberris Caye, Belize

Belize's Playground


amazing
View from Cayo Espanto, one of the many near-shallow islanders where wealthy foreign investors install sophisticated resorts.
Red Chameleon
Speedboat sets sail from a San Pedro jetty full of passengers.
High tide
Sunbathers and kayakers revel in the idyllic Caribbean Sea off San Pedro.
amazing Cayo
A jetty on Cayo Espanto, an island resort off San Pedro.
Portofino
One of the many sophisticated resorts that fill the coastline of Ambergris Caye, mainly around San Pedro.
Patty?
Political banner questions a Belizean policy on the whereabouts of money earmarked for reparations for damage caused by Hurricane Keith.
Comfortable Sanpedense
San Pedro resident rests on the padded benches of one of the many golf carts that roam the city.
21, 2002
Mural sets a deadline for the recovery of a proud and strong Belize: 21, 2002.
absolute vacation
Two visitors to Ambergris Caye bathe in the warm water of the Caribbean Sea, this way from the barrier reef that surrounds the island and much of Belize.
A Network without a Password
A guest at the Portofino resort rests in a hammock between the main building and the beach next door.
PUP
Street demonstration in support of the PUP, the People's United Party, normal opponent of the red UDP party, the United Democratic Party.
Things Dread
Political painting in the home of residents of San Pedro encourages the Red Party to vote.
Shallow waters
Golden retriever chases fish along a pontoon terrace at the Cayo Espanto resort.
over the reef
Snorkeler admires the underwater life between the sand and the barrier reef off Ambergris Caye, the 2nd largest in the world.
San Pedro lights
Night falls over the main town of Ambergris Caye, a bathing retreat off the Belize mainland.

Madonna sang it as La Isla Bonita and reinforced the motto. Today, neither hurricanes nor political strife discourage VIP and wealthy vacationers from enjoying this tropical getaway.

Belize City quickly proves to be both unpleasant and threatening, even more so for those traveling with photographic equipment. Transformed into an outpost for drug trafficking in the Americas, Belize's largest city has become used to the frequent destruction caused by the various hurricanes that have already hit the country, and has surrendered to a culture of gangs and violence that drive most common visitors away. . Its semi-ruined and chaotic streets are crossed by sewers and smelly canals and patrolled by bands of Afro residents and superb Garifunas with impressive bearings, deep voices and almost always suspicious intentions. The most welcoming corner of the country was waiting for us and we didn't stay to find out more.

On the way to Ambergris Caye, depending on the depth of the sea, the water changes from green to blue again and again, and we pass through islets full of mangroves and pelicans. After half an hour, there is a white foam mark caused by the surf on the coralline and, a little later, the silhouette of Ambergris. As we get closer, the first front of wooden houses becomes clearer, right next to the beach, from where dozens of aging docks and jetties project.

Ambergris, (sometimes Am-ber-griss and other Amberjis) is the largest of Belize's cayes. It extends for about 40 km in length, in a kind of extension of the Mexican peninsula of Yucatan. The island is protected from the occasional fury of the sea by the second largest barrier reef in the world, which is also its main attraction.

But the reef alone does not work miracles and, when the rainy season arrives, – from June to November – its 4500 inhabitants know that they are at the mercy of nature's whims. The first truly destructive hurricane devastated Belize in 1931, at a time when they were not even baptized. The second was Hattie, in 1961, and the third arrived in 2001, with the nice name of Iris. The last one to do major damage was Richard, in October 2010.

Of course, as the main national tourist domain, the island has priority in reconstruction. Authorities cannot afford the luxury of the Americans and Europeans who invest here having losses and, for that, La Isla Bonita – as Madonna sang it – has to continue to seduce.

Most Ambergris residents live in San Pedro, on the southern tip of the island, where the barrier reef is just 800 meters offshore. It is an undeveloped city with a small airport where visitors and the richest natives land. Transportation is provided by golf carts. There are dozens of them circulating here and there, miniatures representing the size of the city and its humble spirit, the same unpretentious spirit that makes, during the day, many of the inhabitants walk barefoot and bare-chested. 

San Pedro is arranged around three main streets that were previously simply called Front street, Middle street and Back street and the authorities decided, in vain, to name them with real names: Barrier Reef Drive, Pescador dr. and Angel Coral dr. It is between these streets and the beginning of the airport runway that almost all services are concentrated, just a few meters from each other. In the two-story wooden houses of this central area, there are also the main shops, bars and restaurants, as well as the Baptist church.

It's impossible to get lost here. In addition to being small, the city extends on a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Caribbean Sea, to the east, and the San Pedro lagoon, to the west – this is indeed a labyrinth of small people. keys, shoals and islets where only the most experienced can navigate.

Any movement in the central area can be done on foot, but to reach the resorts on the outskirts of the city, you need either land or water vehicles. To the north, the route is interrupted at the end of Pescador drive, where there is a canal that is crossed by a hand-drawn ferry and, shortly thereafter, the roads disappear altogether.

With the end of the coconut and lobster industry, the resorts, bars and diving and excursion agencies have ensured the income of many Belizeans. Serving foreigners who enrich themselves visibly at the expense of the beauty of their homeland is not the life many of them dreamed of, but as long as things don't change, it's much better than nothing. In order for the country's economic situation to improve, the government is committed to education and patriotic training for its children. Belize is a country almost as young as some of them and therefore national awareness is something that has to be taught and instilled.

A typical day of classes begins with a lecture by the institution's director. The raising of the flag ensues as a huge choir of children in blue and white uniforms sings the anthem. After this ritual, students head to the dark and cramped classrooms.

The San Pedro school is a perfect observatory of the ethnic diversity that culturally enriches this Caribbean corner which, despite being poor, has attracted and continues to seduce people from all over the world. Along with descendants of distant Baymen, African slaves and children of both, they study mestizo children of Mexican origin, others, Mayans and Chinese, and young descendants of Americans, Canadians and Europeans who brought their lives there.

While discovering San Pedro, we also witness the last moments of a pre-season electoral campaign. The city is still adorned with posters and banners with questions to the ruling PUP – Peoples United Party: “Why was the cemetery land sold? or “Where did the money provided by the international community to recover from the damage of the hurricanes go?”.

On another day, a small crowd of PUP militants and sympathizers came to a halt waving flags, dancing and chanting slogans and chants in support of the party and its candidate. On foot and in golf carts, the main arteries were covered on a circuit that would end with the official submission of the application. Then, it was the turn of the UDP – United Democratic Party, whose much more modest procession, joined, without any problem, the people of the PUP, near the entrance to the Municipal Assembly.

There seems to be a general fair game that guarantees continued fraternization and political stability. The fact that the island, like the rest of the country, does not have valuable raw materials, or investment power, contributes to the ambition to be restrained and the Machiavellian dictators who ruin so many other nations do not emerge. Around here, only one thing is more respected and valued than democracy: the reef barrier. Any conversation leads to the favorite topic of the inhabitants of Ambergris. As with a young employee we met at a diving agency: – “The barrier reef is all we have, friends. We have to protect her like a child!” When they meet, Sanpedrenses tirelessly exchange their latest diving experiences in the different areas of the barrier. Every night, around the national beer – Belikin – or during the endless barbecues in the bars of Front Street, they discuss, in detail, the state of a certain coral stock or where they detected the biggest shoals of barracudas or basking sharks that day. . At one point, we heard two of them proudly report that an American yacht had been fined for running aground and destroying a few meters of reef.

Foreigners can even take more and more portions of the island from them, but at the barrier…not that. Nobody touches the barrier. 

south of Belize

The Strange Life in the Black Caribbean Sun

On the way to Guatemala, we see how the proscribed existence of the Garifuna people, descendants of African slaves and Arawak Indians, contrasts with that of several much more airy bathing areas.

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Dreadlocked Costa Rica

Traveling through Central America, we explore a Costa Rican coastline as much as the Caribbean. In Cahuita, Pura Vida is inspired by an eccentric faith in Jah and a maddening devotion to cannabis.
Corn Islands - Islas del Maíz , Nicaragua

pure caribbean

Perfect tropical settings and genuine local life are the only luxuries available in the so-called Corn Islands or Corn Islands, an archipelago lost in the Central American confines of the Caribbean Sea.
four days in Antigua, Guatemala

Hispanic Guatemala, the Antigua Fashion

In 1743, several earthquakes razed one of the most charming pioneer colonial cities in the Americas. Antigua has regenerated but preserves the religiosity and drama of its epic-tragic past.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Skipper of one of the bangkas at Raymen Beach Resort during a break from sailing
Beach
Islands Guimaras  e  Ave Maria, Philippines

Towards Ave Maria Island, in a Philippines full of Grace

Discovering the Western Visayas archipelago, we set aside a day to travel from Iloilo along the northwest coast of Guimaras. The beach tour along one of the Philippines’ countless pristine coastlines ends on the stunning Ave Maria Island.
Duo of giraffes crossing paths above the savannah, with the Libombo Mountains in the background
safari
KaMsholo Bush Safaris, eSwatini

Among the KaMsholo Giraffes and Co.

Located east of the Libombo mountain range, the natural border between eSwatini, Mozambique and South Africa, KaMsholo has 700 hectares of savannah dotted with acacia trees and a lake, habitats for a prolific fauna. Among other explorations and excursions, we interacted with the largest of species there.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Bay Watch cabin, Miami beach, beach, Florida, United States,
Architecture & Design
Miami beach, USA

The Beach of All Vanities

Few coasts concentrate, at the same time, so much heat and displays of fame, wealth and glory. Located in the extreme southeast of the USA, Miami Beach is accessible via six bridges that connect it to the rest of Florida. It is meager for the number of souls who desire it.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Aventura
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
cowboys oceania, rodeo, el caballo, perth, australia
Ceremonies and Festivities
Perth, Australia

The Oceania Cowboys

Texas is on the other side of the world, but there is no shortage of cowboys in the country of koalas and kangaroos. Outback rodeos recreate the original version and 8 seconds lasts no less in the Australian Western.
Young Buddhist monks on a jeep at a monastery in Mandalay
Cities

Mandalay ..., Myanmar

Mandalay: the Burmese Cultural Heartland

Built in 1857 by a king determined to rule from his own capital, Mandalay succumbed to bombs dropped by the Japanese during World War II. After independence from Britain, the young city regained its place at the foot of the hill of the same name and in the soul of the Brahmans.
Lunch time
Margilan, Uzbekistan

An Uzbekistan's Breadwinner

In one of the many bakeries in Margilan, worn out by the intense heat of the tandyr oven, the baker Maruf'Jon works half-baked like the distinctive traditional breads sold throughout Uzbekistan
Islamic silhouettes
Culture

Istanbul, Turkey

Where East meets West, Turkey Seeks its Way

An emblematic and grandiose metropolis, Istanbul lives at a crossroads. As Turkey in general, divided between secularism and Islam, tradition and modernity, it still doesn't know which way to go

Swimming, Western Australia, Aussie Style, Sun rising in the eyes
Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
Creel, Chihuahua, Carlos Venzor, collector, museum
Traveling
Chihuahua a Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

On Creel's Way

With Chihuahua behind, we point to the southwest and to even higher lands in the north of Mexico. Next to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, we visited a Mennonite elder. Around Creel, we lived for the first time with the Rarámuri indigenous community of the Serra de Tarahumara.
Drums and Tattoos
Ethnic
Tahiti, French Polynesia

Tahiti Beyond the Cliché

Neighbors Bora Bora and Maupiti have superior scenery but Tahiti has long been known as paradise and there is more life on the largest and most populous island of French Polynesia, its ancient cultural heart.
View of Fa Island, Tonga, Last Polynesian Monarchy
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Exotic Signs of Life

Heroes Acre Monument, Zimbabwe
History
Harare, Zimbabwewe

The Last Rales of Surreal Mugabué

In 2015, Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe said the 91-year-old president would rule until the age of 100 in a special wheelchair. Shortly thereafter, it began to insinuate itself into his succession. But in recent days, the generals have finally precipitated the removal of Robert Mugabe, who has replaced him with former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Passage, Tanna, Vanuatu to the West, Meet the Natives
Islands
Tanna, Vanuatu

From where Vanuatu Conquered the Western World

The TV show “Meet the Native” took Tanna's tribal representatives to visit Britain and the USA Visiting their island, we realized why nothing excited them more than returning home.
Masked couple for the Kitacon convention.
Winter White
Kemi, Finland

An Unconventional Finland

The authorities themselves describe Kemi as “a small, slightly crazy town in northern Finland”. When you visit, you find yourself in a Lapland that is not in keeping with the traditional ways of the region.
Baie d'Oro, Île des Pins, New Caledonia
Literature
Île-des-Pins, New Caledonia

The Island that Leaned against Paradise

In 1964, Katsura Morimura delighted the Japan with a turquoise novel set in Ouvéa. But the neighboring Île-des-Pins has taken over the title "The Nearest Island to Paradise" and thrills its visitors.
VIP lights
Nature
Moyo Island, Indonesia

Moyo: An Indonesian Island Just for a Few

Few people know or have had the privilege of exploring the Moyo nature reserve. One of them was Princess Diana who, in 1993, took refuge there from the media oppression that would later victimize her.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Natural Parks
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.
Christmas in the Caribbean, nativity scene in Bridgetown
UNESCO World Heritage
Bridgetown, Barbados e Granada

A Caribbean Christmas

Traveling, from top to bottom, across the Lesser Antilles, the Christmas period catches us in Barbados and Grenada. With families across the ocean, we adjusted to the heat and beach festivities of the Caribbean.
View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Characters
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

At age 30, the Scottish writer began looking for a place to save him from his cursed body. In Upolu and the Samoans, he found a welcoming refuge to which he gave his heart and soul.
Magnificent Atlantic Days
Beaches
Morro de São Paulo, Brazil

A Divine Seaside of Bahia

Three decades ago, it was just a remote and humble fishing village. Until some post-hippie communities revealed the Morro's retreat to the world and promoted it to a kind of bathing sanctuary.
Fort São Filipe, Cidade Velha, Santiago Island, Cape Verde
Religion
Cidade Velha, Cape Verde

Cidade Velha: the Ancient of the Tropico-Colonial Cities

It was the first settlement founded by Europeans below the Tropic of Cancer. In crucial times for Portuguese expansion to Africa and South America and for the slave trade that accompanied it, Cidade Velha became a poignant but unavoidable legacy of Cape Verdean origins.

Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Kente Festival Agotime, Ghana, gold
Society
Kumasi to Kpetoe, Ghana

A Celebration-Trip of the Ghanian Fashion

After some time in the great Ghanaian capital ashanti we crossed the country to the border with Togo. The reasons for this long journey were the kente, a fabric so revered in Ghana that several tribal chiefs dedicate a sumptuous festival to it every year.
Coin return
Daily life
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
Cape cross seal colony, cape cross seals, Namibia
Wildlife
Cape Cross, Namíbia

The Most Turbulent of the African Colonies

Diogo Cão landed in this cape of Africa in 1486, installed a pattern and turned around. The immediate coastline to the north and south was German, South African, and finally Namibian. Indifferent to successive transfers of nationality, one of the largest seal colonies in the world has maintained its hold there and animates it with deafening marine barks and endless tantrums.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.