What do Australia and Belize have in common? Not much except for having the two of the largest reef systems in the world. And that’s why this week managers of both reef systems are teaming up in a 3 day workshop to share ideas and devise best practices. Dr. Paul Marshall, from Australia explained common challenges both reef systems face.



Dr. Paul Marshall - Change Program Manager, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

"Even though Australia and Belize are so far apart - our reefs share many of the same challenges. In Australia one of our biggest issues is pollution from the land, mostly fertilizers that are coming off farms and this actually can really undermine the ability of coral reefs to deal with other pressures like climate change. You have big challenges from coral bleaching which we also have. Coral reefs are much more susceptible to Coral bleaching if they are under stress from pollution. So understanding that there are linkages is very crucial because it helps us to identify things we can do as people who live along the coast and people who care about reefs. It's such a fascinating and important challenge for people to grapple with the vulnerability of these systems that seem so large and so permanent but they're not. Coral reefs are built by living organisms and they are very fragile and very vulnerable."

Hon. Lisel Alamilla

"What I am particularly interested is really learning from Australia about what policies they have put in place to ensure the integrity of their reef. They have been at it much longer than us in regards to development and having had some conversations with persons who have leadership role in managing the Australian Barrier Reef, I think there is a lot to be learned from them. It's time for us to improve at the policy level and the management of our barrier reef."
 
One policy they are looking at closely is called biodiversity offsets. That’s an idea something like carbon credits, to allow developers and regulators to design projects that deliver social and economic benefits while ensuring no overall loss of biodiversity. Marshall explained.

Dr. Paul Marshall

"Bio-diversity enables you to compensate through activities so that you have no net loss bio-diversity. So we're moving to a new world where loosing bio-diversity is not acceptable in any way. Bio-diversity offsets mechanisms for people who benefit from nature or who are damaging nature to offset that damage with a net result of no loss of bio diversity. All around the world people are just exploring this idea and nowhere is it fully applied yet in a marine setting. So the relationship between Belize and Australia is enabling us to explore this concept forming environments."

The value of reef and mangrove-related fisheries, tourism and shoreline protection services to Belize is estimated to be US$395-$559 million per year.

nd speaking of fisheries, we also asked the minister about that blacklisting put on Belize and 7 other countries by the European union. As we reported last night, Belize got on the list for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We stress this has nothing to do with what happens on Belizean waters, but relates to high seas fishing from the international vessels that fly the Belizean flag, which they have purchased from IMMARBE.

The problem is that the blacklisting could be followed by trade sanctions first from the European Union and then possibly from other trading partners. We asked the minister about this very grim prospect – and what can be done to prevent a major disaster.

Jules Vasquez

"This dialogue has been going on for two years and apparently we just can't drag our feet anymore, we've been stalling them and stalling them. What will happen?"

Hon. Lisel Alamilla

"Well Jules we have a draft "Aquatic Living Act" which will address a lot of the issues in regards to the high seas and managing the fleets in high sea. I think cabinet will also need to make a decision how we will proceed to the high seas and whether it is something that we want to continue to participate in and because it is very costly to monitor these fleets. If we decide to continue with this then there needs to come with a major investment."

Jules Vasquez

"Doesn't that choice have to be made from IMMARBE and keeping Belize export industry going?"

Hon. Lisel Alamilla

"I think eventually it will come to that but we do have a contract with IMMARBE and that contract has to be reviewed very closely and balance that with the interest of Belize. As yet I am not aware that any bands are placed on us for trading with the EU but indeed that could be something that is imposed on us at a later date if we don't act swiftly."

Jules Vasquez

"So some action is necessary."

Hon. Lisel Alamilla

"Yes and we are working on it."

Prime Minister Dean Barrow went on record in 2011 to say that, quote, "we are prepared, and have been prepared for a while, to give up that ship's registry…in order to ensure the continued ability to export our aqua-culture products to Europe.”

Source

Today we learned that a major Mayan Monument had been bulldozed for roadfill aggregate. 7news went to Orange Walk District, near the northern district boundary to find out that Noh Mul – or at least a large part of it – is no more. It’s a stunning development – and Jules Vasquez reports.

Jules Vasquez reporting

Noh Mul, it’s name means the Big Hill but it’s not so big any more, this once towering and stout ceremonial center in San Jose/San Pablo has been whittled down to a narrow core by excavators and bulldozers. Whodunnit? Contractors who’re using the rich gravel and limestone content to fill roads in nearby Douglas Village.

Now, this was the main temple, the ceremonial center for Noh Mul, at about 20 metres among the tallest buildings in Northern Belize - and it’s not centuries old, it’s millennial, thousands of years old and the thought that it’s rich limestone bricks cut with stone tools in the BC era, the thought that this could be used for road fill is a manifest outrage and a particularly painful one for these Archeologists who were called out to the area today. We were there when they first arrived and got their initial emotional reaction:

Dr. Allan Moore - Archaeologist, Institute of Archaeology
"This is one of the largest buildings in Norther Belize. I am appalled! I was hoping that when I was driving up from the main San Juan road that it would not be this one but when I got closer I couldn't believe it when I saw all the trucks. This is an incredible destruction."

Dr. John Morris - Archaeologist, Institute of Archaeology
"This is one of the worst that I have seen in my entire 25 years of Archaeology in Belize. We can't salvaged what has happened out here - it is an incredible display of ignorance. I am appalled and don't know what to say at this particular moment."

And so were we when we first arrived before the NICH team and this man who claims some control over the area - which is private property - came to us brandishing a machete and shouting threats at us. He arrived with the dumptrucks to haul more material - but after they saw us they retreated. But yesterday, they were there, CTV-3 captured this footage of the same excavator at work and trucks hauling away aggregate and this truck, the same one we say the machete man using today drove them out of the area. And while they had to retreat, the pillage continued unfettered. That didn’t happen today because the authorities were there but it had been happening for some time.
 

Jules Vasquez
"They chose this structure because it is such a good resource of gravel for the road fill?"

Dr. Allan Moore
"I would imagine that the structure - the mound would give them that sort of mixture of that rubble and that type of material they are looking for. I know that the Ministry of Works always complains that it makes road fill."

It makes good road fill and that is what it is being used for reportedly in nearby Douglas Village and incredible inversion of value, that what the Maya built with stone tools and manual labour ages ago is being demolished with heavy equipment, because these contractors are too lazy to find a proper quarry.

Dr. John Morris
"Whenever you have these large looking mounds out here - they are clearly going to be man made it is not going to be natural. This is Noh Mul it is one of the largest site in Belize. It is incredible that someone would actually have the gall to destroy this building out here. There is no way that one can say that they did not know. Even for you guys as lay people can look and you'll see the building. Regardless of whether or not they were aware of any excavation, I think that it is very clear to me that whomever is responsible for this will have to face the consequences of it. Because there is absolutely no way that they would not know that these are Maya Mounds."

Now to be fair, there are about 2000 sites in Belize and tens of thousands of mounds all across the country and most of them look like this completely overgrown that look like abrupt hills or elevations but really, the Maya built them all and they are everywhere.

Jules Vasquez
"Now suppose someone would flip the criticism and say 'Man you all are Archaeology - you all know this is here, then you all should have protected it, cordon it off or done something with it so that ignorant people would not have their way with it.'"

Dr. Allan Moore
"I like your approach and I would say the same. Belize is 8,867 square miles of jungle. We are only around 16 personnel in the department. We can't be in the Chiquibul and at the same time being at La Milpa. We applaud whoever can help us. It is our heritage and we all have to chip in and when things like this happen - it affects all of us."

Indeed, it impoverishes all of Belize’s patrimony particularly for this site, one of the four major Mayan sites in all of northern Belize from the pre-classic era.

We found monochrome pottery shards typical of the pre-classic area all over the place, many reduced to rubble, and indeed we could have even played amateur archaeologist and who knows what they got out of this hole where someone tunneled in.

Dr. Allan Moore
"Well obviously Jules this was around maybe 250 B.C and it would have been part of the ceremonial precinct, this would have been probably a public building or a building where the Nobles or the High Priest would have occupied. This building would have been probably the focal point. These mounds you are seeing around here and another group over there - they might have had connectivity between ceremonial administrative religious function here. This was sort of the epicenter of this settlement."

Dr. John Morris
"Like a huge palace or building or a huge temple it would have had many rooms in there, multi-layered rooms so you have rooms for people living and you would also had several tombs in there of the people who lived in this area here."
 

The name we saw on the heavy equipment is D-Mar Construction - owned by Denny Grijalva, an immigrant businessman-pastor from El Salvador turned ruling United Democratic Party operative and aspiring politician for the Orange Walk Central electoral constituency. Grijalva said he knew nothing about the project and referred us to his foreman who never answered at least a dozen calls we made to him. Then Grijalva said he would be there in twenty minutes, we waited forty and left - we had been stood up.

The Archaeologists from NICH went back and brought police officers to make sure work stopped - police photographed it like any crime scene dwarfed by the scale of the monument.
 

Dr. Allan Moore
"We usually bring the police with us they help us to put a stop order to the work that's been carried out here by the bulldozer. If there were anyone out here when the police came we would have probably taken them to the Police station for questioning because they have no business doing this out here. The primary legal aspect of this case here is going to rest on the destruction of an ancient Maya Monument/Building."

Jules Vasquez
"Just for the avoidance of doubt - all work here must cease and desist immediately?"

Dr. Allan Moore
"Yes I think we will have to get a word with whoever is in charge and tell them to quit now and all operations would have to stop."

But, really, it’s too late, the archaeologists say it’s been dug so deep in the middle in that when the rain comes, it could well collapse. So, once a monument to antiquity now a monument to ignorance and expediency.

Dr. Allan Moore
"It's a monument of ignorance and unfortunately that's the way it is. We always try to look at the positive side. Now we will probably have to look at this and say that it is a good example of what not to do."

Director of the Institute of Archeology Dr. Jaime Awe told us today that what has happened is “intolerable.” He says they will lay charges against the company D-Mar’s and the landowner because the machinery was on site and the land owner should have not given permission for the mining to have proceeded. We’ll keep following that part of the story.

To give a broader sense of context – the site known as Noh Mul or “Big Hill” is scattered over a wide area about 12 square miles – and is estimated to have been home to 40,000 people between 500 and 250 BC. There are about 81 separate buildings – all on private property. But the one that has been destroyed is the namesake, the Big Hill - as it was the ceremonial center and main structure.

Interestingly, Grijlava told us that when his foreman got there, he would apologize on behalf of the company, D-Mar’s and the Deputy Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega. Vega’s name comes in because Noh Mul is in Orange Walk North, and the roadfill is reportedly being used in nearby Douglas Village. Of course, we never met the foreman, but we have learned that after we left with the Archeologists, he did arrive and removed the heavy equipment.

Source

Hello my name is Rose Robin I'm filming a documentary series about Belize, I have completed 8 episodes which are up on our none profit web site
http://paintingpirates.com/lovingbelize.html

This series is a first draft to build an audience for the better developed one which will be edited in one years time into a feature length documentary and series. then sent to film festivals and the international film market.

I have subscribed for two reasons, one to screen the episodes with you guys to get input, advice, ideas.
The other is to look through other posting to see what people are interested in the country of Belize.

You can check out what None profit is doing with schools around Belize by Visiting the home page

Thank you for your time Rose

Doctor Jaime Awe is a Belizean archaeologist with almost thirty years of experience in Maya archaeology. He has taught at universities in Canada, England, and the United States and is currently employed at the National Institute of Culture and History as Director of Archaeology. Doctor Awe is presently heading the restoration of Santa Rita Maya Ruin located in Santa Rita in the Corozal District where work commenced more than two months ago. Less than two weeks into the excavation, the Archaeological team discovered a burial that contained a Pelican Effigy Vessel and on Tuesday another remarkable discovery was made, a tomb was found at the foot of the ruin. Its contents prove that there are many secrets and treasures of the Maya left to be unearthed. In an interview with CTV3 News, Doctor Awe unraveled the mysteries that lie underneath the Santa Rita Maya Ruin.

Santa Rita Maya Ruin is an archaeological reserve located on the outskirts of Corozal Town. Historical evidence suggests that Santa Rita Maya Ruin was once the Capital of Chetumal. In 2012 the US Embassy granted thousands of dollars to the National Institute of Culture and History, NICH for the restoration of the archaeological site which will be converted into a Maya Wedding Garden in hopes of pinning Corozal as one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America, on the world map.

Since excavations began two months ago, surprising discoveries have been made including a burial at the foot of the ruin. Evidence shows that the Maya who were living around the site around 1200- 1500 AD dug a hole through the foreground of the courtyard and buried people in the hole.

Inside the burial excavators found the remains of either one or two humans. Right next to the remains archaeologist found a Pelican Effigy Vessel and smash pottery.

But the principal find so far was unearthed on Tuesday when excavators found a tomb in the heart of the upper flat of the ruin. Hidden beneath the rubble are thousands of years of history.

Doctor Jaime Awe- Director NICH

“It looks like some kind of stone that looks like quartzite or gem, or it could be and I am guessing, it could be a figurine make from resin, copal resin, and if it is which am not 100% sure but what is interesting about that is that we know that in historic times they would make some figurines out of copal and use them as offerings.”

Because the site resembles the Mayan city of Chetumal (or Chactemal), Santa Rita is believed to be a vestige of this larger metropolis. Santa Rita most likely controlled trade routes to and from Chetumal and other Yucatan cities within present-day Mexico and Guatemala. Mayans inhabited Santa Rita from 2000 B.C. to approximately the 16th century A.D, when residents forced conquistador Alfonso Davila to leave. The city's population slowly dwindled thereafter and finally abandoned the area late in the century.

But left behind were many secrets of ancient Maya History which are slowly discovered as archaeologist make their way through the recently found shallow grave.

“Just yesterday we came across what is really an amazing tool found in the centre of this temple.  We never expected to find anything like this because many, many, many, many years ago Tomas has excavated this mount and we also know that in the 1980’s we had two archaeologist worked here and also found a tomb here just behind me, and the classic tomb which had some fantastic artefact in there so we were just here to fixed up the architecture, we got fortunate and we came across this new tomb and as we went into the tomb you could that is has a place for two individuals inside the tomb and one of them was laid out in extended fashion very likely to be a very tall male for given the height of most, the Maya average height was around five feet three inches and then the second burial was at the north end of the tomb and it was like in feet opposition, lying down and as we are working right now we still don’t know what all the tombs have but there are two pot with it and there are hundreds beads, a lot of them shells, jade, we also saw some other shell objects, there appears to be at least two figurines. 

"One of them I likely out of manatee bone or other kind of see mammal.  The other one is particularly interesting because it appears to be made from resin from probably copal or pine resin that would have been heated so that it was in liquid form and then it was poured into a mould and you can actually see the mould line.  In almost my thirty years in doing archaeology I have never found a figurine made out of resin and that I think might be the first one found in the country of Belize and so really, really unique. Another interesting feature that I have seen inside the tomb is that we have a lot of flex of suckled plastered that is painted, like this greenish blue colour and we know that it could have either been from the walls or painted at one time or we know that the Mayas made books out of barks and then they put plaster in it and then they wrote or painted on it unfortunately it is that and most of it has been destroyed and most of it is flex of plaster with the paint on it, certainly very exciting find and I feel very privilege to be part of it.”

The ancient Mayans were masters of time, keepers of good calendars and excellent painters. Prove of that theory are paintings found on the walls of the tomb. Doctor Awe is positive that as excavation continues more discoveries will be made and we’ll be right there to capture them. Excavation is expected to conclude next year.

Source

Ocellated turkeys native to Belize at Chan Chich jungle lodge in northern Belize. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby

By CHERYL BLACKERBY

Rosita Arvigo, Maya Herbalist and Healer Ixchel Eligio Panti Medicinal Center Belize. Image Copyright Belize.com

 "I left Chicago during the Vietnam War and went to Mexico for seven years. The boyfriend I had at the time was a draft resister. We were way back in the bush, about 14 hours' walk from a village that was a 20-hour bus ride from the highway. It was a self-sufficient homestead we started. We could do everything except weave cloth and make paper. We had a fruit orchard, and we cared for that, and it was just the two of us and our two children.

"That relationship broke up, and it was time to move on. My parents were adamant that I should get a degree. I went to Chicago and entered a college of naprapathy, and that's where I met my current husband.

"In the 1980s, there was kind of a campaign against natural healers and herbal practitioners. I wanted to live and work in peace and heal people and take care of them, and that was becoming against the law in America. So I went to Belize in 1982. It was for medical freedom, and a year-round growing season, and wanderlust. Those are always my reasons.

"I was trying to find someone who could teach me about the medicinal plants of my adopted country. 'The most famous healer is this Maya shaman Don Elijio—but watch out for him,' everybody said. 'He's a lecher.' It wasn't true. I'm glad I didn't pay any attention to that.

"So I made an appointment to visit him. I had to walk miles—across the river, through the jungle, down the road—to get to his village. I asked him if he would teach me, and he said no, and I kept asking him, and he said no and no and no.

"Exactly one year later, I got there very early in the morning, and he said, 'I have no time for you today. I have to go harvest my corn.' I said, 'Well, let me help you.' He said, 'What do you know about harvesting corn? You're from Chicago.' I said, 'I lived in Mexico for seven years. I can harvest corn. Let's go.'

"In the middle of the morning, he looked at the pile of corn I had pulled, and he was impressed. He said, 'Tell me, what do you want? What is it?' I said, 'Don Elijio, I just want to learn about the plants. If you take me as your student, I promise to work hard.' So he did. I became his constant companion and his disciple for 15 years. He died in 1996 at age 103.

"We still live in Belize, and we grow bananas, chocolate, lots of fruits, and vegetables. I'm here in Chicago for five months, helping my daughter with her new baby and leading herb walks in the city. I'll be back every summer.

"Right now I'm finding plantain, which is excellent for wounds and cuts. And dandelions—those yellow flowers make a wonderful cough medicine. There's burdock; that is a blood tonic for people just coming off long-term illnesses. And there's yellow dock, which is the natural antidote to poison ivy. These plants have been here for thousands of years. Anywhere there's a crack of dirt in the sidewalk, a medicinal plant will grow."

Source: This Week's Chicagoan
 

On Sunday April 28th, 35-year old Italian Antonio Velardo and 47-year-old Swedish boat captain, Levente Arangos were escorted out of Belize via their vessel La Aventura. This was after the Belize Immigration Department executed a notice forbidding the captain and the lone passenger permission to land after they were temporarily arrested and Velardo was charged for failure to declare funds. The two arrived in Belize and docked at a local marina in San Pedro Town on April 24th. After being in the country for 24 hours, authorities found a total of US$22,000 inside La Aventura which both men had failed to declare upon entry into Belize. A month after he was booted out of Belize for “failure to make a declaration”, (failure to declare money) which he pleaded guilty to, Velardo spoke to The San Pedro Sun and said that there is more to the story than was told.

According to Velardo, who is an investor, the treatment he got in Belize was unnecessary and reflects badly on his reputation. “Some people already knew that I was coming. When I arrived in Belize I was met by about 25 people, some heavily armed that came onboard my boat. It was scary because I didn’t know what they were looking for. I was quite shocked by the treatment,” said the businessman.

Antonio-Velardo

According to Velardo, because he had so many forms to fill out, he skipped one section which dealt with funds declaration, but it was unintentional. He said while he agreed that he unintentionally skipped a section on the form, he had enough proof that his money was not illegally gained. He said that while on his vessel, one of the law enforcement officers asked him if he had money in excess of $10,000US. “I replied to her that I had over $20,000 US. She said that on the form I did not declare having more money and because I had already signed the document, I had to be detained. I did sign the form; I had so many forms that at one point I was lost and confused. In addition, I had all these people around and was scared and having so many forms was uncomfortable for me and it was simply an oversight on my part. Now anyone with logical thinking will understand that someone like me has nothing to gain in not declaring that money – it was simply a mistake which I accepted.

I travelled with that money because I want to ensure that in the case of emergency, such as a boat failure which would require cash to repair or if I ran out of fuel because of unforeseen circumstances, I want to make sure I have enough cash to pay. I have seen cases where I have attempted to pay by credit card and credit cards are not accepted, and then the next thing you know is that I am stuck in the middle of nowhere without cash. I don’t want to be in a similar position. $22,000US was not a lot of money if you travel by boat. Fuel alone for one route amounts to over $5,000. That money is not a lot of money to have if for a person that travels from one point of the Caribbean to another,” justified Velardo. He said that his intention was only to meet with investors and explore business opportunities while on the island.

Velardo strongly believes that he was being stalked for money. “Someone was trying to set me up to stalk me and ask me for money. Some people in authority knew that I was coming and that I am quite wealthy. They were trying to find a reason to take money from me. It was not like I was coming with $1 million. Anyone with a bit of common sense will tell you that for someone like me, $22,000US is pocket money. You don’t just throw someone in jail and call in all sorts of people. At one point they said I was wanted for Interpol stuff when they know I am a legitimate businessman. I have never been wanted by Interpol that was total bull$%**. It doesn’t look good for a country like Belize. That is not the way to treat someone who has all the intention to invest in a country like Belize. I would have been happy to pay the fine for the mistake I committed rather than to have been frustrated, then worse to be escorted out by police as if I am a criminal,” said a frustrated Velardo.

Velardo said that the only reason he was kicked out from Belize is because some people frustrated him in an attempt to get money from him. “They know that I was going to sue them. Your country [Belize] is extremely corrupt and I am in the process of suing some who put me through unnecessary frustration in exchange for money. Belize has so much potential, it is so beautiful and has so many good qualities, but issues like this, which brings out the level of corruption, can destroy the business potential of Belize and it is sad,” explained Velardo. He declined to say who was trying to stalk him for money but indicated that he is dealing with the issue from a legal standpoint through an attorney retained in Belize.

Velardo was fined $5,000 for not declaring funds but following his release, Immigration officials served his boat captain with a ‘refused leave to land notice (RLL).’ According to the Immigration officials, RLL is an order given to undesirable persons at any point of entry for one of two reasons; 1) for not meeting the right immigration requirement or 2) for doing something contrary to the law of Belize. In Velardo’s case, he was served with the RLL since he failed to declare funds, thus violating the law of Belize.

The wealthy businessman said that not only was he put through stressful moments in Belize but the entire ordeal has caused him embarrassment amongst his business partners back at home. Velardo said that he has every intention to return to Belize to invest but wants to ensure that he is not put through a similar ordeal. He has retained the service of an attorney to ensure that when he returns to Belize, he will have a smoother stay.
 

Source

VIDEO: Glover's Reef Amazing Marine Life

Sharks, Dolphins, Turtles, amazing marine life, Join us as we explore Glover's Reef with 2013 Belize Tour Operator of The Year, Splash Dive Center, Placencia. SplashBelize Day Trip Three Tank Dive.

VIDEO: Belize Blue Hole

Hello Divers! If you have ever wondered what it was like to go and see the Great Blue Hole of Belize. Take a look at this quick video. We run out there three times a week and love it! We would like to thank Slightly Stoopid for allowing us to use their track, "Ska Diddy", videographers Marty O'Farrell and Tony Rath, Astrum Helicopter tours of Belize, and most of all our all divers who make showing up to work a joy!

To arrive at Caracol just before dusk when that fallen Mayan city lies in desolate splendor emptied of tourists, ascend 136 feet to the apex of the imposing Caana pyramid and behold the sunset over the forest canopy is one of the unique natural wonders of the Chiquibul National Park.

It is stirring to ponder upon the Ozymandian ruins below, which were once, 1,500 years ago, a sprawling, thriving, conquering metropolis of 65 square miles inhabited by 120,000 people.

But now 'round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare' the forest has silently reclaimed its territory, swallowing up the abandoned temples and plazas. Out across the canopy the sight of a raging fire in the distance intrudes upon that reverie. All is not well in the Chiquibul: agricultural expansion is encroaching upon the frontiers of the park.
 

The natural arch over the Chiquibul River

As dusk descends, birds that dominated the songscape concede the night to the crepuscular choir of crickets. It takes a while to adjust to the sounds of jungle nightlife; sleep is slow in coming; only patches of starlight are visible through the forest canopy like glinting terrestrial oases. Somewhere nearby an animal - perhaps a gibnut - crashes through the understory as noisily and clumsily as a human.

Even before it is light, the diminuendo of the chirping, signals the breaking of dawn. The laws of the jungle are at work. When birds emerge, insects retreat mutely into the shadows. The troik troik troik of the keel-billed toucan is uncannily froglike. But even from the distance of the canopy there is no mistaking the exaggerated bill and the retracting of its wings as it glides. The guttural growls of invisible troupes of howler monkeys echo through the trees. The hysterical, scandal-mongering piam-piam gives away our presence on the forest floor, but not before a pair of sleek-bodied scarlet macaws cruises into view.

At Tapir Camp, we transfer gear from the pickup to Danto, a 30-year-old British army land rover equipped with a luggage rack and a 10,000 pound winch for the journey to Actun Kabal. There is no traffic; nothing to disturb the tranquility of the forest except the droning of Danto. We stop from time to time: a massive Ceiba tree is bedecked with about twenty intricately woven Oropendola nests hanging high up on the edge of the branches to make them predator-proof.

A few miles before Millionario Camp we take a right, detouring into the bush. There is no road here. Derric Chan, at the wheel of the formidable Danto, takes us deftly through yawning mud pits, crunching over fallen limbs and up rough, hilly terrain, all the while overhanging, tangled branches and limbs claw desperately at Danto as we bounce and jerk along at 45 degree angles. Derric Chan wears three hats: fearless ranger, Chiquibul National Park manager and tour guide par excellence of Ecoquest which customizes extreme adventure tours.

As we come around a curve, three collared peccaries leap from a mud bath in the middle of the roughly hewn trail and dart into the bush. A pointed, spear-like undergrowth rips up through the floorboard; the metal sheet is stamped back into place.
 

The Chiquibul Cave System

To reach Actun Kabal, the-National Geographic-renowned cave system, involves trekking several miles through the jungle. Time goes by quickly observing Chiquibul trees with their telltale, machete-inflicted, serpentine slashes; drinking from water vines, examining the Prickly Yellow tree studded with miniature horns to dissuade itchy tapirs from inadvertently pushing them down while get a back scratch.

The buzzing of cicadas in the sun is suddenly drowned out by the amplified buzzing of chainsaws like a swarm of approaching bees. Guatemalans are illegally logging mahogany and cedar. Through the trees in the distance, orange sawdust sprayed widely across the surrounding forest cling to the leaves like blood from a hacked victim.

We cautiously continue trekking, picking up the Infladitos de Maiz and Mirinda wrappers littering the trail. The noise of the chainsaws is unsettling; it evokes a feeling of shame. While an impassioned public discourse is ongoing about taking the Belize-Guatemala border dispute to the International Court of Justice, sovereignty is being ceded tree by fallen tree, milpa by encroaching milpa, everyday in these forests, threatening the biodiversity of one of our primary natural treasures.

It is ironic that Belizeans should emphatically proclaim that "not one square inch, not a blade of grass" shall be ceded to Guatemala, when valuable plants and hardwood are being harvested everyday, and fauna hunted by Guatemalans - with impunity. It is one thing to read about it or see it on the evening news. It is in fact quite jarring to hear the chainsaws at work, knowing that Belize's natural resources are being raped, pillaged and sold by Guatemalans, making a mockery of sovereignty.

As we begin the descent to the entrance of the Chiquibul Chamber, the ethereal song of a bird is heard across the canyon. Derric identifies it is a solitaire, one of the most accomplished singers among all world's songbirds. The expectation is to discover a beautifully colored bird. It is curiosity of nature that such a drab, slate-colored little creature can sing so enchantingly and unforgettably.

The Chiquibul chamber opens to a cave system  that forms a subterranean link between Belize and Guatemala; within lies a network of passages, the Belize Chamber -the largest known cave chamber in the entire Western Hemisphere - and the Great Sand Passage.
 

Rafael Manzanero, ahead of his time.

We trek back single file through the jungle, freezing in our tracks as the voice of Diaz, a 19 year-old ranger scouting ahead of the team, is heard confronting someone. Half a minute later, Diaz comes running and reports to Derric who motions us to keep moving. Diaz, coming face to face with one of the Guatemalan loggers, had ordered him to halt. The logger had turned and fled.

Had civilians not been around, Derric explained, they would have attempted to lawfully arrest the loggers as rangers of the Friends of Conservation and Development (FCD), a membership, non-for-profit, non-government organization responsible for the on-ground management of the Chiquibul National Park, the single largest protected area of Belize. FCD is the vision and creation of Rafael Manzero.  Its primary goal is to motivate the public to protect the environment through conservation awareness while enhancing the development of the human resource. According to Manzanero, since the start of the year, 400 acres of the reserve has been lost to milpa encroachments. Unless awareness is raised exponentially, the battle to preserve the Chiquibul may be lost.

Source

I have lived in the Belizean jungle for over 8 years but I have spent most of my adult life on, in and around the ocean. When I need my salt water fix, I like to go to Tobacco Caye. This 5 acre hump of sand on the barrier reef has a hook in me like the hook my Dad had in this 4 foot barracuda. Despite my love for the island it has its drawbacks.
 

At first glance this tiny place seems like everything one could want from a tropical paradise; palm trees swaying in the island breeze, the sound of the waves lapping at the shoreline, lots of hammocks, the promise of snorkeling in an aquarium-like environment, smiling locals greeting me in their Caribbean dialect & conch fisherman selling their haul from their dugout canoes. As I walk around the island though I cannot help but see the dilapidated structures in various states of disrepair, garbage strewn nearly everywhere, most of the docks are falling apart and several of the locals who work on the island wear a permanent scowl. I think it’s the garbage that makes them surly.
 

The island is primarily made up of 6 “Lodges” that provide accommodations and food. Nearly all are very modest and consist of a small cabin or room with a couple of beds and a bathroom with a cold shower. On my three visits here I have found the food to be consistently mediocre with only a few exceptions. The Lodges are generally leased out by the owners and some change hands every few years.
 

On this visit my wife and I are less than a month from moving away from Belize but the opportunities out here threaten to draw us in. As I write this we have been here 4 days and two Lodges have either asked or insinuated that we could take over their leases. This isn’t my first day in Belize and I see the challenges of running a business out here but there is no doubt in my mind that we could make it work. Running Barton Creek Outpost for 8 years has given us some insight into this business and Jacquelyn and I have been discussing how we would do a few things to make minor improvements and do some marketing to bring more people in. I also know this, it is easy to look at other peoples’ challenges and talk about how you would fix them, walk a mile in their shoes and things often look different.
 

Regardless of what we would do here I am sure of this, someone could seriously benefit from taking their game to the next level on Tobacco Caye. Only two of the six lodges have websites, only one place appears well kept and almost no one has a staff that excels at customer service.

Source

Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who returned from his semi-official visit to London on Wednesday, July 3, told a Belize newspaper this week that a London backer has expressed interest in investing in a deep water port in Belize, which could speed up the shipment of Belize’s exports, such as sugar, to the international market.

The Commerce Bight Port in Stann Creek, said Barrow, is a possible location for a new port.

Belize’s premier port, the Port of Belize, came under the control of Michael Ashcroft’s Private Investment Limited (PIL) after it fell into receivership last January.

While in London, Barrow visited a Tate & Lyle facility where he witnessed the offloading of Belizean sugar; however, he said that he was particularly struck by the fact that while it takes 3.5 weeks for Belize to get its sugar to ship; it takes a mere two days to offload from the ship there in London.

This expression of interest in port development in Belize, said Barrow, was one of the major outcomes of his London visit, and particularly the luncheon he attended with the private sector in the financial nerve center of the City of London. Those talks, he said, were intended to raise Belize’s international profile and to talk specifically about investment possibilities.

Prime Minister Barrow shrugged off claims from inside the camp of the Opposition People’s United Party that his trip to London had been arranged and bankrolled by British billionaire Michael Ashcroft, as “absolutely ridiculous.”

“These people! I wonder if they figure the more bizarre an allegation you make, the more play it will get?” Barrow responded, saying that his trip was primarily financed by the Government of Belize with support from the British Government, which financed his stay at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.

Barrow did confirm, though, that he had a personal meeting with Mr. Ashcroft, and he told us that the two talked about the protracted legal disputes Ashcroft and the Barrow administration have been having.

“He heard that I was coming and asked for us to be able to talk about the developments in terms of the litigation and proposals for possible settlements—so we spoke,” Barrow told us.

Despite the London chat, Ashcroft and the Barrow administration remain at loggerheads in a tangle of litigation. Barrow said that a prime consideration in their discussions is the fact that a decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on the settlement deed, which the Musa administration had signed with the Ashcroft group, is due in September. The Ashcroft group won the first leg in the Supreme Court, but the Government of Belize won in the Court of Appeal.

“If he [Ashcroft] wins, then I will have no choice at that juncture but to pay and there is a question of the Super-bond 2,” said Barrow, adding that there is headroom in the 2013 bond for the issuance of an additional US$70 million worth of bonds.

On the more official front, Prime Minister Barrow, the first Belize official to visit London in more than a decade, also visited Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.

“That’s basically a protocol thing,” he told us.

He described his meeting with Queen Elizabeth as “pleasant,” saying that they spoke of the Commonwealth and Belize.

Barrow announced that Prince Charles, who he said is “very big on environmental issues,” spoke of using Belize in a pilot project for “Blue Bonds” – a system similar to the application of carbon credits that would afford Belize financial assets for environmental conservation. The Blue Bonds are still in the concept stage, Barrow said, and talks on this front could expand when the Prince and his entourage visit the Hemisphere later this year.

The Prime Minister is also optimistic that support from British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) could be bolstered after the British military withdraws from Afghanistan over the next 18 months.

Barrow had a personal meeting with British Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Andrew Robathan, who he said is “extremely keen on the idea” of boosting BATSUB presence in Belize.

“This is perhaps the matter of greatest substance,” said Barrow, in detailing the outcomes of his London trip.

Robathan had been in the army years ago, around the time of the Falklands War, and although he wanted to be deployed there, he was told that he had to stay in Belize, because the British were keeping an eye on Guatemala, Barrow conveyed to us.

The downsizing of BATSUB’s presence in Belize flowed from the UK’s Strategic Defense Review and budget cuts, and Barrow acknowledges that “there will have to be some kind of internal process” to get final approval.

Prime Minister Barrow was accompanied in London by his wife, Kim Simplis-Barrow, who held a fundraiser for the Belize Children’s Trust. Although the final figures were not presented, the Prime Minister said that the last he heard, the tally for funds raised was over 70,000 British pounds (about BZ$200,000), with pledges still pending.

As this was not an official visit Barrow was not received by the British PM or his top advisers.

Source

The highway heading to the western border with Guatemala. No dividing lines on the highway here.

Here are easy-to-follow tips on driving to Belize from the U.S. through Mexico as posted by an expat who has done this trip several times.

Professional drivers do this trip frequently bringing down used cars and other vehicles for sale in Belize. You can find a few companies in Belize such as Discount Auto Sales and Sterling Freight that have regular tractor trailer runs between Texas and Belize bringing in vehicles, boats, household effects  and general cargo if you do not want to do the run yourself.

Here are the DIY tips on driving through Mexico to get to Belize:

When you get to Matamoros (just over the border from Brownsville) stop at Customs to get your insurance ,vehicle permit. and visitor permit..this takes about an hour. take your own pen. There is no 3 day waiting period. Besides a pen, you will need a photocopy of your driver's licence, vehicle registration and passports. You can get the permit for 6 months if you don't tell them you are going to Belize and they think you will be staying in Mexico. Keep the paper part of your permit with you at all times as they will want to see it when you get stopped at checkpoints. This will save you the time and $$ of getting another permit when you enter Mexico again from Belize. Very important to stop at Customs again on your way back into the States to have them remove the permit sticker from your windshield. They will want to see the paper part of your permit too.

We always spend the night in Brownsville in order to get to the border bright and early in the a.m. From Matamoros border crossing, follow the signs for Cuidad Victoria. You will want to be on Highway 101 / 180. which will take you to Tampico. On the outskirts of Tampico there are nice hotels. You should arrive in Tampico about 4 in the afternoon...resist the temptation to go further that day.

Just south of Tampico (probably a mile or 2) you will need to take a right ramp to Tuxpan.....the sign for this right ramp is obscured by a tree so you really have to look for it. Carrying on you will go thru Poza Rica and Xalapa. Just north of Veracruz, take the Cordoba toll road exit. Follow the signs to Villa Hermosa and Escarcega. Lots of hotels in Villa Hermosa and a good spot to stop for the night.

Leave Villa Hermosa on Highway 186 and follow signs to Chetumal. all in all about 2.5 days from Brownsville to Chetumal.

5000 pesos would probably be enough for gas, rooms and tolls and there are ATMS. Stopping for gas at the Pemex stations with an attached OXO convenience store seemed to be the best bet for clean bathrooms. When you stop for the night, stay close to your room . When you get gas, watch the pump.

We had no trouble at the checkpoints but I don't think they wanted to bother with a slobbery , barking hound. Probably be a good idea to keep valuables out of sight. No talk of bribes but we don't speak Spanish so who knows??

After you cross from Mexico into Belize, they will spray your tires and you will have to go through Belize customs. They will stamp in your passport that you have a vehicle (which has to be taken out of Belize after 120 days for a couple of days). When it comes to that, ask your local customs broker for info on storage yards just over the border. We stored our Jeep in Corozal and had it insured through RFG Insurance Belize for Fire and Theft. They will give you an insurance quote online and are good to deal with. They said they only sell 1 year policies but after 6 months would refund the balance..they have done so, no problem.

There are driving directions on Bing Maps and a Mexican road map is useful. If you have GPS, Bings Maps can big help in addition to traditional paper maps.

Once you cross the border into Belize, slow down. The highways are terrible, signage is often broken down or never existed, potholes are everywhere, the vehicles are much older and running on poor tyres - in short, welcome to the Third World and drive VERY cautiously and defensively.

The smallest country in Central America — about 200 miles by 50 miles - Belize is also the only English-speaking territory in the region, a legacy of its colonial past. The land that's now Belize was once part of the vast Maya empire. Many significant archaeological sites, including Altun Ha, Xunantunich and Caracol, are located here. The Maya Mountains encompass eight major national parks, including the Jaguar Reserve and several collapsed underground river caves (blue holes).

Offshore, the Belize Barrier Reef is second only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef in size and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Maya presence stretches back into pre-history, and the city states of the area were enormous and sophisticated, rivaling the size and complexity of London or Paris in the 15th century. The first Europeans to settle in the coastal lands sandwiched between Mexico and Guatemala were English pirates who'd been driven out of their traditional home base, the island of Tortuga north of Haiti, by the Spanish. Britain secured its hold over Belize — then called British Honduras — in 1798 and granted it independence in 1981.

Your cruise ship will dock in Belize City. Most visitors head offshore to one of the unspoiled cayes ("keys") or up into the mountains to climb Maya pyramids, hike the rainforest or tube down underground rivers.

Tip: Despite the Belizean government's strong commitment to the environment, you may see items made of tortoise shell, black coral or Triton's trumpet shells for sale. Don't buy them as these items can't legally be brought back into the U.S.

Tip: Most areas of Belize City are very sketchy, even dangerous, so walk in a group or take a taxi if you're venturing beyond the immediate cruise terminal zone.

Adventurer

Belize City is the armpit of Belize but has interesting attractions for cruise ship passengers outside the city proper.

Belize is adventure central: You can dive and snorkel the barrier reef, swim with sharks and rays, tube through caves, bird-watch and hike the rainforest, and explore great Maya cities. To really get down, though, you're going to need a lot of rope. Hook up with Belize Jungle Dome and head for the Black Hole Drop. The trip starts with a hike into the foothills of the Maya Mountains up to the rim of the Actun Loch Tunich sinkhole. The floor of the sink is 300-feet below; your guide straps you into a harness and you drop on ropes —100-feet to the canopy of the rainforest growing out of the hole, then another 200-feet through the canopy to the floor.

Eat lunch, explore the caves, then hike back to camp; the experience is not for the out-of-shape.

Belize's caves are unique and there is nowhere else on the planet that has caves with Maya artifacts. So if you don't want to plummet into the canopy at Actun Loch Tunich, try Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) instead. Any tour guide in Belize City or Cayo will will take you inside the enormous cave complex. At the entrance, you wade through chest-deep water to reach the dry caves beyond. You expect stalactites and stalagmites, but here you get more - a lot more. ATM was used as a ceremonial site by the Maya and there are ceremonial objects, skulls and even the fully exposed skeleton of the "Crystal Maiden" along your route. Was she sacrificed to the gods, or just unlucky? No one knows for sure.

You may tempted to go for surf instead of turf, and if you do, there are boat trips out to the barrier reef run by Sea Sports Belize that are a lot more affordable than the helicopter excursion by Astrum Helicopters (See "Luxury Lover.")

Entertain Me

Belize City is never going to be mistaken for Las Vegas. The best advice is to get up early and get in a full day touring the jungle. If that's not on your dance card, check out the small casino at the Princess Hotel & Casino in King Park. It's small. And it's in Belize City. So keep your expectations in check and you'll do fine. The cocktails-and-conversation action is mostly in the hotel bars.

If you're looking to jam as much entertainment as possible into your shore time, sign up for the Jaguar Paw Outpost adventure. Start with a zipline ride through the rainforest canopy, follow that up by rappelling down a 150-foot cliff to the Caves Branch River and tubing through a cave. End the excursion at the Jaguar Jungle Café with a typical Belizean lunch. Just don't forget your camera.

Family

Take an underground river adventure visiting the Caves Branch River - several tour companies offer this popular outing. Most of Belize is composed of limestone karst, leftover reef from the time the country was underwater millennia ago. Over the centuries, rainwater seeping down through the limestone created thousands of caves; some of these have rivers running through them. Where the cave ceilings have collapsed, the rivers are open to the sky, while in other places, the rivers run through long caverns complete with stalactites. The Caves Branch system is the most popular. There is some limited hiking involved and you can choose the three-cave trip or the five-cave trip, depending on how much time you have.

Cave tubing at the Belize Caves Branch - it doesn't get any better than this folks!

As many as a third of the caves in Belize were used by the Maya, some as ceremonial sites for human sacrifice. But you don't have to go underground to see Maya artifacts; prior to the arrival of the Europeans the biggest cities in the hemisphere were the Mayan cities of Belize. Altun Ha, close to Belize City, was a major religious and trade center. There are two main plazas and 13 structures, including the Temple of the Sun God. A 10-pound jade head representing Kinich, the sun god, that was found here is the largest jade Maya object recovered to date. There's a bit of a walk involved, but it's not too strenuous and well-worth the chance to a see a civilization that endured for thousands of years.

Foodie

Belize is a melting pot, so you have your choice of cuisines, from Turkish and Lebanese to Creole and international. However, Belize lacks the culinary sophistication of St. Lucia or Curaçao. While there are plenty of styles to choose from, the most abundant local produce is seafood. You can walk from the cruise ship terminal to Bird's Isle, an open-air, oceanside palapa in the south end of Belize City. The restaurant is reached via a small bridge. While the surrounding area is gritty and commercial, the view from beneath the thatched roof is terrific and the seafood is fresh and locally caught: pan-fried red snapper, conch ceviche, conch fritters.

The Smoky Mermaid, closer to the terminal on Fort Street, has been in the Great House, a rambling Colonial style guest house, since 1998. The restaurant even has its own cooking show with segments posted on YouTube, so you can see how they do things before you go (or after, if you want to duplicate them at home). Get your fish blackened, Creole-style or sautéed in butter, or opt for a burger (beef, pork, fish or shrimp). There's even a selection of Tex-Mex available. Save some room for the Mermaid's over-the-top Bananas Chimichanga: a fried crepe filled with cinnamon soaked banana and topped with a caramel rum sauce. You may not be doing so much mermaid-esque swimming afterwards, but you'll be singing for sure.

Luxury Lover

There are few true coral atolls in the Caribbean, and without doubt the most spectacular is Belize's Great Blue Hole at Lighthouse Reef. Located about 45 miles from Belize City, this is a circular hole a thousand yards across and more than 400 feet deep. It formed when the ceiling of a deep cave collapsed millennia ago. The Blue Hole was popularized by explorer Jacques Cousteau and it's now a World Heritage site.

To get there quick and make the dive, book a helicopter fly/dive trip with Astrum Helicopters. You'll fly from a base in Belize City, skimming over the lush reefs of the Drowned Cayes and the Turneffe Islands before heading for the Great Belize Blue Hole - the Largest Sea Hole In The World. From the air, the Blue Hole looks like an enormous, cycloptic sapphire eye, staring unblinking into space. Landing on the atoll, you transfer to a dive boat for the descent into the Blue Hole. The dive goes to 130-feet; at that depth there's not a lot of bottom time — 8 minutes — but it's long enough to see the stalactites that formed when this was a cave. After a bit of deco time at 50-feet, it's back up to the surface for lunch, then a second dive at the spectacular Half Moon Caye Wall.

To get spectacular beauty like this, yes, you need venture out of Belize City and hit the Keys (Cayes).

Prefer to stay on top of the water? Belize has some of the best fly fishing in the hemisphere. Several fishing tours are available and will put you on top of huge permit, tarpon, bonefish and snook. The trip leaves from the Radisson Hotel dock near the cruise terminal; your guide will meet you with a 23-foot panga loaded with everything you need. Once a big bonefish hits your fly and rips a couple hundred feet of line off the reel in seconds, you'll be the one who's hooked.

Romantic

Grab a water taxi from downtown Belize City and head for Caye Caulker. Hook up with your tour guide of choice and head out to snorkel the Hol Chan Marine Reserve on a small sailboat. Specific locations are weather dependent, but the menu covers all the bases, including Shark Ray Alley. Don't worry; the big guys here are nurse sharks that dine on crustaceans, not swimmers. You'll see parrot fish, turtles, tropicals and even some unusual ones, including manatees. And because nothing says "not tonight" like a three-alarm sunburn, bring loads of sunscreen, a hat and a shirt; the summer sun can be brutal. Back on the caye, head over to the Lazy Lizard at The Split to chill out. Nothing fancy, but it has great views, cheap ice-cold Belikin Beer and a great second story balcony.

Belizeans are some of the friendliest people you will find. Schoolgirls from western Belize splitting a cab to the bus station and home.

Wallet Watcher

The shore excursions in Belize involve distance travel and, often, special equipment and specially trained guides. There isn't a Belize City public beach to zone out on. That makes the excursions a bit pricey. If you don't want to take a bus into the hills or a boat out to the cayes (although we strongly recommend both), walk from the cruise terminal over to the Belize Museum. Like most things in Belize, it's small, and if you're accustomed to the Museum of Natural History in New York or even the much smaller Wolfsonian in Miami, you're not going to get that. What you will get is a tour of a beautifully restored 19th century building that served as the country's main prison until 1993. The bricks were brought from England, and there are a few prison cells on display, but the bulk of the building is given over to explaining the history of Belize, including priceless Maya artifacts.

It's a half-hour drive to the Belize Zoo. This isn't a traditional zoo; it's a rescue center that houses and rehabilitates injured animals. However, it's a great place to see 150 native species such as tapir and even jaguar, up close.

Source

My wife and I recently decided that we would drive to Belize under the Qualified Retired Persons Act and live there for a while with our two kids, two dogs and a U-haul full of stuff. Sounds so innocent, doesn't it? Oh, how naive we were. I have updated this post from when I first wrote it last year on another board to keep it current. If you are loco enough to think of driving to Belize through Mexico, read carefully.

We did months of research online on every aspect of this drive we could think of (customs, car insurance, where to stay, QRP, etc.) I think what surprised us the most was not a lack of information, but the disinformation out there. Almost every aspect we encountered we confronted with inaccurate information - particularly from official websites such as the one by the Belize Tourist Board hawking the Qualified Retired Persons Program which is not really such a good deal but that is another story.

I am writing this so that other people who attempt this crazy feat will at least have some real data, IF you're stupid enough to try it. I will tell you up front- we would never do this trip again. It took three times as long as we planned (17 days), cost twice what we were told, and caused so much anxiety that we almost turned around and went back several times. This trip is not for the faint of heart. I know professional drivers and truckers do this trip in their sleep, but this is for rank amateurs like us! If I had to to this again I would hire a professional cargo company to move everything down and have the family and I ride down on a cheap flight to Cancun and from there catch the first class ADO bus to Belize.

We drove a U-haul truck and a SUV. The U-haul was filled with everything we owned. We drove from California to Brownsville first. We didn't know it at the time, but this was the easiest part of the trip. We stayed the night in Brownsville (there are plenty of large chain hotels in Brownsville) and headed for the border early the next day. Most sites don’t tell you but there are actually three crossings in Brownsville; The Gateway Bridge, The B & M Bridge, and San Ignacio (about 45 minutes out of town). Most everyone takes the Gateway Bridge as this is where the “Mexico Border” signs will point you to. This day happened to be New Years Eve. This was our first indication that we were not in the United States anymore. Apparently, Mexico is closed for New Years. Of course, no one on the American side told us this, so we drove through the US side into Mexico and only then discovered that they weren't open. They sent us back (of course no one spoke English - this is Mexico - so it took us a while to figure out what they were saying!). We then had to go BACK through customs on the US side. Then we went back to Brownsville, stuck until Monday (3 days) when the border would open again.

FIRST RULE: If you are expecting to get any info from the US side of customs - don't. They do not know anything about the goings on in Mexico.

We could also find no information online about the Mexican border being closed for New Years. Frankly, we could find very little about the hours in general at the border.

So we stayed in Brownsville. We started early Monday morning for customs. This is when we found out how wrong the information we had really was. We had a truck full of stuff, almost impossible to go through without taking everything off, and there are procedures that must be followed to get your personal items through. It must be that most sites online about moving to Belize assume you are bringing in 2 suitcases of personal items. NOWHERE did we find the actual requirements for bringing a truck full of stuff in. Of course, finding out the requirements are especially hard if no one speaks Spanish (fortunately I spoke a little) which leads me to:

SECOND RULE: Learn some Spanish. Most blogs will tell you that saying "Habla Ingles?" will get you through Mexico, but I will tell you that if ANYTHING goes wrong, you will be in trouble. Listen up people, most of the world is NOT English. Learn a second or third language, it will stand you in good stead.

So the requirements for bringing in a truck of personal items are as follows:

1. The title for your truck with your name on it -or- a letter notarized from your bank saying you have permission to leave the country.
2.Your passports.
3. What is called a PEDIMENTO Aduanal form (some websites misspell this as PERIMENTO - that word does not exist. Do not use it. People will laugh at you!). The PEDIMENTO is basically a manifest of EVERYTHING in your truck, van, RV home etc. I use the term EVERYTHING loosely as Mexico requires you to list every article, but we didn't. We listed stuff rather generically (ie. "Box of Linens", "Box of toys" etc..). Before you leave home make this list. You will need it. All these forms are online at the Mexico Customs Website.
4. This "PEDIMENTO" is in Spanish of course, you are in Mexico now, not the U.S. remember? So get used to it.
5. If you are crossing with a truck full of stuff, you must cross at San Ignacio Bridge, about 45 minutes West of Brownsville.
6. You must use a customs broker - this is just plain common sense but most newbies do not get this. They think they can do all the paperwork themselves.

THIRD RULE: If you have more than 2 suitcases full of stuff for each person crossing the border, use an agente aduanal or  customs broker.

The Mexican Customs agents also told us that we had to have a guard drive with us through Mexico. They brought some a guard who said he charges $1400 to go with you through your entire trip. What? I never heard that? And is he going to sleep on the floor of our hotels? They said this is to ensure you do not leave your car in Mexico. When my heart started beating again we told the agent no thanks and headed back to the good old US.

The US border patrol agents told us there were several customs brokers along the road to the San Ignacio border crossing and they would explain the whole chaperone thing. We drove out there and stopped at a few. Get your Spanish ready- most don’t speak English. But let me save you the day full of hassles we went through (“Quick honey, look up in the dictionary how to say ‘truck full of stuff’!”).

There is a customs agent that specializes in ‘transmigrantes’ – people moving to Belize through Mexico- and she is wonderful. Her name is Rocio, which is also the name of her company. I highly suggest that anyone taking stuff into Mexico use her. It is not the cheapest way though (it cost $350 for our truck and $250 for our car) but the information you get is well worth it. She has no website but here is her phone #: (956) 592-1259. You can also try (956) 592-1257. She also speaks fluent English. She explained that you could put a $500 deposit down on each vehicle that would be refunded as soon as you leave Mexico to ensure you do not sell your car there. She made a complete manifest in Spanish of our items and did all the paperwork necessary to get through. She also puts a plastic lock on your truck that shows everyone at checkpoints throughout Mexico that you are not opening your truck IN Mexico. This is very important as at almost every checkpoint we went through one of the police officers asked us to open our truck but with that plastic thing on there they won’t open it. Lastly, she puts a sticker on your windshield that says you’ve used her services.

The next morning we were off to Mexico for the third time. After crossing the US side you go over a bridge and on the other side there are several employees of Rocio that flag you over (Rocio went over all of this with us.) They check your paperwork one last time and are also there to help you across should anything happen.

Rocio may no longer be there, but there will always be other Rocios. Ask the customs on the Mexican side who are the top customs brokers and for sure you will find the guy with the most experience and connections!

They flagged us through. You then have to veer off to the right just before you hit the main customs check. This is for trucks with loads. You then come up to the traffic light. You hand this guy the papers Rocio created and he decides whether to give you a red or green light. We got a green. We drove through and went into customs. The gods were looking down on us that day.

One final thing I will tell you about getting through customs. There are certain items that you need to pay a tariff on if you are bringing them into Mexico. For us, this was for our 2 bikes and our 2 televisions we were bringing in. The bikes are $10 each and the TVs were 20% of their value. You get to tell the customs guy the values so we low-balled. We then had to go into the customs building, fill out our visas, pay the tariffs, pay a couple fees, and we were on our way.

Part Two

Let me start off part 2 of my guide through Hell with a strong suggestion: Do not stop in Matamoros in Tamaulipas state. It is almost a ghost town. The drug cartels have taken over. Once you leave the Mexican border it is the first town you pass. Pass it. This leads to my

FOURTH RULE: Everything takes longer to drive than you think it will. Maps don’t help.

Half the time you’ll be stuck behind a big rig on a 2 lane road (drivers would not dream of pulling over and letting people pass). Getting through towns take a while. Slow drivers. Crazy drivers. It is next to impossible to gauge how long it will take you to go an inch on a map. Some days we averaged 70 mph (the fastest our U-haul would drive), and others we averaged about 30 mph. Eventually, we started gauging the time it would take us by averaging about 45-50 mph over the trip.

Most people will only have time to drive to Victoria as the border will take a while (and it doesn’t open until 8am.) some people may make it to Tampico on their first day, but you should NOT attempt this if there is any chance you will be driving at night.

FIFTH RULE: Do not drive at night.

In Mexico there are these things called ‘Topes,’ basically huge speed bumps that come out of nowhere. You’re going along at 50 miles per hour, and with no warning your front axle is dragging 20 feet behind your car. They are big. They are unmarked. They are REALLY hard to see at night. After a couple days you start to get a feel for where they will be (usually at the beginning and end of towns) but they still have them in random places. I found driving at night to be a complete hassle (and very emotionally taxing) as you stare at the road in front of you trying to pick out an almost invisible speed bump.

Besides Metamoros, I found Victoria to be my least favorite Mexican city. It is very hard to get around. Downtown is a disaster of one-way streets. It’s like a video game of “Don’t hit the pedestrians.” We got completely lost looking for a hotel. We finally found a Best Western downtown and it felt like Beirut. It didn’t help that I literally hit our U-haul truck into the cement awning in the front of the hotel, raining cement onto the truck. This was a perfect time for me to ‘no habla espanol’ and they sort of let it go. I will tell you with a truck you have to be careful of the hotel you pick as you want to make sure there is someplace safe to park it. We never had to look far for an American style hotel that offered this parking, but you will have to go into the city centers sometimes to find them. Best Western has decent parking and allows animals. Also, for you dog owners out there, remember Mexicans don’t think of dogs as pets. They think of them as guards who can watch your stuff, so finding a hotel that accepts dogs can be quite a challenge. Sometimes we just snuck them in. Sometimes we went to 3 or 4 hotels until we found one.

The next day we went to Tuxpan, going through Tampico on the way. I should mention something very important about Tampico. Do not go through it- go around it. As you are coming down the 80 and start entering town you will come upon a HUGE boat in the middle of the street. (I know it sounds stupid, but this boat cannot be missed!) TURN RIGHT AT THE BOAT. Do not go straight into town. You will get lost and you will also get pulled over. As a ‘transmigrante’ you are not supposed to drive through this town, but around it. Turning right at the boat does this. Just follow the signs to Tuxpan (you take the 70 west, turn south and go across a huge bridge, and then turn left on ‘Ave. 20 De Noviembre’). This leads you back down to the southern edge of town and you will hook back up with the 80/180. It’s not as hard as it sounds.

I found Tuxpan to be more manageable. There is a main street that goes along the water and there are several hotels on it. We stayed at our tried and true Best Western. Relatively safe parking (as you can park your vehicle on the busy street out front). Don’t be confused about the spelling of Tuxpan/Tuxpam. Tuxpam (with an ‘M’) is a little town about 10 miles before Tuxpan (with an ‘N’.) You want to stay in Tuxpan. To leave Tuxpan, look down the water and you will see a huge bridge that crosses the water. Cross it. This leads south out of town.

Let me finish this post by commenting on the money you should take with you. First of all, not everyone will accept U.S. currency, especially at toll roads and gas stations. And, surprisingly, no one will take U.S. or Mexican currency with a rip or tear in it. I was sort of shocked, but they avoid these bills like the plague. Make sure your dollars are in relatively good shape. Also exchange money into pesos for toll roads, gas stations and snacks. You can use a credit card at some hotels but don’t count on it. Gas stations do not take credit cards- Pesos only. It cost us about 500 pesos to fill the small SUV and about 1200 pesos to fill the U-haul. It adds up fast. I found that it cost much, much more than most people suggest on websites to take. The toll roads alone will be $300-$400US. Gas will be high as well; Figure about $50-$75 for an average car per fillup. Hotels ran about $90-$140 per night for an American style hotel. I would say about 80% of the hotels took credit cards. All in all, we paid about $1250. in gas to get through Mexico.

PART THREE

Veracruz is not for the faint of heart. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of hotels (at least the kind with any English words in it). As with most cities, there are very few signs. By this point we sort of found success by just going toward the city centers and we would stumble upon a hotel. This worked in Veracruz as well, but you feel a little like the Road Warrior getting around. We found a hotel near the old district (downtown). Because we had already hit one hotel, we were a little skeptical of fitting the truck in the tiny entrance, so we parked on the street and walked in. There were parking meters, but we didn’t know that every meter handles two spaces and you have to choose which space you want to pay for or the meter just happily swallows your money without allotting it. We overfed the meter, but it did no good. When we came back to the truck there was a huge metal ‘boot’ on a tire. This is a huge metal contraption that ‘hugs’ your tire, prohibiting you to move your truck. Wonderful. After begging one of the hotel workers to help us (and paying him nicely) he led us to a mall. Inside was a small kiosk with a laptop computer sitting on a bucket. We handed him the ticket from our windshield, payed him $20 US and in 15 minutes the boot was off. This sort of sums up Mexico, it is no different from the U.S; Most people just want their rightful fee for doing your work, and after they get it, things go fairly smoothly.

Now that that was taken care of, we parked inside the lot for the hotel (a 30 minute ordeal with less than an inch to spare on each side.) After my wife hit the side of the truck against the hotel, taking off one of the 300 year old doors at the gate, one of the employees offered to finish parking the truck. Needless to say, they did a much better job than we did. We then discovered that Veracruz is actually a nice city. There is an old square that you can eat at and it was actually enjoyable. Little did we know that the following day would be our worst yet…

We left very early and decided to drive to Villahermosa. I’m sure a lot of people are thinking that we could have driven farther each day, and we could have, but combining 2 kids, 2 dogs, a max speed of 60 mph, and the fact that you can’t drive at night, we set our sights a little lower. I think this is an important rule:

SIXTH RULE: We encountered more trouble on the days we really ‘pushed it’. Taking your time, not trying to cover half of the country in one day, makes for a less stressful time of it. Drive like a bat out of hell on your second or third trip.

Well, after driving since 5:30 in the morning, we were all pretty exhausted, but right when we were coming into Villahermosa our truck broke down. Fortunately we had two cars, so I was able to drive into town to look for a mechanic. Hence, my

SEVENTH RULE: When someone in Mexico says they will be somewhere at a certain time, they do not mean it. Reminds me of my hometown in the U.S. ;o)

I stopped at 2 places that looked like auto repair establishments. They both said they would come right down. I gave them the exact location and went back to the truck and waited. And waited. It was now getting dark and we were not in town, but stuck on the side of the highway. I drove back into town and just happened to find a Ford dealership (which was the same kind of truck we had.) I begged them to come help me, and they did.

EIGHT RULE: Most people in Mexico will help you if you ask and offer money. This no different from the U.S. or anywhere else!

We had two mechanics drive out to the truck, pop the hood and try to fix it. As it was now getting really late, I asked them if they could just tow it to Ford and we would come back in the morning. This tow ended up costing me U.S. $400. Ouch. This maybe should be a RULE but I will give it as a guideline: Get the total amount due up front. If you don’t, they will ask for the world after, knowing you’re in a pickle and will pay it. Ford ended up fixing the truck the next day (it was the starter) but not without ripping us off for U.S.$600. first. Did I mention that I love this country? They also did not take credit cards (which most places conveniently don’t, as then they would have to pay a percentage of the total), and they closed at 3pm. Mad dash to ATM, pay off Ford, go to hotel. End of another day.

The next morning, out of sheer defiance, we left at 4am and drove straight through to Chetumal Quintana Roo and the border with Belize. That was entering another type of Hell, very narrow and dangerous "highways", speed bumps, potholes and dirt all over the place - but that is another story!

Updated Tariffs and Tolls Driving Through Mexico

Current rates are posted on the website of the Secretary of Communications and Transportation. Go to http://aplicaciones4.sct.gob.mx/sibuac_internet/ControllerUI?action=CmdSelTarifaRep1Data and then select Todas las vías Federales de Cuota.

That will give you a list of the toll roads in Mexico, their length in kilometers and the tariff for each. Most cuotas are a little over 1 peso (exchange rate now is around 12 pesos to the U.S. dollar) per kilometer for cars, and twice as much (or more) for buses and trucks.

There's also a very useful site at http://aplicaciones4.sct.gob.mx/sibuac_internet/ControllerUI?action=cmdEscogeRuta where you can get, in English or Spanish, general or more detailed route directions, total mileage, estimated driving time, estimated fuel costs for your vehicle and total tolls.

-- The Random Family.

Where's the best place to go diving in the world?

Interview with Oceanographer, Living Legend, Dr. Sylvia Earle replies, Belize, is the only place to dive like it was 50 years ago. Treasure it, protect it, preserve it!

This our ever-evolving collection of Belizean Creole Proverbs with meaning and translation into English. Corrections and Additions please contact us!

Emty crocus bag kant stan up
An empty crocus bag cannot stand up.
Meaning: when you are extremely hungry you cannot work.

Falla-fashin monkey cahn buy good soup guh dung a gully go eat dutty soup"
Follow-fashion monkey cannot buy good soup, so he goes down to the gully to eat dirty soup.
Translation: Keeping up with the Jones' - A jealous person will go to the utmost length to say that can do the same as you.

Blood tika dan wata but wata tase betta.
Blood is thicker than water but water taste better.
Meaning: Sometimes interacting with friends or strangers is less stressful than interacting with problematic or difficult relatives.

HAG ME ASK EH MUMMA WHEY MEK EH MOUT SO LONG, EH MUMMA SAY NOH WORRY BABY WHEN YOU GROW UP YOU WAH FINE OUT.
Hog asked his momma why is his mouth so long, His mother replied, don't worry baby when you grow up you will find out.
Meaning: You will learn more about yourself as you grow.

Plantain no eat like rice
Plantian doesn't taste like rice.
Meaning: During hard times,one eats what is available even if it's not what one wants or is accustomed to.

Champagne dreams wid lime juice money
Meaning: Wanting things that one clearly cannot afford,see also...no heng you hat hiya dan you cud reach.

Dat one cut like panya machete.
That one cuts like panya machete.
Meaning: a person may seem duplicitious,a phony.in one gathering may take a certain stand , make certain statements or share a particular opinion, then contradicts or disclaims them when in another gathering.

when trouble ketch yuh pickney shut fit yuh
when you get in trouble, you fit into a child's shirt.
Meaning: When you find yourself in trouble, you will try to get out in imposible ways.

ah chrow mo corn, but i nuh call no fowl
i throw my corn but i don't call the fowl
Meaning: I say my piece but i call no names

NO STAP AH DONKI WEH YO NO OWN.
DON'T STOP A DONKEY THAT IS NOT YOURS.
Meaning: Mind your own business!

LES TAK MO AXION.
LITTLE TALK, MORE ACTION.
Meaning: Action speaks louder than words.

A LIA IS FUGETFUL.
A LIAR IS FORGETFUL.
Meaning: A dishonest person can't remember to be consistent.

BLUD KANT BEE WAASH OUT WIT BLUD.
BLOOD CANNOT BE WASHED OUT WITH BLOOD.
Meaning: Two wrongs do not make a right.

YO BORRO MONI, IE MEK ENEMI.
DEBT SERVERS (IS THE SCISSORS OF) LOVE.
Meaning: Lend money to a friend, and he'll become an enemy.

VINEEGA WEA FREE, IE SWEETA DAN HONEE.
VINEGAR THAT IS FREE, IS SWEETER THAN HONEY.
Meaning: People love getting something for nothing.

IE NO SEH IE OWN BUTTAMILK SOWER.
NO ONE SAYS HIS OWN BUTTERMILK IS SOUR.
Meaning: No one advertises his own faults.

IF YO NO CHEK DI WATA, NO TECK OFF YO SHOE.
WITHOUT INVESTIGATING THE WATERS, DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR SHOE (TO WALK THROUGH IT)
Meaning: Look before you leap.


Yuh gat yuh han eena tiga mouth
You have your hand in the tiger's mouth
MEANING:THAT YOU ARE INVOLVING YOURSELF IN SOMETHING DANGEROUS

Every daag have eh day
Every dog has his day
Meaning: That whatever goes around comes right back, so your actions are very valuable be careful what you say because sometimes it comes right back at you.

Wen dah tree ben yu can't straiten ah.
When the tree is bent you cannot straighten it.
Meaning: That when a child is being spoiled and has grown up to be a man that trying to change him would be too for the parent to do so; that's why it is very important for parents to rise their kids the proper way

U di deh di gren lik chesnat kat
You are there grinning like a cheshire cat.
Meaning: You looking guilty of something.

"Ebre pat gat e kibber"
Every pot has a cover
Meaning: There is a partner for everyone.


Yu coulda lie suga outta bun.
You could lie suger out of bun.
Meaning: You can tell alot of lies.

If dah no so, dah naily so.
If it's nt so, then its nearly so.
Meaning: If it's not all the way true it's almost close to the truth.

Sorry fi marger dawg, marger dawg tun round bite yu.
If you're sorry for a meager dog, the meager dog will turn around and bite you!
Meaning: If you sympathize with someone, or you give them a help, they do not appreciate the kindness, instead, they become your enemy.

Hawg meh ask e Mammie how it mout so lang. Yu de grow!
Hog asks his Mommy why her mouth is so long. Her response, "You are growing".
Meaning: As you go through life you will understand things more clearly.

Wha happen, stick bruk eena yu ears?
What happened, is there a stick broken in your ears?
Meaning: Are you hard of hearing or did you hear what I said?
Di sins of the madda falls pon di child.
The sins of the mother will fall upon the child.
Meaning: Children will bare the consequence of their mother (parent's) actions

Good soup neva meet good fufu
Good soup never meets good fufu
Meaning: Good things rarely co-occur. (Fufu are plantain dumplings)

Yu blade a wonda if you bade.
You're blade, I wonder if you bathe.
Meaning: You're dressed up but did you take a bath?

Cut da rope shaut.
Cut the rope short.
Meaning: Don't take so long on the toilet.

Tiga must di bite.
Tiger must be biting.
Meaning: When some one has a wedgy.

Put two a deh enna wha bag a we wa si who wa come out fus.
Put two of them in a bag and we will see who will come out first.
Meaning: Put two people with the same personality together to see who is more determined to get ahead.

Cut da lang bench shaut.
Cut the long bench short.
Meaning: Put an end to the long conversation.

If yo no listen, yo a've fu feel.
If you don't listen you will fee.
Meaning: If you don't heed good advice you will get hurt.

Yo giv weh yo ass ahn shit chu yo ribs
You give away your ass and shit through your ribs.
Meaning: People who give away too much and is left with little.

The next one submitted by Blznqen
Weh bone nuh provided, dogs nuh deh.
Where bones are not provided, dogs are not invited.
Meaning: If you did not receive an invitation, you are not invited.

Yo act like yo have chinch ina yo ass.
You are acting like you have chinch in your ass.
Meaning: This was used to describe very active children that could not stay in one position for a very long time. It accused them of having bed bugs biting them so they could not keep still.

Whe dags no invited, bones no provided.
Where dogs are not invited, bones are not provided.
Meaning: Do not go to people's houses at dinner time(unless you were invited) because they did not make food for you. Also in general, do not make it a habit to go places where you are not wanted.

Yo bawn wit gold spoon ina yo mouth.
You were born with a gold spoon in your mouth.
Meaning: You were born to a family that is more financially fortunate that others.

De dag dead now.
The dog is dead now.
Meaning: This is the end of the party. All the good times have ended.


Todey fe mi, tomorrow fe you.
Today is for me, tomorrow is for you.
Meaning: Your day is today but sooner or later my day is coming.

One plate a dinna no fatten maaga dog.
One plate of dinner doesn't fatten meager dog.
Meaning: When things are bad, an isolated piece of luck doesn't help much.

Cow no bizniz ina haas galop!!
Cow does not belong in a horse's gallop.
Meaning: Mind your own business.

Changie blak dawg fu monki!!
Exchanging a black dog for a monkey!!
Meaing: Making an exchange for something that's just as bad.
U deh deh di baffu ah cahn gamma!!!

Trying to "baffu" but can't "gamma"!!
Meaning: Trying to accomplish something but can't get it done.
Croffie di ahn, de run da fya but run fra rain!!
Creole run to fire but run from rain!!
Meaning: Some people are giddy.

Adam Bantan wipe e ass befo e sh*t.
Adam Banta wipes his ass before he sh*ts.
Meaning: Don't get too ahead of yourself. (Like counting chickens before they hatch)

DAWG WEH EAT EGG NEVA STOP.
The dog that is eating never stop.
Meaning: PEOPLE WHO HAVE BAD HABBITS FIND IT HARD TO LET IT GO.

Weh eyes nuh se, hart no greive.
What your eyes don't see, your heart won't greive.
Meaning: What you don't see won't hurt you.

WEH ME ERS NO HARE ME ASS NO COUNT
What my ears doesn't hear, my ass doesn't count.
Meaning: I have to hear it to believe it.

WHEN A LET OUT ME ROASTA, PULL IN YU HEN & LOC DE FOWL CUBB
When I let out my rooster, pull in your hen and lock the hen house.
Meaning: Protect your family when danger is lurking.

IF YU NO LIKE DE COW HOW CAN U LIKE DE CALVES
If you don't like the cow how can you like the calves?
Meaning: IF YOU DONT LIKE THE MOTHER HOW WILL YOU LIKE THE CHILDREN

Dry wedda friend or Dry wedda house.
Dry weather friend or Dry weather house.
Meaning: A friend who deserts you in time of need. A leaky house.

Every bully gat e catcha.
Every bully has his catcher.
Meaning: Even a bully will get beat up.

Hag live wit e gaddi.
Hog lives with its godmother.
Meaning: In hard times you live with a rich relative.

Yu di hold lang bench.
You're holding long bench.
Meaning: You're spending to much time (talking).

Man whe sh*t da pass no rememba, da who daab eena it.
Man who sh*t in the past don't remember, it's the one who steps in it.
Meaning: Someone who does something bad don't always remember what they did; it's the person who it affects

Yu si mi crass!
You see my cross!.
Meaning: You see the tribulations you're putting me through (Like Jesus on the cross)

Show mi yu company and ah wha tell yu.
Show me your company (friends) and I'll who you are.
Meaning: You're judge by the company you keep.

No sell yu ass and sh*t tru yu ribs.
Don't sell your ass and sh*t through your ribs.
Meaning: Don't give away what you have and be left without.
Fos fool da no fool.

The first fool isn't a fool.
Meaning: First deception in the real deception.

Food weh no killing, fattening.
Food that's not killing is fattening.
If the food isn't bad for you then just eat it.

Fun bring bun.
Fun will bring burn.
Meaning: Paid will come from to much fun.
(Note: We use to add the line: "Fun bring bun, till yuh Grauma tun (turn).

Fun Bring Bun tel ya eye wata bun
Fun bring pain until you cry
Meaning: when you play around alot your going to get hurt

Aze haud pickney always feel.
Meaning: Children who don't listen to what their elders tell them always end up in a situation where they get hurt or in trouble.

Gawd neva gi yo mo dan whe yo cud bare.
God never gives you more than you could bare.
Meaning: God never allows someone to carry more burdens in this life that what they are capable of carrying.

Aze haud pikni go da mauket two times!
(Hard of hearing child must go to the market twice)
Meaning: If you don't pay attention you may have to do the work twice.

Tiega mauga, but e kaka taura!
(A tiger may be skinny, but his butt is strong!)
Meaning: A small person could still be powerful.

Every day bucket go da well, di battom must drap out.
(The bottom of a bucket will eventually drop out after every day use.)
Meaning: Nothing will last forever.

No stir up stinkin mud if yu cant stann the scent.
(Don't stir up stinking mud if you can't stand the scent.
Meaning: Don't dig up a secret past if you can't take the consequences.

No count yu chicken befoe deh hatch.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
Meaning: Don't count as certain what has not yet occured.

No cry ova spill milk.
Don't cry over spilt milk.
Meaning: Don't worry about things that already happened.

Di leaf no fall far fram di tree.
The leaf doesn't fall far from the tree.
Meaning: An offspring have the same characteristics as their parents.

Yo hang witt di daug yo ketch di fleas.
You hang with dogs, you'll catch their fleas.
Meaning: You hang around bad company, you'll get into trouble.
If e nuh bun, e nuh dunn.

If it isn't burnt, it isn't done.
Meaning: If the food isn't well cook, it's not finished.
Di dauka di berry, di sweeta di juice.

The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.
Meaning: Comes from the notion that blacks are better in bed.

E tauk big, but e sh*t small.
He talks big, but he sh*ts small.
Meaning: His mouth is big, but he can't back it up.

Wen daug havv money e eat cheez.
When a dog have money he eats cheese.
Meaning: When a person have money he buys things he normally wouldn't buy.

Yu wahn no how bauley grow.
You will know how barley grows.
Meaning: You will understand/appreciate how hard it is to get/keep something.

Leev sleepin daugs alone.
Leave sleeping dogs alone.
Meaning: Leave things not messing with you alone.

Di wallz havv ears.
The wall have ears.
Meaning: People may be listening.

Breeze blow pelikin same place him wahn go.
Breeze blows pelican the same place he wants to go.
Meaning: The pelican is a carefree bird who never fights the winds.
Also: Refers to someone who changes direction in opinion or decision to suit the moment.

Di higher monkey climb de more ahss he dey show.
The higher a monkey climbs, the more butt he'll show.
Meaning: The higher (up the the social ladder) a person gets,
more arrogant he becomes.

Man hate you he gi you bahskit fo back wahter.
A man hates you if he give you a basket to carry water.
Meaning: A person doesn't like you if he gives you bad information.

One one fill bahskit.
One at a time will fill the basket.
Meaning: Persistence and attention to the task will get you there, even if slower.

Kine wuhds neber bruk jawbone.
Kind words never break a jaw bone.
Meaning: You'll never get hit for saying something nice.
Coward man kip soun bone.

A coward man keeps some bone.
Meaning: Discretion is the better part of valor

Tenk Gaad fu me mout no eena dis.
Thank God my mouth isn't in this.
Meaning: Thank God I'm not involved in this argument.

Munkey si, munkey du!
Monkey see, Monkey do!
Meaning: Kinda like keeping up with the Jones, or you'll follow what your peers do.

Si mi an live wit mi da tue difrant ting.
Seeing me and living with me are two different things.
Meaning: Not yet ready for a commitment.

Who di shoe fit mek dey wear it.
If the shoe fits, wear it!
Meaning: Whomever caused the trouble will have to deal with it.

Cackroach no go da fowl dance.
Cockroach don't go to fowl's dance.
Meaning: Don't go where you don't belong.

Empti krucus bag cant stan up.
Empty crocus bag cannot stand up.
Meaning: A weak person can't fend for himself.

Di sae ting weh sweet yu wahn sowa yu.
The same thing that sweets you will sour you.
Meaning: What makes you happy can make you sad.

Man aada monki, monki aada e tail.
Man orders monkey, monkey orders his tail.
Meaning: A person given orders pass it on to someone else.

No call aligetta big mout til yu krass di riva.
Don't call the alligator a big mouth until you've crossed the river.
Meaning: Don't mess with someone until you're safe.

Ful belli tel empti belli kip hart.
Fully belly tells empty belly to keep heart.
Meaning: A well-off person tells a poor person to perservere.

Fishaman nevva seh e fish stink.
Fisherman never says his fishes are stink.
Meaning: A person will never talk bad about his family or self.

Evry dae da no Sundeh.
Everyday isn't Sunday.
Meaning: Not every day is a day of rest.

One day bellyfull fatten maga daug.
One day belly full fattens a skinny dog.
Meaning: Eat everything in one day and don't think about the next day.

Yu Deh ride wahn high haas!
You're riding a high horse!
Meaning: Your attitude is demeaning.

Yu gat to much a weh di kat lick e battam wit!.
You have too much of what the cat licks his bottom with!
Meaning: You have too much tongue (smart mouth).

E cold no daug nose.
It's cold like a dog's nose.
Meaning: It's very cold!

Yu dressup no puss bak fut!
You're dressed up like a pussycat back feet.
Meaning: You're dressed to impress!

The following six submitted by the Mahlers.
Chip no fall far fram de blak.
The chip doesn't fall far from the block.
Meaning: You are just like your parents.

Hass laze fu bac y grass wahn stauv.
Horse lazy to carry his grass will starve.
Meaning: If you don't work you won't eat.

Yu culd mek wa haas go fu wata, but yo ca fosa fu drink.
You could make a horse go for water, but you can't force it to drink.
Meaning: You could encourage somebody, but can't make them do it.

Ogly monki eat pretty mammie.
Ugly monkey eats pretty mommy.
Meaning: The ugliest guy/girl gets the prettiest guy/girl.

Da no who lauf fuss lauf best.
It's not who laugh first laugh best.
Meaning: Similiar winning the battle but not the war.

Ol log wod stump da road side.
Like an old wooden log sitting on the side of the road.
Meaning: A Good Samaritan who's always available when needed.

Neva drap di bone fi ketch di shadow.
Never drop the bone to catch the shadow.
Meaning: Stay satisfied with what you have.

If yu mek yu bed haad yu hav to sleep eena it.
If you make your bed hard you have to sleep in it.
Meaning: If you get yourself in trouble you have to face the consequences.

Kiss Pauli red battam!
Kiss Pauly's red bottom!
Meaning: Leave me alone! (varies)

Yu wahn get am wen fowl gat teet.
You'll get it when chickens grows a tooth.
Meaning: You'll never get it.

Ah wanda whey jankro do befo jekass dead?
I wonder what the John Crow did before the jackass died?
Meaning:A comment on people who have suddenly obtained wealth.

Bad ting nevva got owner.
A bad thing never has an owner.
Meaning: People will never assume responsibilty when something goes wrong.

Dis ya time no stan like befo time.
This time is not like time before.
Meaning: This is not the good old days.

Han napkin tun table clath.
A hand napkin has turned into a table cloth.
Meaning: People risen above their station in life and are arrogant to others.

Mout seh anyting !!
Mouth can say anything.
Meaning: You talk too much! (Big mouth)

To much a wan ting gud fi nutting.
Too much of one thing is good for nothing.
Meaning: You'll get bored with the same thing over and over again.

Greedy choke puppi.
Greedy choked puppy.
Meaning: Being greedy can get you intotrouble.

If yu play wit puppi e lick yu mout.
If you play with a puppy he'll lick your mouth.
Meaning: Familiarity breeds contempt.

Parson krissen e pickni fus.
The parson christens his own child first.
Meaning: Charity begins at home.

Si mi an liv wit me da two diffrent ting.
To see me and to live with me are two different things.
Meaning: Not wanting to get too close to a friend.

Sickness come di gyallop but tek e own time fu waak weh.
Sickness comes in a hurry but takes its own time to leave.
Meaning: It's easier to get sick (corrupted) than healed.

Time langa dan rope.
Time is longer that a rope.
Meaning: Things will change eventually.

No put mout pan it.
Don't put your mouth on it.
Meaning: Don't talk about bad luck or it might actually happen.

Trouble neba mek eself.
Trouble doesn't make itself.
Meaning: Be careful not to get into trouble.

When cackroach mek dance e no invite fowl.
When the cockroach holds a ball he doesn't invite chickens.
Meaning: Don't invite trouble.

When fish come fram rivva battam an tell yu halligetter gat bellyache you mus beleeve anh.
When a fish comes from the river boottom and tells you the alligator is hungry you had better believe him.
Meaning: Heed words of warning.

Wen man dead grass grow da e doe.
When a man dies the grass grows to his door.
Meaning: Dead mean are soon forgotten.

Wen man no gat nuttin fu do e go da sabana an tell cow maanin.
When a man has nothing to do he goes to the savannah to tell the cows good morning.
Meaning: Idle people find silly things to occupy their time.

When pickni waan cry you only look pan dem an e cry.
When a child wants to cry you need only look at him and he crys.
Meaning: Refers to people who complain about everything.

Wen rain come, John Crow sey 'e wen buil' house.
When it rains, the vulture talks of building a house.
Meaning: Refers to people who wait until disaster strike before taking action.

Sake a mout fish get ketch.
Because of it's mouth the fish got caught.
Meaning: Talking too much will get you in trouble.

No ebery ting weh gat shugah sweet.
Not every thing that has sugar is sweet.
Meaning: Don't be fooled by looks.

John Crow tink 'e pickni white.
John Crow thinks his children are white.
Meaning: People who think their children are different.

Tiega tred easy pahn slippry slope.
Tiger walks carefully on a slippery slope.
Meaning: Becareful when in an unknown place or situation.

Ah wanda weh jankro mi do befoe jakass dead?
I wonder what the crow did before the jackass died?
Meaning: An arrogant person who found wealth.

Deh close like batty an chemba pat.
They're close like a butt and toilet.
Meaning: Very close friends.

Bad ting nevva gat owna.
A bad thing never has an owner.
Meaning: People will not admit to their wrong doings

Barefoot tea betta dan empti belly.
Barefoot tea is better than an empty belly.
Meaning: A little food is better than none.

Beg watah no bile cow skin.
Begging for water doesn't boil the cow skin.
Meaning: Beggin doesn't solve your problem.

Big word no bruk man jawbone.
Big words don't break a man's jawbone.
Meaning: Words can't hurt you.

Blud falla vein.
Blood follows your vein.
Meaning: Family comes first.

Cow shit pahn e tail, weh yu expect pahn di ground?
Cow shits on its tail, what do you expect on the ground?
Meaning: If a person can harm his family he will hurt you too.

Cow know weh weak fence deh.
The cow knows where the weakest part of the fence is.
Meaning: A bully know who to mess with.

Da no one time monkey wahn wife.
It's not one time a monkey wants a wife.
Meaning: A man wants many sexual partner.

Di eye a di masta fatten di calf.
The eye of the master fattens the calf.
Meaning: People work better when being watched by the boss.

Di man weh lif up haas tail no e batty red.
The man who lifts up the horse tail knows his butt is red.
Meaning: A person who is involved will know the truth.

E deh eena puss an daug heven.
He's in cat and dog's heaven.
Meaning: Somebody who is very happy.

Evry bulli gat e catcha.
Every bully has his catcher.
Meaning: Everybody has his match.

Falla-foot jumbie, you jump eena wata.
If you follow the ghost you'll jump in the water.
Meaning: Following bad folks will get you in trouble.

Finga nevva say look ya, e say look deh.
Your finger never say look here, it says look there.
Meaning: People never tell on themselves, they tell on others.

Fool-fool daug bark afta moonlight.
A foolish dog barks after the moonlight.
Meaning: Suspicious people worries about everything.

E fraid no puss.
He's scared like a cat.
Meaning: Easily frighten like a cat.

Fowl shit white an tink e lay egg.
The chicken shits white and think it's an egg.
Meaning: A person who thinks too highly of himself.

Gaad nuh like ugly.
God doesn't like ugly.
Meaning: God will remember your bad deeds.

Cova a di book no tell di story!
Cover of the book don't tell the story!
Meaning: Don't pass judgment before becoming familiar.

Small rudda control big ship.
Small rudder controls the big ship.
Meaning: A small person may have the better brain.

Slippry no okro.
Slippery like an okro.
Meaning: Someone who is clever and cunning.

Small ax fall big tree.
The small ax cuts down a big tree.
Meaning: Size is not important.

Same knife weh kill sheep kill goat.
The same knife that kills the sheep kills the goat.
Meaning: What you do to others can happen to you.

Scarnful daug eat dutty puddin.
The scornful dog eats dirty pudding.
Meaning: When a finnicky person unknowningly eats something dirty.

Nuh tek serious ting mek play.
Don't take a serious subject and play with it.
Meaning: Keep a serious subject serious.

Nuh evrything weh gat suga sweet.
Not everything that has sugar is sweet.
Meaning: What may appears good may not be.

Nuh heng yu hat higher dan yu can reach.
Don't hang your hat higher than you can reach.
Meaning: Don't spend more than you could afford.

Mek yu slef floclath an pipple wahn wipe dehn foot pahn yu.
Make yourself to be a floorcloth and people will wipe their foot on you.
Meaning: People will exploit your weakness.

Married man da trouble man.
A married man is trouble.
Meaning: Fooling around with a married man is asking for trouble.

Me han no jine chuch.
My hand didn't join the church.
Meaning: A good person will defend himself no matter what.

Monkey know weh limb fi swing pan.
The monkey knows what limb to swing upon.
Meaning: People know their place (home).

Kip yu ass in line wit yu heel.
Keep your ass in line with your heels.
Meaning: Have respect for others.

Haste mek waste.
Haste makes waste.
Meaning: Rush things and you'll mess up.

Yu noh know di use ah di wata til di well run dry.
You don't know the use of the water until the well runs dry.
Meaning: You don't know a what you have until its gone.

Yu deh bout town like drif-about doggy.
You're out all over town like a drifting dog.
Meaning: Maybe you should stay home sometimes.

Dah fool de talk but dah no fool de lissen.
It's a fool that is speaking, but it's not a fool who is listening.
Meaning: The smart person is the one who listens well.

Evry fat fowl ga ih day.
Every fat bird has its day
Meaning:Your bad deeds will catch up with you.

Only daag bauk an chase.
Only dogs bark and chase.
Meaning: You should do one thing at a time.

Pat cuss kettle seh e battam black.
The pot curses the kettle saying it's bottom is black.
Meaning: People who find faults with others usually have faults themselves.

Teef nevva prospa!
Thieves never prosper!
Meaning: A thief will never get ahead.

Time langa dan rope.
Time is longer than rope.
Meaning: Things will change no matter how long it takes.

E lie fasta tan haas trots.
He lies faster than a horse trots.
Meaning: A person that lie very fast.

Trouble neva mek eself.
Trouble never makes itself.
Meaning: Be careful or trouble will come.

Wen puss no deh, rat tek place.
When it cat isn't there the rat occurs.
Meaning: When authority is gone other makes trouble.

Ah wahn be di goose weh pik di grass affayu grauma grave!
I will be the goose that picks the grass off your grandmother's grave!
Meaning: I will live for a long time. Therefore, be good to me.

Haas dead an' cow fat story.
Horse dead and cow fat.
Meaning: Refers to a convoluted and improbable story; tall tales.
"My aunt use to fire off that phrase when her children would comeouble.

Ah wahn be di goose weh pik di grass affayu grauma grave!
I will be the goose that picks the grass off your grandmother's grave!
Meaning: I will live for a long time. Therefore, be good to me.

Haas dead an' cow fat story.
Horse dead and cow fat.
Meaning: Refers to a convoluted and improbable story; tall tales.
"My aunt use to fire off that phrase when her children would come in with weak lies and excuses to wheedle out of work or trouble: As in "No come to me with yu hass dead and cow fat story."

Wen chikin merry, hawk ketch an befo daylite.
When a chicken is merry, a hawk will soon devour him before day light.
Meaning: Your joy may be short-lived if you are too careless.

by Gustavo Ramirez, Guidance Counselor - Education Consultant

My favorite and most often used Chinese proverb reminds us simply that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Thirty years ago the Education Department of the United States of America published a report, “A Nation at Risk”, to urge an overhaul of how/what their young people were taught in schools. Why? Data gathered over many years showed that young students in that country were “behind” where they should be in Education. The Report was a “wake-up call” for the country. As of today, educators in that country are still working to keep the spark alive of that school reform movement. It has been more than 30 years since Belize achieved its Independence. What has Belize (Education Department) done to make its schools its own – instead of keeping the exact system of Education used under Colonial Masters before 1981?

Recently published scores of 2013 PSE proficiency examinations for Belize Primary school students show that more than 50% of the students are lagging way behind (failing) in English/ Reading and Math. Moreover, at this point in time Belize has such a high rate of unemployment, and so many of our people are poor, it’s a given that a large part of our young people are NOT adept at using 21st Century technology. That is because only the wealthy (at least the working class) could possibly afford to purchase computers, and pay for expensive internet hook-ups! So, what are we Belizeans going to do after this dire warning (that literary wise our young people are so far behind where they should be) that has just exploded in our faces? Most Primary and Secondary school students in Belize are now on summer vacation. This is a good time for Belizean Education policymakers (government and church), school administrators, teachers and parents throughout the entire country, to join together and take those first few steps on the long, difficult, and “necessary” journey to reinvent, reform, and strengthen schools in Belize.

Previous studies carried out in Belize show that the high dropout rate of students, especially males, in Belize is connected to the extremely high crime rate throughout the country. Are our young male students “bored” at school everyday? Why? Are our schools today even adequately staffed and funded to serve our youth and the nation? Why does government give cash vouchers to students who are entering high school, but the vouchers are not good for another six months -- until December? Should we be referring to our country as a “jewel” when we cannot even educate our children to reach acceptable literary standards?

I have pointed out in several of my previous articles that, based on numerous studies done throughout the developed world, a country’s economy suffers greatly when Primary and Secondary schools do not step up to the plate, and help young students to move up when they are lagging way behind their international rivals. But, regardless if anyone agrees with anything that I write, do those who are in control of managing our schools and Education Systems in Belize even care about our future? How are they showing it? I dare the government (ruling political party) and churches in Belize to take those first important steps to signal to our people, and to the world, that schools in Belize today can and will, effectively respond to the rapidly changing world around us today, and will successfully educate young Belizeans to live and “fit” in this new Century in Belize!

First of all, though, government and church policymakers of our Education Systems in Belize must take their heads from deep in the sands, and stop insisting on remaining embedded in antiquated Colonial Systems of Education. Belize is now an Independent country, with needs of her own, no longer a British colonial territory. Stop focusing on the British or Commonwealth systems of Education, and create a Belizean system of Education! Policymakers, administrators, teachers, and parents: you are the leaders of our children. Stop following someone else’s Systems of Education, and start creating your very own visions of where Belize needs to be. Then, translate those visions into solid Education Reform that will aim to meet Belize’s goals, not the goals of another country. Change and recharge yourselves to make teaching/educating our young people today successful and less frustrating because it’s not meeting another country’s standards. Overhaul and replace your old Colonial habits with new ones and create “working” classrooms in schools, where students are encouraged to develop “critical thinking skills” instead of trying to learn by rote memorization to score well in external examinations.

Recommendations And Suggestions:

Step 1.)            To create the best Education Systems in Belize that will prepare our young people for today and tomorrow we must want it first! Even that, though, is not enough to start our journey to create, update and c o n t i n u o u s l y improve schools in this country. We must replace the all-encompassing indifference on the part of most parents and those who are “in charge” of managing and developing schools today. We simply cannot “cave in” to those who keep screaming that we must run schools the same way as “when they were there”. Additionally, unlike how it was done in the past, any new vision for schools in Belize cannot be kept buried under some powerful leader’s “Classified” documents! Any new vision for our schools needs to be SHARED with the entire country, especially with our teachers, students, parents, and business communities!

Step 2.)           To make Education in Belize successful, bring teachers’ salaries up to 21st Century standards of living! Students are not the only ones who need motivation, encouragement, and incentive to “learn” and make the education process successful; so do teachers! A “livable” salary for teachers (financial stability) will provide incentives for them to want to grow and develop in their profession. Let’s not “let sleeping dogs lie” in the field of Education and continue to hire whoever is willing to teach in our schools at unrealistic salaries. We get what we pay for! No matter what level a school, Primary or Secondary, it is of paramount importance that our school leaders develop a faculty culture that is always focused on professional growth and development. That, however, will never be easy as long as the complaining and bickering by overworked and underpaid teachers drown out the voices of those devoted to learning, sharing and supporting each other.”

Step 3.)           Unlike how Primary and Secondary schools were managed in the Colonial days past, today we must let each teacher know and feel everyday all day, that he/she counts! Our teachers, not their employers, are the ones who are ultimately responsible for helping students “to learn”. Principals, Headmasters, Managers: let teachers know and feel that you regard them as “significant” to your school! Financial recompense (salary) alone does not provide the “motivation/impetus” to encourage a teacher to want to keep improving constantly -- feeling “needed” and appreciated does!

Step 4.)           Parents: make every effort to “keep up” with your children today! You may not be able to stop them from being exposed to very realistic but violent video games, or from watching adult TV, or from participating in 24/7 interactive websites where the entire world (cyberspace) participates, or from sending and receiving emails – good, bad, ugly, and everything in between. However, your “I don’t know how to work a computer!” is no excuse! Whether you are computer literate or not, you have great influence on your children -- use it! Listen to them, answer their questions, try to guide them, and by all means LEARN from them. (Whenever I am “stuck” on the computer, I rely on my teenage son to “come to the rescue”. In today’s world a 60 year old can learn so very much from teenagers!) Participate in their education! Screaming at them that you work your # off to be able to pay for their education is not participation. Being one of the 400 (out of 450) parents who do not bother to show up to school to see your child being honored publicly for good grades, sports participation, or other school activity is not participation. Merely providing money for your son’s/daughter’s education (school fees, books, uniforms etc.) is not participation. If your parents did not participate in your education that does not mean that, in turn, you can do the same today with your child. This is 2013! Spending money on your children without providing emotional support is worthless and meaningless.

Step 5.)           School Managers (government and church) and Boards of Directors: do you know what Belizean business communities and leaders want/need our schools to produce? Find out!. What literacy skills do employers today need in order to make our Belizean business communities grow and develop on a world competitive basis? No school should assume that what they produce is good enough for today’s business operations or offices. We now have such a wide variety of business industries in Belize. We are now preparing to have world-class medical centers, hospitals, and shopping centers. Educators should not work hard to produce high-performing students to make schools “look good”; today our ultimate goal is to educate young people so they can “fit” successfully into our communities, and help them become productive.

Step 6.)          School Principals and Headmasters: “prioritize” things that need to be addressed at school every day. Things that may seem insignificant to you may be of vital importance to our students today. If we keep insisting on managing schools the way it was done 25 or 50 years ago, we are inviting trouble and failure. “Your” important meetings and deadlines do not always come first. Many of our (male) students today cannot read at their class level, or are “lost” in gangs and drug use/abuse, or have many “negative” close/family influences in their lives, and live in abject poverty and desperation. Addressing these issues first is far more important than attending bureaucratic meetings or trying to get the most and highest CXC passes for your school.

Finally, I encourage all Belizean adults, especially parents and educators, to keep modeling positive behaviors, especially “patience”, everyday to send powerful and positive messages to our young people today. Belize’s high crime/murder/gang involvement rate today is tied to the fact that our youth have become totally engulfed and swallowed up in the FAST rate at which everything moves today -- thanks to technology. So many young people today simply do not or cannot comprehend the need for, importance, and beauty of “patience”. Let us show them “how” patience works! A direct quote from a previous commentary to one of my early articles: “The best way to raise upstanding citizens is to lead by example - show the students love, hope, compassion, respect, honesty, diligence and ambition (to name only a few of lessons.” Yes, we want well-behaved, motivated, and high performing young Belizeans in schools today; more important though, we want “happy” Belizean students.

-- Gustavo Ramirez holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology (Guidance Counseling) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin.  He attended Holy Redeemer Boys School, St. John‘s College, and St. Michael’s College (Sixth Form/Junior College) in Belize City.

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