Caroline Shepard,
Professional Photographer, some pictures and excepts from her
exciting trip to Belize. A great Belize Vacation. by Caroline Shepard
The trip from Belize City to
Ambergris Caye takes 15 minutes on a puddle jumper and
about 1 hour by boat. The flight over beautiful emerald
green water is breath taking. The islands that run along
the mainland are called Cayes pronounced Keys, are contained
by the Great Barrier Reef, which makes for spectacular
snorkeling and diving.
If you have ever seen the movie
Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford, you might recognize
this river. It is the Belize River and spans many winding
miles. I took a boat trip down the river for about an
hour before we docked and began our trek into the jungle,
heading towards Mayan ruins. The river is alive with wildlife
and occasional fishermen.
Snorkeling off the coast of
Ambergris Caye I got to swim with nurse sharks and plenty
of different rays. The spotted Eagle ray is a rarer sight,
but I saw this elegant and graceful creature swimming
along in the distance and swam as fast as I could to catch
up with it.
Villages in Belize are spread
out all over the place and are marked by wooden houses
built high on stilts. Apparently, the houses are built
that way so that they don't decompose after so many rainy
seasons. My guess was that the height also kept out unwanted
creatures, like some of the poisonous snakes they have
in the jungle.
This beautiful island couldn't
have been more than 100 feet in diameter. My guide brought
us here for lunch after a day of watching wild Manatee
and dolphins. This is the closest I had ever come to a
deserted desert island. The sand was pure white and the
surrounding waters warm and emerald green. It was simply
paradise.
Belize is a much poorer country
than its neighbors Mexico and Guatemala. Most of the Mayan
ruins that Belize has are not excavated, but the few that
are are exciting to see. This is a picture of a sun temple
at a place called Altun Ha. The trek up the temple will
take you just above the tree line, and offers an expansive
view of the surrounding jungle.
Sugar is one of the main exports
of Belize. This is a photo of a sugar factory that lies
along the Belize river. The sugar is exported raw, and
refined only once it reaches its destination. Therefore
the sugar one gets in Belize isn't as sweet as I was used
to.
A
face carved into the base of a Mayan temple at Lamanai.
A detail of the Sugar Factory
along the Belize River.
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