The Best of Belize

Belize is so compact—about the size of Massachusetts—that it?s easy to keep both water sports enthusiasts and landlubbers happy. You can spend a few days exploring the interior, taking in the astonishing array of wildlife in the dense jungles. You can visit the awe-inspiring Mayan ruins, remains of a dynamic civilization that peaked while Europe was dwelling in the Dark Ages. And then you can head to the cayes to take in their ocean-based delights. Most of our members, however, choose to base themselves on the cayes and explore the mainland on day trips.

From Belize City, we took a 15-mile ride up the Belize River, which alone was worth the trip to Belize. The scenery was simply breathtaking. A jungle of royal palms, mahogany, bamboo thickets, flowering trees, vines, and shrubs lined both sides of the wide, meandering river. Except for the occasional village or a native paddling a dugout canoe, we shared the river only with parrots and colorful, noisy birds. Every so often, the wilderness reverberated with the spine-tingling roar of black howler monkeys and we?d catch sight of a troop of them feeding in the tall trees. At one point we spotted a baby crocodile.

Fall 2001