Sitting at the bottom of the canoe gliding silently on the underground river of Barton Creek, how not to shiver when the beam of the flashlight stops on a petrified skull between two stalagmites?
Human sacrifices were common in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
Like the Mayas of Yucatán who, to invoke the gods of rain and corn, offered their martyrs to abysses called cenotes, those of Belize made blood flow in the half-light of the caves.
These disconcerting rites are not the only enigmas posed by this people to contemporary visitors.
Architects of genius, obsessed with the cycle of the seasons, the Mayas raised their temples on hills, not to get closer to the gods (whose domain is the underworld), but to observe the celestial vault and keep their calendar up to date. .
It was in the west of the country that this civilization flourished.
During the “classical” period, which stretches from the third century CE until around the year 900, the city of Xunantunich prospered near the Belize River.
Drowned in an ocean of greenery, the site still impresses with its pyramidal palaces, such as the emblematic El Castillo.
Achievements all the more prodigious as this society knew neither iron nor animal traction!
We do not know why, at the end of the first millennium, this civilization which mastered writing, mathematics and astronomy suddenly collapsed.
However, the rural mass of this people did not disappear with the fall of its elites.
Their descendants still live on the borders of Guatemala, maintaining their traditions and their language.
They would be about 36,500 Mayans in Belize, or 11% of the population.
A young and colorful country
In a typically Caribbean atmosphere, Belize deploys an extraordinary panoply of ethnic groups.
Annexed by the English Crown in 1862, the country was called British Honduras until its independence in 1981. This
British
influence remains palpable around the Anglican cathedral in Belize City.
But on the coast, the villages are more like pirate hideouts.
Belize, indeed, has long attracted buccaneers who once plundered the battered Spanish galleons on the reefs.
The sea wolves have since given way to a very mixed population.
If the Mestizos and the "Kriols" descend from European settlers united with Mayas or blacks, the Garifunas are the children of Africans and indigenous Arawaks.
The story goes that their ancestors were the survivors of a slave ship, stranded on the island of Saint-Vincent.
The Garifuna would thus be the only blacks on the American continent to have never experienced slavery.
In Arawak, their name means “cassava eaters”.
True ways of expressing their relationship to the world, their music, their dances and their language of Amerindian origin have been proclaimed “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by Unesco.
Two communities stand out radically in this tropical world.
The Chinese, who got their hands on the retail businesses through hard work and discipline.
And the Mennonites, who seem to have landed in Central America through an improbable spatio-temporal tunnel.
These German-speaking whites left Europe to be able to practice a pure and hard Protestantism.
Rejecting the conveniences of modernity, they found in Belize their promised land.
Today, the entire production of milk, chickens and mahogany furniture is in their hands.
They therefore prosper, but remain recognizable by their carts, their straw hats and their overalls inherited from another era... An austerity that does not prevent them from being hospitable.
For doing good is their divine mission.
Bottles by the sea
Belize is an essential destination for diving enthusiasts.
And for good reason: the Mesoamerican coral reef is the largest in the world after Australia!
Bathed in warm, clear water, the mangrove islets called cays are colorful base camps for travelers in search of underwater thrills.
No need to be an experienced diver to try the adventure.
An incredible spectrum of colors is revealed to swimmers equipped with a mask and a snorkel: exuberant corals, fan fans, corallines and algae, but also manatees, rays, crabs and a profusion of multicolored fish follow one another in graceful flower ballets of water.
Accessible from Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) or Caye Caulker, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve is a protected spot with easy access.
Its herbarium is particularly popular with turtles who feast on it without worrying about their strange visitors.
The Shark Ray Alley site concentrates an impressive number of nurse sharks.
Local guides have taken to baiting them around tourists.
But you just have to move away from the boats to see them move freely.
Back on their Caye to share their experiences, the divers congratulate themselves on their outing of the day.
All of them, however, have only one fantasy: The Great Blue Hole.
Designated by Commander Cousteau as one of the ten most exciting marine sites in the world, this Great Blue Hole is an astonishing perfectly circular chasm, measuring 300 meters in diameter and 125 deep.
Seen from the air, this geological miracle looks like an emerald pearl set with white coral.
It was formed during the last ice age, following the collapse of a cavity, in the same way as the cenotes of Yucatán.
But unlike these, no Maya was ever sacrificed here.
There are only fish there.
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Go
It is necessary to transit through North America to reach Belize International Airport.
If the country has lifted the obligation to present a negative Covid test for fully vaccinated travelers, this is not yet the case for the United States.
The purchase of a Belizean travel insurance at 17 € is also required.
The small planes of the domestic company Tropic Air allow rapid movement between the islands and offer to fly over the Great Blue Hole.
Housing
A victim of its success with North American tourists, Belize sometimes lacks hotel infrastructure.
It is therefore strongly recommended to book your accommodation in advance.
The Barefoot Caye Caulker Hotel and the Ramon's Village Resort in San Pedro are two comfortable establishments very well located on their respective islands.
The second has its diving center to go to the reef right out of its bungalow.
In the Mayan region of Cayo, the San Ignacio Resort is a haven for recharging your batteries after visiting the archaeological sites.
This charming hotel, which recently hosted the English royal family, offers top-of-the-range services in a preserved forest environment.
By opening their windows, guests are likely to see a few toucans or iguanas.
The latter also benefit from a care center in the hotel grounds.
Very involved in its community, the San Ignacio Resort offers Mayan cooking workshops, cultural and recreational visits through the region, and night outings in search of the adorable arboreal mammal called kinkajou.
Information
Nautical activities, cultural visits, natural discoveries… The official Travel Belize website allows you to familiarize yourself with all the facets of the destination.
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