Belize

Belize is a country on the eastern coast of Central America.

It was colonized by Great Britain and called British Honduras before being granted independence from Britain in 1964. The name was changed to Belize in 1973 but because of border disputes between the UK and Guatemala actual independence was delayed until 1981. The capital city is now Belmopan.

Today, Belize is still a Commonwealth country and there is a picture of Queen Elizabeth on all the Belizean money. The Queen visited Belize in 1985 and again in 1994 with her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh.

English is the official language of Belize, but most of its population speak creole. Many people are multilingual.

The country has The Caribbean Sea to the east and there is a dense jungle to the west. Just offshore is the world’s second-largest Barrier Reef with rich marine life and the famous Great Blue Hole. Along the shoreline there are hundreds of low-lying islands called cayes. Belize’s jungle areas are home to

Mayan ruins.

I first learned of Belize when I taught a student whose family came from Belize to work and live in our school district. They moved back to Belize for a while and this student wrote me a couple of letters. The post mark on the envelope was stamped, Orange Walk, Belize. This was in the mid 1980s.

When I came home from teaching school in Kuwait, I decided it was time to travel to places in Central America so I booked a trip to Belize. While there I enjoyed seeing the Mayan ruins and discovering more of this delightful country. Before leaving I decided to arrange for a taxi to take me to Orange Walk. I had a wonderful day with the driver as we headed off the beaten track to see if I could find the family of a student I had taught 25 years ago. I ended up having a visit with a lady who remembered a family from her village who went to Alberta, Canada.

Today’s bell is my souvenir from my trip to Belize. I share more of my adventures in Belize in my Travelling Tuesdays book. Good news! My books have arrived!

Comment below or send me a message and I will let you know how you can place an order for your copy of my book.

# living life abundantly # published author