Among the most visually stunning places in the Western Hemisphere. Home to the world’s largest barrier reef outside Australia, not to mention ceremonial Mayan caves filled with the calcified remains of sacrificial victims. Then there are the sprawling jaguar preserves and endless miles of horseback riding trails through the jungle
Spend a few days in Belize, and it’s not hard to see why tourists outnumber residents every year.
Yet, the tiny nation’s outsized appeal has been tempered in recent years with reports of unchecked criminality and danger. The U.S. State Department has gone so far as to warn tourists to stay off the streets altogether at night.
While such advisories tend to be overcautious (Americans were recommended to avoid large Millennium celebrations overseas during New Year’s a decade ago), they do address a real and undeniable element of danger. But only in Belize City.
In fact, the overwhelming majority of the crime committed nationwide happens in just a few neighborhoods in Belize City, and those places are typically bereft of tourist attractions anyway. The local authorities are so concerned about this negative perception that last month the official Belize Tourism Board became a signature sponsor of Crime Stoppers Belize.
Despite all this, our own recent travels in the country were made up of countless nocturnal strolls — many of them completely alone. Whether through the busy streets of San Ignacio, Belize’s second largest city, or down the sandy beach-side alleys of Placencia, a popular scuba diving town, never was there a hint of danger in the evening air.
Well, that’s not entirely true. There was a danger of a stomachache from eating too many plates of bean, rice, panades (fried corn shells stuffed with beans) and tamales from sidewalk vendors. But that’s a risk every traveler must accept before venturing into the Belizean night.
More at www.belizetourism.org.