BELIZE BEACH
Stretching 16 miles between the calm lagoons of Big Creek and the blue, choppy seas of south Stann Creek, the picturesque Placencia Peninsula is quickly becoming a premiere tourist destination in Belize. Located 100 miles south of Belize City, Placencia boasts the longest sand beach in the entire country. Dotted with quaint seaside resorts, guesthouses, hotels and restaurants, this once sleepy fishing village is now being recognized for its laid-back ambiance, breathtaking location, lush ecosystems and abundance of adventure-packed activities to experience.
Home to a collage of cultures stemming from the Garifuna, Creole and Mayan to retired Americans and Europeans, the typical villager uses a bicycle to get around, walks barefooted on the red dirt roads or simply strolls down the narrowest street in the world ~ Placencia’s famous sidewalk. Twenty inches wide, the sidewalk, which was featured in the “Guinness Book of World Records”, extends through the heart of the village and is a common meeting place for neighbors and friends.
Visitors can travel to Placencia by road, boat or plane. The red dirt road along the peninsula and leading into the village mostly provides a very bumpy and dusty ride. In the wet season, the road gets very muddy and slippery and a four-wheel drive vehicle is advisable. Traveling along the peninsula towards Placencia, visitors will encounter the small Garifuna community of Seine Bight. A community rich in their Garifuna heritage, visitors can take a walk around to experience a taste of local ethnic dishes, music and hospitality. Traveling along the peninsula one cannot help but wonder how this narrow strip of road is not swallowed up by the large water bodies on both its sides. The community of Big Creek can be seen on the opposite side of the large expanse of lagoons, while small mangrove cayes dot the horizon on the breathtaking view out to sea.
Arriving in the village immediately hints at the natural laid-back ambiance of the community. Residents standing on their verandahs overlooking the narrow street into the village, chatting with the neighbor across the street; children running around bare-footed and care-free dragging each other in makeshift wagons; dogs of all sizes and breeds freely running about (in fact residents of Placencia have created a calendar featuring pictures of the beloved pet dogs of the village which are for sale in most of the gift shops) and fishermen docking into the picturesque harbor at the end of the main street.
Visitors to Placencia have the opportunity to experience both sea and inland jungle adventures because of the village’s ideal location. The village comes alive in the summer months when the annual Lobster Fest is held. This seafood extravaganza is a celebration of the opening of the lobster season in Belize. Visitors can drift from booth to booth sampling the variety of delicious lobster dishes while listening to the live beats of Garifuna drums reverberating through the cool salty air.
http://www.mybelizeadventure.com/about_belize/belize.php
Monday, January 8, 2007
belize archeology
BELIZE ARCHEOLOGY
Altun Ha means “Water of the Rock, which is the Maya translation of the nearby village of Rockstone Pond. Altun Ha was strategically located as a trading center, about six miles from the coast. The site covers an area of about twenty-five square miles, most still uncovered. In the late 1950s, an archaeological team lead by Dr. David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum began the excavations and restorations of the site. Additional restoration and consolidation work was completed in 2003 under the Tourism Development Project.
The drive to Altun Ha takes you about thirty one miles north of Belize City. Just past the village of Sand Hill on the Northern Highway, a right turn onto the Old Northern Highway at about Mile 20 leads you to Altun Ha. Altun Ha is also accessible by river from the coast. From the Northern River route, it is necessary to drive from Bomba through Maskall to Altun Ha.
Altun Ha was a Classic Period ceremonial center, first settled around 250BC. Archaeologists believe it was once populated by about 10,000 people. The typical Mayan corbel arch is seen at this site, but the absence of carved stelae should be noted. The downfall of this site was most likely brought about by peasant revolt, indicated by significant destruction to many areas of the structures and tombs.
There are two main plazas, Plaza A and Plaza B. The tallest temple in Plaza A is the Temple of the Green Tomb. Many valuables were uncovered here, primarily jade, but also stingray spines, skin flints and the remains of a Maya book. Some green obsidian blades found are traceable to Teotihuacan in Mexico.
The site's most important and largest temple is the Temple of the Masonry Altars or Temple of the Sun God, and is the tallest structure, rising about sixty feet above the floor of Plaza B. If you have the courage to climb to the top of this temple, the view in all directions is breathtaking. The round altar at the top is unique to Altun Ha, and is believed to have been the focus of unusual sacrificial ceremonies, involving the offering of incense and carvings to a blazing fire. This structure, referred to as Structure B-4, is also the symbol used on our local Belikin Beer. Several tombs were discovered in this temple, but most were desecrated. One significant find was the solid jade head of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau. This six inch high head is the largest jade carving found in the Maya world, weighing almost ten pounds. The jade head, which is considered one of Belize's national treasures, can be found on the corner of all Belizean banknotes.
http://www.mybelizeadventure.com/about_belize/belize.php
Altun Ha means “Water of the Rock, which is the Maya translation of the nearby village of Rockstone Pond. Altun Ha was strategically located as a trading center, about six miles from the coast. The site covers an area of about twenty-five square miles, most still uncovered. In the late 1950s, an archaeological team lead by Dr. David Pendergast of the Royal Ontario Museum began the excavations and restorations of the site. Additional restoration and consolidation work was completed in 2003 under the Tourism Development Project.
The drive to Altun Ha takes you about thirty one miles north of Belize City. Just past the village of Sand Hill on the Northern Highway, a right turn onto the Old Northern Highway at about Mile 20 leads you to Altun Ha. Altun Ha is also accessible by river from the coast. From the Northern River route, it is necessary to drive from Bomba through Maskall to Altun Ha.
Altun Ha was a Classic Period ceremonial center, first settled around 250BC. Archaeologists believe it was once populated by about 10,000 people. The typical Mayan corbel arch is seen at this site, but the absence of carved stelae should be noted. The downfall of this site was most likely brought about by peasant revolt, indicated by significant destruction to many areas of the structures and tombs.
There are two main plazas, Plaza A and Plaza B. The tallest temple in Plaza A is the Temple of the Green Tomb. Many valuables were uncovered here, primarily jade, but also stingray spines, skin flints and the remains of a Maya book. Some green obsidian blades found are traceable to Teotihuacan in Mexico.
The site's most important and largest temple is the Temple of the Masonry Altars or Temple of the Sun God, and is the tallest structure, rising about sixty feet above the floor of Plaza B. If you have the courage to climb to the top of this temple, the view in all directions is breathtaking. The round altar at the top is unique to Altun Ha, and is believed to have been the focus of unusual sacrificial ceremonies, involving the offering of incense and carvings to a blazing fire. This structure, referred to as Structure B-4, is also the symbol used on our local Belikin Beer. Several tombs were discovered in this temple, but most were desecrated. One significant find was the solid jade head of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau. This six inch high head is the largest jade carving found in the Maya world, weighing almost ten pounds. The jade head, which is considered one of Belize's national treasures, can be found on the corner of all Belizean banknotes.
http://www.mybelizeadventure.com/about_belize/belize.php
Belize
Belize is a small country of 8,867 square miles that sits on the northeastern coast of Central America. The friendly neighbor of Mexico and Guatemala, Belize shares an ancient Mayan past and common ethnic backgrounds with Central America. But it is the salty air drifting over from the Caribbean Sea that has infected the country with a colorful Caribbean flamboyance that can be seen through its distinct Colonial/Caribbean-style architecture, coconut-based dishes, white sandy beaches, laid-back ambience and its English and Creole dialects. Belize is in fact the only Central American country with English as a first language.
With approximately 270,000 people living peacefully in a secure political environment, enriched in diverse cultures, Belize is a premier ecotourism destination. Though small, Belize boasts the largest Barrier Reef in the Western Hemisphere, the famous ‘Blue Hole, three of the four pristine atolls in the Atlantic, over 200 sand islands, the only Jaguar Preserve in the world and over 500 species of exotic birds.
If that's not enough, Belize is home to numerous remains of ancient Mayan cities, some still undiscovered under the jungle's lush vegetation, majestic Maya Mountains that soar 3000 feet into the clouds, some of the tallest mangrove trees in the region, complex cave systems, the only pine forest (Mountain Pine Ridge) in all of Central America, and a unique and colorful cultural mix.
http://www.mybelizeadventure.com/about_belize/belize.php
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