Belize

Belize (the size of Massachusetts) has to be the most diverse country in the ways that it attracts visitors. It has highlights ranging from Mayan ruins to arguably the best SCUBA diving in the world to God’s beautiful creation found in the vegetation and landscapes.

The Mayans lived in Belize for an estimated 2400 years and are the originators of the name. The Belize River was named because of the “muddy waters.” Since the Mayan culture was prevalent for so many years, there is a multitude of ruins (many still uncovered). The country is mostly flat. But if you drive down the road you will almost always have in sight a place where there is just a tall patch of land covered with trees. Each one of these is a piece of history after the world has worn on it. Of course there are some spots that have been uncovered and attract surprisingly few visitors each year for the magnitude of its presence.

With some beaches, they are clean and the water is blue, but there is only one thing to make it perfect; coral reefs. Belize is perfect in that it has all of this! There are many species of fish and coral that live within swimming distance to the seemingly perfect beach. But this is not the main attraction. The best part of Belize diving is the Great Blue Hole. This is a gigantic sinkhole about 60 miles off the coast. It was made by a limestone cave system collapsing when the water depth was shallower many years ago. You can tell that it was formed long ago because there are shifts in the hole which means that the tectonic plates have moved since then. Then there is the wildlife. To put it plainly, the fish are spectacular! Sharks are a regular sighting, including; nurse, hammerhead, blacktip, and bull.

Then there is what seems like the most perfect flowers and waterfalls you will ever see. The Big Rock Falls are an example of that. These falls are on a river that is very popular also for the white water rafting and kayaking available. The flowers could not be more colorful or diverse in their shapes and sizes. This makes the hiking even that much better. You could be walking through a rain forest and see color dispersed the whole time.

Belize has to be the most under-rated country. It offers everything that a tourist could possibly be looking for. There is history, beaches, and scenery. Yet there are less than 1 million visitors a year. Making it more ideal yet, nobody in the way.