CARRIBBEAN NATION OF BELIZ

 

CARRIBBEAN NATION OF BELIZ; SPRING 2026

Prof. Dr. Sachi (Sabyasachi) Ghosh Dastidar

            A few months ago, my daughter-in-law Sumedha decided to visit Beliz during her and her daughter Shriya-Lakshmi’s school Spring holiday. At first, they were thinking of other places, but I suggested Beliz as my wife Shefali and I were heading towards Beliz during our road trip in 1990s starting at Panama but was disrupted in Guatemala by the rental car driver who ran away with our luggage. We had to run to police, but all the things needed for survival were gone and we had to spend days to buy from clothing to toothpaste and more. One policeman even said, “Come tomorrow to the market close to our place and you may find your materials on sale.” We started that journey at Panama City, then went through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. In 1990s many areas were not easy and safe for tourists. In many places we were warned by locals to be extra careful. We were told Costa Rica was very safe even a nation without a military, but others weren’t. As a result, we visited Costa Rica again in 2025, but this time with son Shuvo, Sumedha and granddaughter Shriya, and grandma Shefali.   

Beliz

            Our journey began after our direct New York – Beliz flight reached on time, and we rented a car to cover our first part of the trip. Car rental officials reminded us of the two-lane roads in the country with hundreds of bumps to control the speed limit. First on the western part of the state, close to Guatemala, we stayed near San Ignacio, in two separate one-room home suites at different heights while going up and down for food and swimming. Next day we visited a very famous Mayan temple Xunantunich Mayan Ruins and structures around it,. It is like many indigenous Hindu temples in India, but Indian shrines are active, but not here.

 

Xunantunich Mayan Ruins

            It was wonderful 80-degree temperature traveling from New York where it was freezing in mid-April.

            Two days later we headed to Beliz to catch a water taxi to San Pedro Island in the north as a part of Caribbean Sea. A two- hour ride with hundreds of travelers was a nice experience as we were able to chat with other riders.

At San Pedro port we rented a Golf Cart vehicle for our stay. It was something new to us, but it was an important travel device. Almost everyone was using that vehicle as there were hardly any pedestrians and automobiles. Sumedha became an expert in Golf Cart driving.

Parked Golf Carts on Left

A Beach Near Our Hotel

            At San Pedro there were many water ride tours. We selected snorkeling and visiting a protected area in the bay with beautiful little underwater stone mounds filled with colored fish and other sea creatures, including conch, snail and more. This was our first experience of snorkeling, and later our boat took us to another place barely 3 feet deep in ocean where one can stand easily. Water was full of very large peaceful water creatures. Shriya stood there and played with large sharks and other creatures. The area we went was at least one hour ride from San Pedro port.

Area for Snorkeling

            Next day we headed north of the island for a new emerging Secret Beach area of Cape Friends with clean ocean water and lots of restaurants.

In Clean Ocean Water One Can See Fish Gathering