ABSTRACT
Belize is a bit different from its Central America neighbours – it has had a relatively uneventful political past as a British colony, and is now independent. The official language is English but significant minorities have Spanish, Mayan and other dialects as their native tongues. It is also the only country in the region without a volcano or, coincidentally, a Pacific coastline. In fact, it will definitely strike the visitor as having a more ‘Caribbean‧ feel, with much of its tourist activity centred around the many small islands, or ‘cayes‧, dotted offshore towards its barrier reef, the longest in the western hemisphere. The cayes provide an excellent base from which to explore the habitats of marine life, both above and below water. However, there are jungle trekking adventures to be had inland as well, where you may well stumble onto one of the many ruined ancient Mayan archaeological sites that remain overgrown and largely unexplored. Whether snorkelling after manatees and rays, or stalking jaguars in the forest, Belize is a real tropical paradise for nature lovers. The climate stays hot and humid throughout the year, but there is a brief dry season from February to May. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315065854/fcdcdc97-da1d-4e30-8d3a-08a54d4f1824/content/figu1_70_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
