Belize

Gallery Shots

Our travels to Belize (twice in 2001) offered all the right things at the right time. It was beautiful and relatively unspoiled, generally undeveloped, but still supportive of a family on holiday. It was a short flight with no significant time zone change, but also far removed from day-to-day life. As with my other Central America photographs from this time period, low resolution digital was the name of the game.

Dock bar, just outside our hotel room on Ambergris Caye.

San Padro, Ambergris Caye, Belize. Restaurants, bars, music, shops and golf cart rental (no cars allowed).

Lunch and lounging on Laughing Bird Caye. Some of the most beautiful islands in Belize are marine reserves.

Laughing Bird Caye

The glorious Laughing Bird Caye in southern Belize.

Laughing Bird Caye

Beach side bar-restaurant at the Turtle Inn, Placencia

Bar at the Turtle Inn, Placencia

Simple and pleasant Dockside Bar. Not sure if it was rebuilt after a subsequent hurricane.

Dockside bar.
Dangriga, Belize

Finding Belize

In my "pre-Travers" days, I became interested in Belize after reading the book "Jaguar" by zoologist and "big cat expert" Alan Rabinowitz about his efforts to establish a jaguar reserve in Belize. It's a fascinating read. My good friend Laura was also intrigued so we had to go! Above, Laura waits for me at the bridge in Dangriga after we separated to get supplies we needed for our stay at the Jaguar Reserve.

snorkeling, Dangriga

Dangriga, Belize

Dangriga was certainly not a tourist destination in 1993 but we loved it. We were "adopted" by our taxi driver, Charles, who became our guardian angel, watching over us at restaurants, bars, wherever he dropped us off. A local guide (approved by Charles) took us snorkeling, where he used the pictured spear gun to nab a large lobster. We then nabbed a fish from a local fishing boat and went to our guide's aunt's lodge on an island, where we cooked the fish, lobster and a box of Kraft Dinner, and made rum drinks from the coconut water in the coconut trees on the beach. Very cool.

Jaguar Preserve, Dangriga

Jaguar Reserve

We planned to take a bus to the Jaguar Reserve but Charles saw the researchers in town and got us a ride in the back of their pickup truck. At the Reserve (no frills), we hiked for several days with a guide, including a night hike (as jaguars are nocturnal). We saw no jaguar, only jaguar paw prints, but also coral snakes, peccary (wild boar), and the plane that Mr. Rabinowitz had crashed in the jungle. A fascinating experience and a million miles away from my life in Silicon Valley.