I wanted to see the coral reef. The 300 kilometers (out of a total of 900 extending from Cancun to Honduras) are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and half of the 250,000 tourists come here to dive, for good reason. In fact, 36% of its forest and mangrove territory is protected.
After seeing so many sharks in Galapagos, I really wanted a calm dive with white sand and colorful little fish. So, I decided to go to the nearest place where I could find that: Placencia in Belize.
Belize was Mayan territory, and today 60% of its population has Mayan ancestry, with a strong presence of Creoles/Mestizos, Garífuna, and more. The territory was not colonized by the Spaniards because it lacked gold and silver, but it was colonized by the English in 1840. The official language is English, spoken as a second language by 63% of the 400,000 inhabitants, followed by Spanish and Creole.
Due to its geographical location and currency parity with the USD, I read that it is becoming popular for money laundering and drug trafficking in general. I didn’t see any of that during my brief stay in Placencia. In fact, everything seemed very safe. There were Canadian and American expatriates, sailors making stopovers, and a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Still, the boat ride felt like a scene from a drug cartel movie… we made the journey to Punta Gorda in less than 30 minutes, flying and hitting the surface of the sea. From there, I took a bus to Mango Creek, a taxi to the pier, a boat to Placencia. I arrived at 4:30 p.m. I went to the first dive center I saw on the street, and they told me that THERE WAS NO SPACE FOR DIVING WITH THEM IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!!! Long story short… I barely managed to secure a spot. Splash Diving went out of their way to accommodate me, and it worked out. I’m grateful! It was good, even though they were not exactly colorful little fish… Instead, there were nurse sharks accustomed to being fed by divers. They followed us like a pack of stray dogs. They are harmless to humans (they have small teeth), but they scared away the colorful little fish I wanted to see (parrotfish, butterflyfish, surgeonfish, etc.). Still, the dives were fun. During the dives, we anchored at postcard-perfect islands.
What a great way to end the journey in Central America.
I had to return to Antigua because I had left my small suitcase there (that’s another story) and had my flight from Guatemala.
The return felt too fast, and I was getting melancholic because my journey was coming to an end…
I wanted to record a “conclusion of the trip” video in the central square in Antigua and asked a young woman who was there with her husband and daughter to hold my phone for the recording. But while trying to do it, memories of the people I met, the landscapes I saw, and anecdotes came to mind, and I got so emotional that I couldn’t speak. The three of us ended up hugging. In the end, I managed to calm down, and something was recorded…
I don’t know how long it will take me to process the impressions of the trip. For now, I’m going through the photos and reliving it to gradually take notes on travel tips and advice that I will share on my Instagram account. I think there will be some interesting things. In addition to the photos and videos I want to share because during the trip, there was hardly any time for that.
What I do know is that, if I, at 66 years old (in a month, 67), could make this trip, YOU CAN TOO!
THANK YOU FOR ACCOMPANYING ME.
❤️❤️❤️
