The Beautiful Animals and People of Belize

 The Belizean people are some of the friendliest I've met in my journeys. They speak four languages which contribute to their ability to converse so easily. Although they were originally settled by the Mayan people around 15,000 BCE, their official language is English because the British colonized them in the 1600's.  They became a colony of British Honduras until they finally became independent from Britain in 1981, with English remaining as their primary language.

Spanish is prevalent, as is Creole and Garifuna. Almost all Belizeans speak Creole, which is essentially a shortened version of English. Creole originated because they didn't want the British soldiers to understand what they said. Today, while driving around in the primary form of transportation (the golf cart), you hear the townspeople greeting each other and exchanging news in a hodgepodge of English and Creole. 

The Garifuna presence is important around Belize, with music and dance an important element of the culture. The Garifuna people have been in Belize for a long time, having come from the Caribbean islands. Our snorkeling guide was Garifuna. Everyone knows each other on the island of San Pedro, so he hollered Garifuna greetings to other passersby on the boats. 

Nature and wildlife is highly revered on the island. There is very little trash, and the sea creatures are valued. Our snorkel guide, Bird, knew where each animal lived beneath the waters and publicly mourned when he noticed that his favorite octopus was no longer in its home due to human tampering. I braved my first swim with sharks. Bird tempted the menagerie of nurse sharks with fish so that when we jumped in the water, they were swarming. He showed me that they were harmless as he went around kissing them. A stingray the size of half my body swam around the fun of the fish feast. Bird held the stingray, encouraging us to touch it. That was too much for me as flashes of Steve Irwin's death continuously flashed by my mind. When Bird placed the stingray at my face, I screamed, and that upset the animal-loving man. As we emerged from the water, he reprimanded me for screaming at the animals and then partook in several moments of silence to mourn such an act of indecency towards his loves. I, too, am an animal lover and so felt ashamed for my misgiving.