[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_padding=”20px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”89%” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”89%” max_width_tablet=”80%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” animation_style=”fade” make_fullwidth=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-01644.jpg” title_text=”TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-01644″ force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_post_title author=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ title_font=”Fjalla One|300|||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”72px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ width=”70%” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Crossing into Belize, the scenery doesn\u2019t seem to change much, but everything else feels like a shift into a different rhythm.<\/strong><\/p>\n by Akis Temperidis<\/strong> This tiny nation\u2014Central America’s only former British colony\u2014gained independence in 1981. With just 450,000 people today, Belize is a cultural stew unmatched in the region. Half the population is Mestizo, a blend of Mayan and Spanish ancestry. A third are Creoles, descended from African heritage. Then there\u2019s the Garifuna, a fascinating 6%, with African roots woven into Caribbean tribes. Toss in Mennonite farmers from northern Europe, Indian merchants and Chinese shopkeepers and you\u2019ve got a vivid mosaic of humanity squeezed into a country no bigger than the Peloponnese.<\/p>\n Belize boasts tropical rainforests inland and a sprawling chain of islands along the world\u2019s second-largest coral reef\u2014second only to Australia. If your dreams lean toward jungles alive with adventure and postcard-perfect islands where white sands meet swaying palms, Belize delivers. Offshore escapades like fishing and diving are the main draw, but this time, we stuck to the mainland.<\/p>\n Why? Budget constraints. Leaving our trusty Iveco for a pricey island hotel (where a triple room runs $80\u2013$100 a night) didn\u2019t quite fit. Still, memories of St. George\u2019s Caye in 1995\u2014when we celebrated the finish of the Camel Trophy Mundo Maya\u2014linger vividly. And who could forget Caye Caulker from 2009\u2019s The World Offroad<\/i> journey, where reggae vibes danced with the salt air and Caribbean aromas?<\/p>\n This time, we headed south to Placencia, a once-charming village now gripped by American real estate developers shaping it into a miniature Canc\u00fan\u2014or worse, Miami. (A quick look at realestateplacencia.com tells you all you need to know). En route, we rolled into Hopkins, where the laid-back, hippie vibe still thrives. There, we parked right on the beach for three glorious days.<\/p>\n Dangriga (on the main picture), the heartbeat of Garifuna culture, felt like another world entirely\u2014a town steeped in Afro-Caribbean rhythms. And then there\u2019s Belize City, the nation\u2019s largest and most timeworn place. A little gritty, a little grimy, but alive with stories if you care to listen.<\/p>\n What\u2019s life like in this curious land, once known as British Honduras? A miracle of coexistence, for starters. So many tribes, so few knives. Some locals chalk it up to the widespread love for marijuana and the steady flow of dollars (clean and not-so-clean) into Belizean banks from their northern neighbor.<\/p>\n The recent independence, coupled with a lingering cultural legacy\u2014King Charles III still holds a ceremonial place here\u2014has forged a strange unity among the nation\u2019s people. English may be the official language, but most Mestizos still speak Spanish. British habits endure in work schedules and other quirks, lending the place a peculiar charm.<\/p>\n But why, in a land of lush farms and sugarcane fields, are prices closer to those in the American Midwest than neighboring Mexico? According to a Garifuna local, it\u2019s a cocktail of colonial-era taxes, sticky bureaucracy, and modern-day corruption. Belize also claims the region\u2019s highest fuel prices (\u20ac1.5\u2013\u20ac1.7 per liter), a detail that makes everything just a bit steeper.<\/p>\n We stayed only ten days, far short of the month those islands might have lured us into, and now we\u2019re back on the road to Guatemala. Not the tourist Guatemala of backpacks and Airbnbs, hopping buses like last spring. This time, it\u2019s a deeper plunge into the jungles and highlands, with our Iveco as our steed.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_number_counter title=”days spent in Belize” number=”9″ percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_number_counter title=”kilometers driven” number=”615″ percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_number_counter title=”euros spent (no refuelling)” number=”290″ percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_number_counter title=”euros for 2-week car insurance” number=”28″ percent_sign=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_number_counter][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-0900.jpg” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-01664.jpg” title_text=”TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-01664″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/theworldoffroad.com\/2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-01553.jpg” title_text=”TheWorldOffroad_Temperidis-01553″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
photography: Akis Temperidis & Vula Netou<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n