20-Nov-2009 Belize City, Belize

My first impression was disappointing to say the least. My only previous experience in Belize was 10 hours off of a cruise ship here, some scuba diving, a local restaurant and back on the ship. My impression then was that I wanted to come back. Riding in on the bikes was a different experience. I had pretty much decided that I would do the tourist things and enjoy what this place has to offer that way. But today I decided that wasn't the experience I really wanted and I didn't want to leave this place without a better experience. I had to go back to my overriding belief that most people, no matter the culture, are good people just trying to have a good life, whatever their perception of that is. So I put my initial impressions away, parked the bike in a safe place and walked through town for a while. I met a guy who called himself Prince Charles something or other. He was a native Belizian, decended from the Mayans. He considers himself the unofficial ambassador of all things cultural, historical, and anthropological in Belize. His story starts with the question about how Belize got its name. The answer took about 2 hours to get to and started in about 400 BC with a significant stop in 1615 AD and continued to the present. I'd like to share it here but I don't think I could do it justice. This guy was obviously educated, loved his country and knew a great deal about it. He quizzed me a bit after the story to make sure I got the important points and then appointed me a Junior Ambassador of Belize to the World. Very funny. I walked around town quite a bit after that and never felt threatened in any way. Maybe cause I dressed down to look like an American Expat bum instead of a high profile tourist. The people were friendly and I really did enjoy the day.

But anyway, this whole experience got me thinking that I really need to check my preconceptions at the door, or border, as it may, and just experience what each of these places has to offer. Caution is in order, of course, but there will be good to be found everywhere if I'm looking for it.

I've been doing some work today and gather stuff for the rest of our journey. One more positive thing about Belize. I have never seen so many tall, long-legged, beautiful black women in one place before in my life. Wow, were talking 5'8" to 6'3" gorgeous women. Sorry Newby, my camera is still broken. :)