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An 1842 print shows a waterside view of Belize City. One- and two-story tin-roofed wooden buildings with shady verandas line the shore, backdropped by towering palms waving in the sea breeze. Sailboats and skiffs dart across the water. Black soldiers in uniforms of the era lounge in front of cannon, as if their presence is required more for decoration than for defense. It is a pleasant, idyllic, languid view. It could also, but for the period dress, be a certain view of the city today.

That is part of the charm of Belize City. Whatever the natural and man-made disadvantages of the place—and there are not a few—there is also a sense of a colonial seaport of the past living in the present. Though roads have been built in the past few decades, and patterns of commerce are slowly changing, Belize City still huddles along the shore, unsturdy, vulnerable to the ravages of nature, largely depending on ships to bring it nourishment and the practical necessities of life from far and wide. Merchants and tradesmen, hawkers and hangers-on predominate on the streets. Though the air and light are different, the city and the texture of its life contain a whiff of early Boston or Newport.

There are somewhat pleasant residential areas in Belize City, especially on the north side along the sea. Neighborhoods with names like Cinderella Town, Lake Independence and Queen Charlotte Town suggest something picturesque. However, it should be made clear that Belize City is mostly a shanty town. Built in a swamp and on sand dunes, allegedly on a foundation of rum bottles, its houses are falling-down affairs of decaying bare wood, propped up on stilts above the dust and dirt of the streets, and the waste that sits in drainage canals until a rainstorm washes it out to sea. The city is known to people from the countryside and remembered by some unfortunate visitors not for its historic buildings or for the bustle of its streets, but for the resourcefulness, daring, and success of its thieves.

Belize City is what the rest of Belize is not. With more than 60,000 inhabitants, it is a churning cauldron of people, while the rest of the land is almost empty. The pace of life in the countryside is relaxed, and the visitor feels inconspicuous. In Belize City, outsiders are constant targets for hucksters.

That some aspects of Belize City are not pleasant or salubrious owes itself in part to colonial history. Belize City was never intended to be a permanent settlement. If it had been, another site would surely have been chosen, for the swampy location with its attendant malaria and yellow fever, and the lack of deep-water docking facilities, were always obvious disadvantages. For buccaneers, it was nothing more than a base camp. For Creole forest workers, it was a place to shelter in crude huts until the start of the next logging season. For merchants of the coastal trade, it was a site for warehouses. The town was evacuated on several occasions when the Spaniards asserted their rights or threatened to assert them, and it was not until Britain assumed formal colonial responsibility in 1862 that any presumption of permanence was possible.

Nature, however, made continued settlement uncertain. Hurricanes have been to Belize City what earthquakes have been to other Central American capitals. On September 10, 1931, as the city was celebrating the anniversary of the battle of St. George's Caye, the skies darkened and a hurricane swept in. Palm trees and houses were ripped away and people blown out to sea, and a flood followed to rampage over what was left. More than 2000 people were dead or missing in the wake of the storm, and the cost of rebuilding shackled the economy for years. On October 31, 1961, Hurricane Hattie destroyed much of Belize City once again, and blew away some of the smaller offshore cayes altogether. But the inhabitants had been warned of the approaching storm, and loss of life was minimal. The present houses of Belize City, run-down as they are, are said to be an improvement over those that existed before the storm, and some of the newer commercial buildings of reinforced concrete construction are hurricane-resistant.

The damage wrought by the 1961 hurricane was the impulse behind the relocation of the capital to Belmopan, but Belize City remains the largest settlement and commercial center of the nation.

The Airports

Yes, there are two. Phillip Goldson International Airport is about ten miles west of the city, off the Northern Highway. The modern terminal includes a duty-free shop, bar, banking and postal counters, and telephone office. There are a few rather limited hotels nearby (see hotel listings, below), handy if you'll be flying onward the next day. The pricier hotels in Belize City have courtesy phones, in case you've arrived without a reservation.

Taxi fare from the airport into Belize City is about $20 for up to five people.

A local bus leaves for town at 6 and 8 a.m., noon, and 4 and 6 p.m., passing all bus stations in Belize City. The alternative way into town is to flag down a bus on the Northern Highway, just over a mile from the terminal.

Most domestic flights use the municipal airstrip, located about a mile north of the city center, along the Caribbean shore. Flights to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye depart from the international airport as well. Charter flights are available from both the international airport and the airstrip. Taxi fare from town to the airstrip is about $5.

By Bus

Terminals of intercity buses are along or near Collet Canal, about eight blocks west of Regent St., downtown. There are no attractive accommodations in the immediate area. If you arrive in the late afternoon or at night, take a taxi to your hotel to avoid possible undesirable encounters.

The street hustles of Belize City are reminiscent of Cairo's. Newfound friends pester visitors for loans to pay for sick relatives' hospital bills. A gentleman who met you last week, though you arrived yesterday, has come up with the controlled substance you requested. A boat owner will take you on a tour of the cayes tomorrow, but needs your money to buy gasoline now. Opportunities for gainful employment are limited, which explains the preponderance of these characters.

Less amusing are the pickpockets and thieves, whose numbers are few, but whose talents are legendary. I have been in Belize City a number of times and haven't lost anything, but a certain proportion of visitors is not so lucky.

Then there are the characters found in any urban center, who make life miserable for visitors unfamiliar with the local patterns of street life (as well as for authorities, who are unable to prosecute once witnesses go home). On my last visit, certain Belizean youths were in the process of perfecting the bicycle-mounted daytime drive-by mugging. And there are others who, in a rather straightforward manner, will threaten you with a mugging, if you don't pony up some cash.

Aside from all the hassles, the generally shabby environment is enough to make the place no fun.

Even if Belize City were as tranquil as other parts of the country, the hotel situation could be enough to make those with limited funds move on. Of several dozen lodging places, only a few establishments, mostly newer ones, are comfortable, secure, and pleasant all at once. Older hotels are generally in dismal neighborhoods or housed in dismal buildings—harshly furnished, poorly ventilated and dark. Most distressing of all are the pretensions of some of these dives, expressed through their rates.

Not that it's impossible to stay happily in Belize City. Startling improvements in accommodations have come about in the last few years, and there are even a few budget establishments that provide safe havens amid the hubbub. A number of interesting restaurants serve continental, Creole, Mexican and oriental cuisine for which no excuses need be made, and at a few, the prices are even affordable. A dive shop, travel services, and a central location make the old capital a feasible base for day trips to fishing grounds, diving spots, and inland sights. And if you're willing to confine yourself to the six blocks or so of the Fort George area, you might consider the city absolutely delightful. You'll be safe enough, as long as you don't do anything that you wouldn't do in New York. And the city has a certain fascination, once—if—you get past the street hassles. Belize City is certainly tolerable for a few days—or maybe I was just in a good mood on my last visit.

Still, if your funds are limited, or if you want an absolutely carefree, relaxing vacation, which you can find just about anywhere else in the country, you'll move on after a short stay. There is no substitute for staying in the jungle or sleeping on a tropic isle, rather than just visiting them on day trips.

ORIENTATION

Most hotels, businesses and points of interest are clustered in an area measuring about a thousand yards square, around the mouth of Haulover Creek, which untidily divides the city in two. Your basic reference point is the Swing Bridge. Since all streets bear names instead of numbers, a street map or taxi driver will come in handy when you're looking for anything. For streets beyond the central area indicated on the map on page 104, consult the map of Belize available from the Tourist Board. Note that street numbers on one side of a street have no necessary relationship to those across the way.

HOTELS

Good news! The hotels visitors have been waiting for are here today. Belize City's first tourist-class rooms—several hundred of them—have all come on stream in a relatively short time span. Facilities at the Belize Biltmore Plaza and the Fiesta Inn (formerly the Royal Reef Resort) compare with the best in the region.

Not-so-good-news: Rates at the better establishments, at over $175 a day double, are, to say the least, discouraging.

But it's not as bad as it sounds. Operating costs are high in Belize, and you could pay almost as much at less desirable hotels. And even if your pockets are not deep, you might be able to work something out. Many of the new rooms sitmpty, and flexibility is the order of the day. If you don't like the rack rate quoted, ask for the special rate, the corporate rate, the weekend rate, the off-season special, or the Central American rate. You're likely to hit somewhere, either by calling a hotel's toll-free number in the U.S., or by picking up a courtesy phone at the international airport.

Extra charges: If you're an experienced international traveller, I don't have to tell you that there's a down side to bargain rates at upscale hotels. You'll pay heavy surcharges for phone calls, double the going rate for drinks, and more for a taxi back from downtown. (And if you're not an experienced traveller, I've just told you.)

Rates Given below, as elsewhere in this book, are in US$, and, given the fluidity of tariffs, should be taken as estimates at the higher-end hotels.

Out-of-town

These hotels are away from downtown hustles, but just a short taxi ride from anything you need.

Princess Hotel and Casino, King’s Park, tel. 223-2670, fax 223-2660, resprincess@btl.net. 181 rooms, $90 to $130 single/$$110 to $150 double.

Located in a relatively upscale area north and west of downtown, the Princess is a milestone, the Bahamas-come-to-Belize, the largest hotel in the country, complete with Xanadanian architecture, harmless tropical décor in guest rooms with air-conditioning, fans, and desk; and fitness center, cinemas, bowling, restaurants, bars, and yes, a casino. Patronizing any of the former will earn you credits at the latter. Most important for everyone, whether staying at the Princess or not, is that the relatively low rates (for Belize City), at least for the moment, might allow you to drive a bargain at other hostelries, except at the bottom level. The facilities make the Princess worth considering, even if your tastes do not run to gaming.

Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza, Mile 3, Northern Highway, tel. 223-2302, fax 223-2301, biltmore@btl.net, cable 183-BILT-PLAZA-BZ, U.S. 1-800-528-1234. 90 rooms. $100 single/$125 double, no service charge.

Located in a mixed-use suburban area, the Biltmore is plain on the outside, but inside is another matter. In the best Central American tradition, the Biltmore is oriented to a courtyard, and it's past the entry that you'll find the gazebo, gardens with almond and coconut trees and banana plants and aloe (with giant crabs hiding among them), and most public facilities. You don't have to go far to appreciate Belizean wildlife. Resident turtles and even crabs lurk in the gardens. Call the architecture, with its pediments and columns eschewing excess decoration, a sort of post-modern English colonial.

Management is in the hands of the experienced Biltmore group, and service is provided with a finesse that belies the hotel's tender age. Good-sized rooms, opening either off the courtyard with its pool, or from an encircling verandah, have both quiet air conditioners and ceiling fans, easy-on-the-eyes oak-veneer furniture, pastel-floral bedspreads, and art prints of the best of old Belizean houses. The swim-up bar at the pool is open on weekends and when numbers warrant. Cuisine in the Victorian Room, with its dark wainscotting, is both continental and regional, with items such as broiled chicken, grilled snapper, and tournedos bearnaise, at about $15. The Squires Lounge is inviting (see below).

Meeting and catering facilities, comprising several multi-purpose rooms, are the most extensive in Belize, which means that if you stay here, you're likely to run across a Hindu wedding, a Halloween party, or some other expression of Belizean pluralism.

A taxi from the Biltmore to downtown costs about $10.

Fiesta Inn (Royal Reef Resort), Newtown Barracks (P. O. Box 1248), tel. 223-2670, fax 223-2660. 120 rooms. $165 single/$195 double plus 10 percent service, tax. U.S. reservations tel. 800-854-7854.

Everything about this hotel has a cool marine feel, from the pastel blue, white and maroon of this Disneyesque multi-story structure rising beside the water, reflecting the sea and the reef, to the tile in the lobby, to the glassed-in, air-conditioned public areas that have the feel of an aquarium. You'll see structures such as this at Disney World or in the Bahamas, but there is nothing else like it in Belize.

The compound is dotted with thatched shelters and gardens, the courtyard with fountains and fan palms in planters; the pool is huge, but is useful only for bar-sitting and wading; and there is no beach. Fishing, diving and snorkeling are all arranged at the on-site marina.

Every guest room has an ocean view, but only the suites (at well over $200 double) have terraces as well. Marble vanities and furnishings from natural materials such as wicker are all easy on the eyes. The Reef restaurant emphasizes seafood—grouper, snapper, scampi—but also offers lemon chicken and lamb with chutney. Main courses run from $10 to $20, and buffets are sometimes served at lunch. The round of activities includes happy hours in the glass-walled Toucan bar and live entertainment. Daily special events are on tap here. Assorted facilities include meeting rooms.

Fort George Area

This neighborhood is generally lower-key and cleaner than the rest of the city. However, the streets are devoid of life from well before sunset, and late-afternoon and nighttime strolls are out of the question.

Radisson Fort George Hotel, 2 Marine Parade (P. O. Box 321), tel. 227-7400, fax 227-3820. 75 rooms. $125 to $160 single/$140 to $175 double, plus 10% service plus tax. U. S. reservations: Radisson Hotels, tel. 800-333-3333.

The Fort George has long been an oasis in the city, a British colonial establishment where everything works, and the hustle outside isn't allowed to intrude. With renovation, the hotel's air of tradition has departed, but the facilities are still good: pool, fishing dock, grounds fringed with coconut palms, newsstand, travel desk, gift shop, car-rental service.

The new tower is centrally air-conditioned, and all details have been thought out carefully, from the Mayan glyphs on the hardwood doors to the coordinated furnishings. The view from most units is marvelous; Seventh Heaven, the rooftop terrace, has the best available panorama of the tin roofs and verandas and harbor of Belize City. The older Colonial Wing, is more traditionally Caribbean, with wicker furniture and enclosable terraces. Non-smoker and a few cheaper "commercial" rooms available.

The air-conditioned fifties dining room of the Fort George Hotel is not as horribly expensive as it once was, when it was part of the only hotel game in town. American- and continental-style main courses (chicken Dijon, chicken primavera) cost about $15, the Sunday brunch $20. Service is slow, as it is everywhere in Belize City.

Chateau Caribbean, 6 Marine Parade (P. O. Box 947), tel. 227-2813, fax 223-0800, chateaucar@btl.net. 23 rooms. $70 single/$80 double.

A seafront colonial mansion, with attached new wing, near the Fort George. Some maintenance is due, but there is a terrific atmosphere of faded Caribbean glory, especially in the restaurant. Air-conditioned.

Fort Street Guest House, 4 Fort St. (P. O. Box 3), tel. 223-0116, fax 227-8808. 5 rooms, $55 single/$70 double with breakfast, no service charge. Credit cards accepted.

Bed and breakfast in a picture-perfect old house with porches all around, plenty of wicker, wind chimes, wainscotting, high wood ceilings and fans, inviting sitting area. It's not all perfectly refinished, just nicely worn, and totally charming. Leave your notes for the staff (wake-up time, coffee requests, etc.) in a bottle by your door. Shared bathrooms.

Colton House, 9 Cork St., tel. 224-4666, coltonhse@btl.net. 4 rooms. $50 single/$60 double.

Here's one of the nicer of Belize City's smaller lodging places, an updated and restored gracious merchant's home, dating from 1928. Colton House is airy, with lots of natural light, high ceilings, overhead fans, area carpets, attractive wallpaper, and many other homey details, such as old-style bankers lamps, built-in wardrobes, and hardwood furniture. And it has that scarce commodity, good taste. All guest rooms are large and have outside entrances. Two share a bathroom, one has air conditioning available at a small extra charge. There is a television-lounge area, and a long outside veranda with swings and recliners. All in all, Colton House is like a high-level bed-and-breakfast, though, in fact, no meals are served.

Belize Guest House, 2 Hutson St. at Marine Parade, tel. 227-7569. 4 rooms. $45 single/$60 double. Credit cards with surcharge.

Pleasant, clean, seaside house. All rooms with shared bath and fan. Drinks available, no restaurant. Four-wheel-drive rental vehicle available.

North of the Swing Bridge:

Between the Swing Bridge and the Fort George area are:

Dibásei, 26 Hydes Lane, tel. 223-3981, fax 223-2136. 9 rooms. $30 single/$40 double.

The "guest house with a cultural difference" is a re-habbed, blue-painted wooden house at the corner of New Road, hosted by proud folk from Dangriga. It's all clean and modern, and each large, carpeted, plywood-panelled guest room bears the name of a bird in the Garifuna language. Most are air-conditioned, and all have individual bathroom and shower. Decorations include Garifuna fish nets and John-Canoe masks. Lectures are scheduled, and a craft shop is in the works.

Golden Dragon, 27 Queen St., tel. 227-2817. $25 double.

This hotel, facing a lot south of Queen St., is clean with plain rooms, though the cramped buildings of the neighborhood mean there will be little air circulation on hot nights. The restaurant serves Chinese food.

Royal Orchid Hotel, New Rd. and Douglas Jones (P.O. Box 279), tel. 223-2783, fax 223-2789. 22 rooms. $55 single/$65 double plus tax. Visa, Master Card, American Express.

A newish, four-story, Chinese-run hotel. Unadorned, but modern and comfortable, with big rooms, each with television, air conditioning and fan, telephone, and fully vented bathroom. Secure parking is provided. The top-floor restaurant provides 270-degree views of the city, with a reasonably priced menu and good breezes.

Hotel Kiss, Douglas Jones and Mapp streets, tel. 223-3916, fax 223-1030. $55 single/$100 double.

A new concrete slab on the busiest street leading into town. In case you wondered about the name, yes, you can get a three-hour block of time for $25. But the rooms are not bad, with air conditioning, tea and hot water, refrigerator, television, and nice furniture.

Along North Front Street, about a block up from the Swing Bridge, are three budget lodging places, with differing managements that set their tones. At the North Front Street Guest House (124 N. Front St., tel. 227-7595), run by an American and a Canadian, rooms are basic and bare, going for under $20 double, less if you share a bunk room. A couple of breakfast choices are served, along with a prix-fixe evening meal. They'll also do your laundry and typing, and arrange for safe parking. Some readers have reported burglaries here. Bon Aventure, 122 North Front St., tel. 224-4248, $20/$30, is clean, and Chinese managed. Across the way, Dimas' Mira Rio, 59 North Front St., tel. 224-4970, is one of the friendliest resting spots around. $9 single or $12 double gets you one of seven small rooms with a toilet and sink right in the corner. If you're going somewhere, you can be picked up by boat at the terrace over the river—it's also a pleasant drinking spot. The owners can arrange for a stay at Ricardo's Beach Huts on a caye southeast of Belize City.

Bakadeer Inn, 74 Cleghorn St. (off Douglas Jones St.), tel. 223-1400, fax 223-1963. 12 rooms. $55 single/$70 double.

First of all, you've got to give the owners credit for architectural originality, with their post-modern Tudor façade. Inside, facilities are strictly U.S. motel-style: rooms have industrial carpeting, tiled bath, vanity with sink, tub, desk, dressing area, cable television, air-conditioning, mini-refrigerator, and neutral decor. The dining room is air-conditioned as well. There's nothing of interest in the area, but this will be an attractive lodging place if you're travelling by car, since protected parking is available.

Glenthorne Manor, 27 Barrack Rd., tel. 224-4212. 6 rooms. $35 and up single/$45 and up double, plus tax and service, including breakfast.

This historic wooden mansion, designed by a fugitive Italian architect, contains the oddest combinations of hardwood detailing and modern accretions. Every guest room is different, from a single with private bath to a double with recycled kitchen cabinets; a Formica-panelled single; a honeymoon suite with room-wide window, imitation-brick tile, and textured wallpaper in the bathroom. All rooms are off several large common rooms with television and piano and odds and ends of furniture. Guests may use the kitchen and, for a fee, the washing machine and dryer.

Owner Winil Grant Borg, of the distinguished Belizean family of public servants and artists that named this building after their one-time London residence, will fill you in on historical details, and see that you are well started every morning with Creole bread, johnny cakes and fried fish. In the sitting room, among the solid mahogany furniture, is the throne used by the Queen of the Bay.

The Golden Star Guest House, 120 New Road, has 22 small rooms going for $15 single or double.

South of the Swing Bridge:

Bellevue Hotel, 5 Southern Foreshore, tel. 227-7051, fax 227-3253, fins@btl.net. 37 rooms. $79 single/$83 double plus 10% service plus tax. Full American plan $25 additional. Visa, Master Card, American Express. U.S. reservations tel. 800-223-9815.

On the seafront, the Bellevue is housed in what was once a fine old seafront home, expanded over the years into the present building. The rooms are quite large for Belize City, with carpeting, air conditioning, cable television, pastel bedspreads, bureau, small refrigerator, table and chairs, and large bathroom and dressing room. The upstairs lounge-bar has attractive sea views, and the pool and surrounding area have been totally refurbished (and can be used by non-guests for a fee). The dining room menu is certainly more elegant that what you'll generally find in Belize City. The Southern Foreshore neighborhood, in decline for a number of years, is now improving. The hotel also owns cabanas on St. George's Caye, and has an in-house travel agency.

Hotel Mopan, 55 Regent St., tel. 227-7351, fax 227-5383, hotelmopan@btl.net. 12 rooms. $25 single/$35 double (more with air conditioning, when available).

Located toward the south end of Regent St., the Mopan is a large old house with screened-in porch. Though run down, it has long been a base for aspiring Indiana Joneses, and some old Belize hands swear by it. Owners Tom and Jean Shaw, distinguished in Belizean society, have as much knowledge as anyone about the country. The neighborhood, less seedy than others in the city, includes a number of historic buildings. If you're staying elsewhere, you can always crowd in at the bar and eavesdrop on what's really happening in Belize.

El Centro Hotel, 4 Bishop St., tel. 227-2413, fax 227-4533. 13 rooms. $50 to $65 single or double. No service charge.

A modern businessman's hotel with comforts available in a minimalist fashion: small, industrial-carpeted, plywood-panelled rooms tucked under stairs, and narrow halls. Very clean, air conditioned, with private baths, in-room phones, televisions, even an ice machine (welcome on sweltering days). Good value for Belize City. A block from the central park. Only a few rooms are available at the lower rates.

Bliss Hotel, 1 Water Lane, tel. 227-2552. 20 rooms, $23 single/$28 double ($33/$40 with air conditioning).

This is an old concrete building, a bit musty, but the rooms are good-sized and clean, with television, wardrobes, desk, and tiled bath. There's even a pool in the courtyard, though you should not think that this is a resort. Friendly management.

Belcove Hotel, 9 Regent St. West, tel. 227-3054, fax 227-7600, belcove@hotmail.com. 9 rooms. $30 or less per person.

Located along Haulover Creek on one side, and a seedy section of Regent St. on the other. Most rooms share bathrooms. The management also runs a resort on Gallows Point Caye and a travel agency specializing in services for boat owners, who are the main and perhaps only clientele.

Seaside Guest House, 3 Prince St., tel. 227-8339. 8 rooms. $15 single/$25 double, or $8 per person in bunk room.

A find for budget travellers—modest, clean, American-run, pleasant, and safe, with an occasional sea breeze and Caribbean view. Inexpensive breakfasts are served. Five blocks south of Swing Bridge, then east.

Other acceptable lodging places are Freddy's Guest House, 86 Eve Street, tel. 223-3851, on the northern edge of downtown, $20 double, with just three rooms; and Marin's Travelodge, 6 Craig St., $10/$14, clean, small cubicles.

By the Airport

There isn't much in the way of lodging out here, but you can find a place to sleep if you have an early flight and are dead set against spending another night in Belize City. At the Belize International Airport Hotel (tel. 225-2049), just outside the international airport along the Northern Highway, rates in the 60 run-down, musty rooms are about $25 per person with air conditioning. Apartments are available. Estelle's, across the road (inquire at Elsie's Shopping Centre), is another basic place, with rooms for $25 single or double. Belize River Lodge (tel. 225-2002, see previous chapter) and Riverbend Resort (tel. 225-2297, reserve through travel agents) are both accommodations mainly for fishermen, located down a side road and across the river from the airport. The setting is remote and tropical, even though you're near Belize's metropolis. Riverbend has several cabins for $55 to $65 double, each with a veranda. Call first to find if non-fishermen are being accepted, and to arrange for a boat across. If you have a car, you can try the Rio Haul Motel (tel. 224-4859), at mile 5 on the Northern Highway, near where the Belize River empties into the sea. There's nothing much out here, but the place has been painted and improved recently, the air conditioners work, and the charge is only about $25 double.

A good, honest restaurant where you can enjoy good service, fine food with a local flavor, and pleasant surroundings, and get value for your money, does open occasionally in Belize City . . . and, inevitably, shut its doors. Among the factors in a dismal dining scene are street crime, drugs, opportunities for good staff to work elsewhere, and a limited clientele.

By all means, ask locals and foreigners who have been around for recommendations to local restaurants. But don’t get your hopes up.

Except for snack places, you'll be able to eat in Belize City mostly at standard meal hours, typically 6:30 to 10 a.m., noon to 2:30, and 6:30 to 11 p.m. Many restaurants are closed for all or part of Sunday.
 
 

One good choice is the Reef Restaurant of the Fiesta Inn on Barrack Road, northeast of the town center. What can you say about a restaurant that offers Carlo Rossi as the house wine? That it is reliable and consistent, with a genuine hotel chef on staff. That it is air-conditioned, with superb views through plate-glass windows to the marina and the sea, accompanied by soft music. And that the waiters bug you for a larger tip than the service charge that is automatically added to your bill. You'll find standard "international" hotel fare: club sandwiches, large hamburgers, and chicken breast at lunch, snapper in parchment, curried pork chop and steaks at dinner. There are buffets on Sunday and sometimes during the week, which represent a a Belizean bargain. Otherwise, expect to pay $30 or more for a full meal. Limited children's menu. As at any hotel, the prices and offerings can change by the season.

The elegant upstairs dining room of the Chateau Caribbean, 6 Marine Parade, affords lovely views to the sea, anchored boats, and nearby cayes. You can have a sandwich for $6, or a complete Chinese or American meal (lobster, filet mignon, chicken with cashews) for $20. Service is good.

Across the Swing Bridge, the dining room of the Bellevue Hotel, 5 Southern Foreshore, if it’s currently operating, has an elegant menu. Appetizers at the moment include hot cucumber à la crème and smoked marlin (a passable imitation of lox); main courses are baked stuffed lobster, shrimp primavera, and chicken florentine. With a drink, a full dinner will run $30 or more. American Express and Visa accepted.

The Grill, 164 Newtown Barrack Rd., is away from the downtown hustle past the Fiesta Inn, a pleasant, modern, air-conditioned dining room overlooking the sea. Many items are prepared over charcoal, but there are also shrimp creole and pepper steak for more delicate palates. $10 for the lunch special, about $20 for dinner.

Pearl's Fine Foods, at 13 Handyside St. next to Mom's, has just a few tables with checked cloths, and a limited selection: pizza by the slice or whole, spaghetti, and sausage and meatball heros/hoagies/submarines dripping with sauce. Reminds me of where I used to have my school-day meals, and they do, indeed, get an after-school crowd. Less than $6 for a light meal.

The Four Fort Street is a picture-perfect verandahed house hung with lanterns and plants, the tables set with lace tablecloths, fans wafting overhead. Intrigue, romance and adventure lurk. Try the mosquito toast for breakfast—French toast stuffed with honey and cream cheese, about $8. Sandwiches are served at lunch. The changing full-dinner menu offers such main courses as garlic or dilled lobster, Cajun shrimp, and grouper stuffed with spinach, at a fixed price of up to $25.

Queen St. is the site of several popular Chinese restaurants, especially Shen's Peking Panda, just north of the Swing Bridge, and upstairs. $10 or so will get you a Szechuan specialty, such as chicken and cashews. The facilities are a bit down-at-the-heels, though the terrace is a good locale for street watching, if you can make it through the gauntlet of characters who intimidate visitors outside.

Other Chinese restaurants include China Town, across the street from Shen's, and not as good; and the Golden Dragon, off Queen St. opposite Barrack Rd., for sandwiches and standard Belizean and Chinese fare.

Dit's, 50 King Street, light and clean and well-fanned, is popular with locals for Belizean-style rice and beans with chicken or beef, meat pies, and tamales. No main course costs more than $5. Or, just stop in for lemon pie, coconut pie, caramel cake, or another fruity dessert with tea, for less than a dollar. Service is instantaneous, and no alcoholic beverages are available.

Nearby, the Mexican Corner, 29 King Street, is a favorite hole in the wall of not the slightest pretension, a room of painted boards with a fan overhead. The fare is Yucatecan and Hispanic specialties, including pollo kiki (roast chicken), escabeche (chicken in pickling) and burritos. It would be hard to spend more than $5.

Macy's restaurant, 16 Bishop, has a daily Belizean-style menu for $7 that lets you choose from the likes of gibnut, stewed chicken, curried chicken, and whole snapper. There are just five crowded tables, so you might have to share and chat. Macy's has a take-out window.

Near the north end of the Swing Bridge, the Ark Restaurant, 109 North Front St., serves up stew cowfoot, stew pork, stew chicken and stuff ham (all sic) for anywhere from $2 to $4 per portion.

Nearby, Earl's Café, 91 North Front St., offers light fare on a terrace with river view. There are Caesar and chef's salads, teriyaki chicken, and a daily special for about $6.

The restaurant of the El Centro Hotel, 4 Bishop St., is cool, clean and air-conditioned, if uninspired. Breakfast is $4, lunch up to $10, and Belizean-style food, such as stewed chicken, is often served.

LIGHT FARE: Scoops, Gaol Lane at Eve St., serves ice cream only, from a 50-cent cone to a $2 sundae. Look for the pathology lab—Scoops is underneath. The same ice cream is available in less haunting surroundings at several other outlets. Celebrations, 16 Queen St. opposite the radio tower, and the Blue Bird, 35 Albert St., have ice cream, fruit juices, and burgers and sandwiches for less than $2. Pizza by the slice is sold at the Pizza House, King St. west of Albert. Pete's Pastries, 41 Queen St., has meat pies, tamales, enchiladas, and pies and tarts made from lemon, raisins, coconut and many other fruits, cow foot soup on Saturday.

NIGHT: For an evening of drinking and/or dancing, head for Queen St., just north of the Swing Bridge.

At the corner of Daly St., is the Hard Rock Café. The steak is the best in Belize, and there are also blackened fish and Cajun shrimp, at $10 to $15 for a main course. It's not New York's Hard Rock, but with air conditioning, a third-floor view, and wrought-iron decor, it's as yuppie a place as you'll find in Belize.

The Big Apple a centrally located dance hall, at 67 North Front St. Farther out, on the Northern Highway, and reachable by taxi, is the Lumbaa Yaad. Call 223-1790 to see when they open.

Back in town, budget travellers sit around over drinks and watch the river at Dimas' Mira Rio, 59 North Front St.

For the best strangers' drinking spot, I recommend the Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel, a couple of miles out on the Northern Highway. Tucked behind the restaurant is the Squires Lounge, a modern, homey, pub sort of place, with tiled, U-shaped bar, polished hardwood surfaces, glasses hanging from overhead racks, and subdued lighting. The karaoke (sing-along machine) attracts British soldiers and talented locals, including some of the hotel's own employees. Prices are moderate as things go in Belize.

Several other spots downtown have run the cycle of opening, dissolving into violence, and shuttering. Be careful of where you venture after dark, re-check any recommendations to night spots that are not mentioned here, and, in any case, please take a taxi back to your hotel. It's a few dollars well spent, even if you're on a budget.

The Fort George Area

A good place to start a tour of Belize City is the Fort George Hotel. Originally it was Fort George Island, and was the locale of a barracks until the 1850s. The strait separating the fort from the city was filled in, in the 1920s, and a park was laid out to honor the dead of the first World War. Nearby are the Customhouse, the tomb of the benefactor Baron Bliss, and a lighthouse.

The Fort George Hotel was built on the former island in 1952, and was until recent times the leading hotel in Belize. Its Club Wing is a skyscraper by local standards, rising to six stories, and representing Chicago architecture come to Belize: in the right light, the curving, aluminum-and-glass façade, reflecting the sky and sea and clouds, would fit in nicely on East Wacker Drive, and is quite beautiful; though, from seaward on a cloudy day, it looks like nothing so much as an oversized oil storage tank set among the two-story clapboard architecture of the neighborhood. It's all overwhelming, still, to the populace, who gawk at the glass-walled elevator clinging to the outside of the tower.

If any neighborhood has class in Belize, it is the one around the Fort George. The streets are quiet. A breeze blows in from the sea. A few large, old, plantation-style residences, hung with balconies, have been restored or otherwise spruced up to serve new functions. One is the Chateau Caribbean Hotel, facing the water on Marine Parade, another the U.S. consulate at 29 Gabourel Lane, one of the few U.S. diplomatic missions without armed guards, originally built in New England, and transported to Belize as ballast and re-erected around 1870. Still another is the Four Fort Street Guest House.

Queen Street

Fort Street leads from the Fort George neighborhood to Queen Street, where the offices and showrooms of the major import houses of Belize, as well as the police station and the post office, are located. Most of the buildings are the by-now-familiar one- and two-story clapboard affairs, bare or with peeling paint. Belize's merchant class is not pretentious. Gradually, newer concrete buildings are replacing some of the old structures. At the corner of Front Street, facing Haulover Creek, is the Paslow Building, several stories housing the main post office downstairs, and government offices upstairs.

Continue left (seaward) along North Front Street. In the modern building at number 83, on the second floor, you'll find the information office of the Belize Tourist Board. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. (to 4:30 p.m. on Friday). For assistance by telephone, call 227-7213 (fax 227-7490).

Across the way, at 160 North Front Street, is a commercial office with a world-class collection of beachcombers' bottles, ranging from inkwell- to gallon- size. Anywhere else, these gems would be on display for an entry fee, but in uncommercialized Belize, they're simply there for you to appreciate through the window.

The Swing Bridge crosses Haulover Creek at the center of Belize City, with vehicles and pedestrians in constant motion throughout the day and into the night over its roadway and narrow walkways. The only breaks in the action come at 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., when the bridge is opened to allow boats to move up and down the river. Haulover Creek is a delta branch of the Belize River, and a major trade artery. The bridge is at the point where livestock was once "hauled over" from one bank to the other.

South of the Swing Bridge

At the southern end of the bridge is the modern City Market, recently rebuilt. Take a walk through for a sampler of tropical fruits and vegetables, some as colorful as the fish along the barrier reef, and equally exotic, with names like soursop and mammey apple. Here's your chance to match the real thing with the strange name. Farmers upriver used to bring their produce to town by boat in the days when roads hardly existed in Belize. Now, pickup truck are main means of transport, and many farmers avoid congested streets and unload at the Farmer's Market, a mile upriver near the Belcan Bridge.

South of the river is Belize City's Central Park, or Market Square, with its municipal buildings and what was once the national administration center. The Supreme Court is a grand old edifice, with an ironwork stairway leading up from the street to a long, second-floor veranda. Neoclassical columns and pediments lend an incongruous, pompous air to the building. The town clock looks out from a central tower. The original courthouse of the settlement was erected on the site in 1818. When it was demolished in 1878, the mahogany piles were found to be in perfect condition. The next courthouse burned down in 1918. The governor of the day, William Hart Bennett, was fatally injured as he helped to chop down a burning flagpole in front of the building.

In the vicinity of Market Square are the national headquarters of the major banks, all in solid concrete buildings that contrast with the prevailing architecture. Running on parallel sides of the square are Albert Street and Regent Street, once known as Back Street and Front Street. Along Regent Street are some of the oldest surviving buildings of Belize City, with brick basements where slaves were kept, and timber second stories.

A block to the east of the square, facing the water on Southern Foreshore near Bishop Street, is the Baron Bliss Institute, a fiftyish building of flowing Frank Lloyd Wright-ish lines, which includes a theater, library, museum, and the National Arts Council. A Mayan stela from Caracol and two altars are on display, well documented. The legacy of Baron Bliss is one of the more curious bits of Belizeana. The gentleman, who died aboard his yacht offshore in 1926 without ever having set foot on the mainland, directed that his worldly fortune be used for the benefit of Belizeans. The bequest was invested, and over the years has paid for not only the institute, but market buildings, roads, and other public works all over the country. The beneficence of Bliss is remembered on March 9 every year.

Farther down Regent Street is Government House, a plantation-style clapboard mansion on spacious, well-tended seafront grounds, with ample shuttered, screened and windowed openings. Locally reputed to have been designed by noted British architect Christopher Wren more than 150 years ago (obviously a posthumous work), the building served as the residence of the superintendent, and later the governor, of British Honduras. The official home of the Queen's representative in Belize, the governor-general, is now Belize House in Belmopan. But this most elegant of Belizean residences still serves for official functions, and as a guest house for visiting royalty. The Prime Minister maintains an office in the compound.

Across from Government House is St. John's Cathedral, constructed between 1812 and 1826 of red brick imported from England as ships' ballast. The style is traditionally Anglican, but more on the scale of a country church than a cathedral. A plaque commemorates the victims of yellow fever, a scourge along the swampy coast until the beginning of the century. St. John's was the first Anglican church in Central America, and, as befits a minor relative of Westminster Abbey, has seen its share of coronations. Three kings of the Mosquito Coast protectorate, puppets of Great Britain in part of what is now Honduras and Nicaragua, were crowned amid great pomp and flowing rum in the 1800s.

Farther south, at the end of Albert Street, is Yarborough Cemetery, burial site of prominent figures from 1781, and of lesser members of the community since 1870.

Elsewhere

North of central Belize City, a new museum and cultural center is being erected near the sea and the Fiesta Inn. This is a wonderful example of regional geopolitics made concrete. In the aftermath of rapprochement with Guatemala, Belize finds itself the lucky beneficiary of competing attentions. Mexico is helping out with construction, largely to balance Guatemalan influence.

Street Smarts: Most of the charming fellows who have something to offer you, whether you want it or not, hang out around the south end of the Swing Bridge. At night, you'll run into them—or they'll find you—anywhere. Some figure will appear from the shadows, stroll with you, attempt to sell you drugs, a tour, sex, or a better exchange rate, and, failing, follow you into a restaurant and invite himself to your table. If you manage to stick around long enough, these guys might get to know you and leave you alone. Maybe. Otherwise, there's no easy escape, other than staying in at night.

In general, avoid the side streets south of the Swing Bridge and west of Albert St., especially at night; though evening strolls are, in general, not a recommendable pastime. Lightly trafficked areas, such as the environs of the Fort George Hotel, are a hangout of muggers even in the late afternoon. If you arrive by bus after dark, take a taxi to your hotel.

Wise residents of Belize City carry umbrellas in the dry times as well as the wet, to shield themselves from the sun. Visitors, as well, should avoid unnecessary exposure. It's easy to forget that you're subject to frying as you go about doing whatever you're doing.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Belize City is changing. Wooden buildings downtown are giving way to reinforced concrete structures more typical of Central American capitals. Street hawkers of umbrellas, fruits, underwear and knick-knacks, most of them Hispanics and some of them refugees, also remind you of what region you're in. On the outskirts, concrete houses, both on the ground and on stilts, are sprouting in new subdivisions. The next big hurricane will face serious opposition.

Even the streetside drainage canals are less odiferous than they have been in the past. This is due largely to the generosity of Canada, which financed the digging up of Belize City's streets and the installation of a sewage disposal system. Canadians are great experts at moving semi-liquids below the frost line. Convincing people to connect has been quite another matter, however, so some household outflow continues to run alongside the streets.

AIRLINES

International airlines:

TACA, 41 Albert St., tel. 227-7363;

American Airlines, New Road at Queen St., tel. 223-2168.

Continental, 32 Albert St. in the Hindu temple, tel. 227-8309;

Aerovías (Guatemala), 55 Regent St., tel. 227-5445; service currently Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday to and from Guatemala City via Flores/Tikal; Wednesday and Friday to Chetumal (Mexico) and Guatemala City.

Local Airlines

Island Air, tel. 223-1140, serves Caye Caulker and San Pedro (Ambergris Caye).

Maya Airways, 6 Fort St., near the Fort George Hotel, tel. 227-7215, and Tropic Air, tel. 45671, serve Caye Chapel, San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) and coastal towns.

Sky Bird, tel. 223-2596, serves Caye Caulker.

In most cases, flights can be boarded at either the municipal airstrip, on the edge of downtown, or, for a higher charge, at the international airport.

All destinations are less than an hour away. There are more than a dozen flights daily for San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye, some of which continue to Corozal. The other major route is southward to Dangriga, Big Creek (opposite the Placencia Peninsula) and Punta Gorda. For recent schedules, see coverage of each town in this book, or stop in at any travel agency in Belize City.

Local airlines also offer charter service to any airstrip in the country.

AUDUBON

The Belize Audubon Society, 12 Cork St., tel. 227-7369), manages wildlife reserves in Belize in cooperation with the government and private organizations.

It's a good idea to check in with the Audubon Society to inquire about the current state of facilities and seasonal conditions if you're planning a trip to the Community Baboon Sanctuary at Bermudian Landing in the Belize District; the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in southern Belize; the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary north of Belize City; and the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument. No special arrangements are needed before stopping at Guanacaste Park, near Belmopan, or the Blue Hole National Park, along the Hummingbird Highway. The Audubon Society also has a bird checklist, and, especially valuable in the field, a glossary giving "translations" of bird names from Creole to English. The mailing address is P. O. Box 1001, Belize City.

Note that two reserves managed by the Audubon Society are strictly for research, and are off-limits to visitors. These are Bladen Nature Reserve in the Maya Mountains, and Society Hall Nature Reserve, at the northern edge of Mountain Pine Ridge.

AUTOMOBILE RENTAL

Rentals cost a fortune in Belize—usually well over $100 a day—but rates are inching downward as competition increases.

In general, you're better off with "name brand" companies, including:

National Car Rental, 126 Freetown Rd. tel. 223-1587, and at the international airport, tel. 025-2294.

Avis, Fort George Hotel, tel. 223-1987.

Budget, on the Northern Highway, tel. 223-2435.

Hertz, Mile 2-1/2, Northern Highway, tel. 223-2710.

Other operators have used vehicles at lower rates, but are unreliable, and some, according to readers, are out-and-out con artists.

Crystal Rental, 1-1/2 miles Northern Highway, tel. 223-1600, is an exception. Readers have praised their service, and I've used them with no problem. A full-sized used car goes for $50 to $60 daily, and they'll extend discounts during the rainy season.

Alternatives to car rental include tours; taxis from Belize City; or taxis from district towns in combination with buses.

BANKS

Belize City's banks, clustered around Market Square, are:

Atlantic Bank, 6 Albert St. (associated with Chase Manhattan)

Bank of Nova Scotia, Albert and Orange Streets; Barclays Bank, on Albert St.; and

The Belize Bank of Commerce and Industry, formerly the Royal Bank. Catch them before 1 p.m. on weekdays (extra hours from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday).

Additional banks, with unfamiliar names, may open from time to time, and some, in fact, are not particularly seeking retail business. Rather, they take advantage of Belizean banking laws, and its offshore status.

Most hotels and restaurants accept U.S. cash and travellers checks without charging commission, so there's little reason to change money at a bank. Some fellows on the street will offer to pay more than the going exchange rate if you follow them up a dark alley. Hmmm.

BOATS

Scheduled Service

Regularly scheduled boats operate to Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel and Ambergris Caye.

Even if you don't have time to linger on one of these islands, the boats make for budget-class tours of offshore Belize. Fare is usually $10 or less. Dropoffs can be arranged at other cayes that are not far off the route.

Most boats operate from a fairly new terminus along the north side of Haulover Creek, next to the Swing Bridge. Latest schedules and fares are either posted, or are readily available from information counters—it’s just like a small-town bus terminal.

Departures for Caye Caulker are clustered around 11 a.m., but there are others, into the afternoon.

The Andrea (tel. 226-2578 or 227-4988) departs for San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, at about 3 p.m. during the week, 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Thunderbolt Express, a speedboat (tel. 226-2217), departs from the Swing Bridge at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday, for Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel and Ambergris Caye.

The Triple J (224-4375) leaves for Caye Chapel, Caye Caulker and San Pedro at 9 a.m. from the north end of the Swing Bridge.

WHERE TO FIND A BOAT

Let's say you want to take a day trip from Belize City to one or several cayes, and poke around the lagoons to the south. Where do you go?

• Ask right at the boat terminal by the swing bridge. Some of the operators of scheduled services will also do charter trips.
• A&R's Texaco station, on Front St. along Haulover Creek, is another gathering place of boat owners. The operators come without recommendations, and without safety equipment, and drive hard bargains (bargains?).
• Captain Chocolate (tel. 226-2151) and Capt. Jim Novelo (tel. 226-2195) on Caye Caulker regularly pick up passengers in Belize City for day trips to outlying cayes, at mostly fixed prices, based on a minimum group size.
• The hotels along the sea—the Fort George, Ramada Royal Reef, and the Bellevue—have their own boats or resident charter operations.
• Belize City marinas will charter skiffs with operator and life jackets. From Blackline Marina (mile 2 on the Northern Highway, tel. 223-3187), a boat for the day for three persons, with stops at two cayes and some snorkeling, will cost about $150. I've been satisfied with their services and safety.

For more options, see "Charter a Sailboat," "Take a Cruise," "Charter a Boat," "Dive Operators," and "Live-Aboards," in the Travel chapter.

BOOKS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS

The Book Center, 144 North Front St., just west of the Swing Bridge, has all kinds of paperbacks at about 20 percent over U.S. prices, plus writing supplies, greeting cards, and magazines. The Cathedral Book Shop, on Regent St. near the tourist office, has a similar stock of goods.

The shops at the Belize Biltmore Plaza, the Fort George, and the Ramada Royal Reef Resort carry Time, Newsweek, and the Miami Herald, as well as tourist-oriented publications.

BUSES

For the latest schedules, stop in at the tourist board. Schedules of buses between Belize City and the major towns, as of publication of this book, are given in individual town coverage. For buses to Chetumal, Mexico, see North chapter; for Guatemala, see end of West chapter.

CONSULATES

The major ones are:

United States, 29 Gabourel Lane (Fort George area), tel. 227-7162, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Canada, 89 North Front St., tel. 223-1060 or 224-4182.

Mexico, 20 North Park St. (Fort George Area), tel. 223-0193.

Costa Rica, 8 18th St., tel. 224-4796.

Netherlands, 14 Central American Blvd. at Banak St., tel. 227-3612.

El Salvador, 120 New Road, tel. 224-4318;

Guatemala, Northern Highway;

Honduras, 91 North Front St., upstairs, tel. 224-5889.

Jamaica, Hyde's Lane at New Rd., tel. 224-5446.

The British High Commission is on Embassy Square in Belmopan, tel. 822-2146.

DIVE SHOPS

The Blackline Dive Shop and Marina, at mile 2 on the Northern Highway (P. O. Box 332, tel. 223-3187, fax 223-1975), runs diving and fishing trips from Belize City, or will outfit and drop you on an offshore caye, or just rent out equipment. Dive trips run $75 per person for the day, reef fishing $250 for a group of three, and there are assorted other river and sea excursions on offer, including a Belize River Safari for $50 per person.

Dive In, tel. 223-0265, at the Fiesta Inn, offers two-tank dives at a price of $60 per, and night dives for $50.

Adventure Coast Divers, Mile 3, Northern Highway, tel. 223-3185.

Belize Diving Service, P. O. Box 667, tel. 222-2143.

Caribbean Charter Service, Mile 5, Northern Highway, P. O. Box 752, tel. 224-5814.

Maya Landings Marina, P. O. Box 997, tel. 45798, fax 223-0263.

GROCERIES

Don’t skip this section! Considering the dismal dining scene, you could well find yourself pushing a shopping cart in Belize City.

Brodie's Supermarket, at Albert and Church streets, just south of the Central Park, has a large selection of canned goods, local and imported liquors, wine, drugs, and sundries, mostly imported. Figure about double the American price for anything. If you're tired of eating out, go to the deli counter for sliced cold cuts and salads. They're open in the morning on Sundays, in addition to the more usual hours during the week. Across Albert St., Romac's also has a large selection of packaged foods, as does the Save-U Supermarket, on the north side of Haulover Creek, a mile upriver at the Belcan Bridge.

IMMIGRATION

For an extension of your permission to stay in Belize, or other immigration problems, go to the Immigration Department at 115 Barrack Rd., tel. 227-7237.

MAPS

The Survey Office is above the Post Office. A detailed topographical map of Belize in two sections, on a scale of 1:250,000, sells for $8, less detailed maps for $2. Be prepared to wait in line.

PARKING

Safe parking is a serious problem if you have a car and plan to visit the cayes. Inquire at hotels for enclosed parking, at a fee.

POST OFFICE

Located on Queen Street, at the north end of the Swing Bridge. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. Post cards to the States or Canada cost 50 cents Belize, lightweight letters 80 cents.

SHOPPING

This is not a major activity for visitors, but you can try Cottage Industries, 26 Albert St., for pricey straw baskets, decorated conch shells, hardwood spoons, and necklaces of hardwood beads. The cow-horn carvings are interesting and, in a certain way, attractive. Hotel shops offer mahogany and ziricote carvings, black coral, and straw hats, as does Burnaby's art gallery, 9 Regent St. Admiral Burnaby's also has paintings, t-shirts, and assorted gift items.

The National Handicraft Center, 3 Fort St., is a big shed with paintings, coral and slate carvings, baskets, bottled Belizean herbs, and t-shirts—altogether a one-stop shopping center for Belizean souvenirs. Among the benefits: it's air-conditioned, they take credit cards, and you can probably buy coral items without worrying about whether they're legal.

Go Tees, 23 Regent St. at Prince St., has many, many t-shirts, many of them works of art. They also have Guatemalan crafts and carvings in rare local hardwood.

At various shops, you'll see coral necklaces, black and otherwise. It is illegal to buy black coral from unauthorized persons, and you probably shouldn't buy it at all, though you'll probably be offered some on the streets.

TAXIS

Check with the tourist board for the latest rates, and verify the price with the driver before you go anywhere. Recent fares are $3 for a short trip (or $2 per person for two or more passengers); by the hour, $7; $20 to the international airport. Fares to out-of-town destinations are by negotiation. Taxis have green license plates.

Taxi operators include Cinderella Plaza Taxi, tel. 223-3340; Caribbean Taxi, Albert St., tel. 227-2888; City Garage, Queen St., tel. 224-5833; Baldemar Varella, 73600.

TELEPHONES

Telephone calls from your hotel are charged at extortionate rates. Look for a pay phone, or call collect, or from the air-conditioned telephone company offices at 1 Church St. (near the Central Park), open every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Two USA-Direct phones are available at this location, or you can dial 555 from any phone to reach AT&T in the States.

Pay phones are located in the larger hotels, and in green booths throughout the city.

For more information about the telephone system, see Travel chapter.

TOURIST OFFICE

The Belize Tourist Board (or Bureau) is located at 83 North Front St. (across the street from the post office, a couple of buildings toward the sea) on the second floor. You can purchase a map of Belize here, and inquire about buses and current hotel rates. For assistance by telephone, call 227-7213 (fax 227-7490). Hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. (to 4:30 p.m. on Friday).

TRIPS FROM BELIZE CITY

The country is so small that almost any place of interest can be visited in a one-day outing from Belize City. However, the jarring roads to the south will make you want to limit your speedy round trips to excursions to:

• the Altun Ha ruins (see North chapter)
• the nearby cayes, and diving and fishing excursions
• the Crooked Tree wildlife sanctuary (see North chapter)
• the Zoo (see West chapter)
• the Baboon Sanctuary (see page West chapter)
• and, possibly, Mountain Pine Ridge and the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich (West chapter).

The agencies listed below will arrange excursions to various parts of the country. Similar services, including diving and fishing trips, are available through hotels and/or travel agencies in Consejo, San Pedro (Ambergris Caye), Caye Caulker, Placencia, and San Ignacio (Cayo).

Major agencies/operators:

Adventure Belize Tours, 7 1/2 Mi. Western Hwy., tel. 223-1153

Belize Mesoamerica Tours, 4 South Park Street and Fiesta Hotel(P. O. Box 1248), tel. 227-3383, 223-0748, fax 223-0750. Day tours to inland sights (about $60 to $75 per person) and to Tikal.

G & W Carib Holiday, International Airport (P. O. Box 820, Belize City), tel. 225-2461, fax 225-2645.

Mayaland Tours and Travel, 67 Eve St., tel. 223-0515, fax 223-2242. You can inquire here about the Belize Aggressor dive boat.

Mira Rio Travels, at the little river-front Mira Rio Hotel, 59 North Front St., tel. 224-4970, arranges stays on some of the smaller offshore cayes.

Native Guide Systems, 1 Water Lane (near the Bliss Hotel), P. O. Box 1045, tel. 227-5819, fax 227-4007. The owner is one of those knowledgeable gentlefolk who have made the transition from hunting and chicle gathering to guiding birders, divers and archaeologists. Samples from the tour menu:

Baboon sanctuary and Altun Ha, $55.

Xunantunich and Mountain Pine Ridge, $55.

Day of Diving, $75

Belcove Yacht and Travel Services, 9 Regent St. West, tel. 227-3054, fax 227-7600, advertises services for yacht owners, from customs clearance to laundry. Located in the riverside Belcove Hotel, with adjacent docking, on the earthy south side of Haulover Creek, they operate the Gallows Point Resort on Gallows Point Caye, to which day trips are offered for about $35 per person, including snack. Also day diving and river trips.

S & L Travel, 91 North Front St. (P. O. Box 700), tel. 227-7593, fax 227-5200, is run by two of the most experienced guides in Belize. Day trips and custom tours available.

Adventurous Belize, 11 Handyside St., (tel. 223-2862, fax 223-3966) runs day trips to caves and underground rivers.

Mayaland Tours, 67 Eve St., tel. 223-0515 (fax 223-2242), runs day and overnight tours to inland sights. About $60 per person for day trips, $300 per person overnight.

Sunrise Yacht Excursions at the Fiesta Hotel (tel. 223-0265) has daily trips to Goff's Caye ($95) and a sunset cruise ($50) on an air-conditioned boat, and a two-tank dive for a hefty $95 plus equipment rentals.

Other general travel agencies are

Universal Travel, 8 Handyside St. (opposite Mom's Restaurant), tel. 224-4667, fax 223-0964.

Belize Global Travel Services (American Express representatives), 41 Albert St., tel. 227-7257.

Belize Tours, 115 Albert St., tel. 227-5443, fax 227-7681.

Belize Travel Adventures, 168 N. Front St., tel. 223-3064.

If you pretty well know where you want to go and don't need a package with hotel and meals, you might get lower rates by negotiating with a taxi driver. Try the taxi stand on Albert St., south of the Swing Bridge, or call one of the operators mentioned above, under "Taxis."

ONWARD FROM BELIZE CITY

International Airport

The airport bus departs at 5:30, 7:15, 8:30 and 11:15 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Fare is about $1. The route is from Pound Yard Bridge along Cemetery Road and Central American Boulevard to the Northern Highway. Call 227-3977 or 227-7811 to check the latest schedule and routing.

Departure tax is about $12, $2 for children.

A couple of duty-free shops are open for all departing flights, and their prices are excellent for liquor.

The airport bank, open 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and noon to 4 p.m., will exchange Belizean currency to U.S. dollars, with a tax of 2 percent on anything over U.S. $50.

Municipal Airstrip

Flights depart from the municipal airstrip, located about a mile north of the city center, along the Caribbean shore, for San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Caye Chapel, and Caye Caulker, and for the coastal towns of Corozal (near Mexico), Big Creek (near Placencia), Dangriga, and Punta Gorda. Taxi fare from town to the airstrip is about $3.

By Bus

Terminals of inter-city buses are mostly along or near Collet Canal, about eight blocks west of Regent St., downtown. Each company has its own station or parking spot, among them:

Batty Bus, 15 Mosul St. at Bagdad, tel. 227-2025. Northbound buses to Orange Walk and Corozal, and Chetumal, Mexico; and west to Belmopan, San Ignacio, Benque Viejo.

Novelo Bus, West Collet Canal, tel. 227-7372. Westbound buses to Belmopan, San Ignacio, Benque Viejo.

Venus Bus, Magazine Rd., tel. 227-3354. Northbound buses to Orange Walk and Corozal, and Chetumal, Mexico.

Z-Line, Magazine Road, tel. 227-3937. To Dangriga, Punta Gorda.

Recent schedules are given in the coverage of each area served by these companies.

By Boat

Look above ("Boats—Scheduled Service")

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