My Review of Bruce Barcott’s new Belize book in July, 2008, issue of Mountain Gazette

July 31st, 2008 | By Joshua | 3 Comments »

My first article in the venerable, crusty, old Mountain Gazette magazine is a book review of Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw by Bruce Barcott (Random House, 2008). The July issue of MG is on stands now, or you can download a PDF of my piece here: “Birds of Paradise.”

The book is about an eco-battle royale against the construction of the Chalillo Dam in Belize. It’s a superbly crafted story: “Barcott puts all the pieces in order, frequently taking a few generous steps back to give the reader an ample, global context for each chapter. Brief, sharp histories of hydroelectric power, Belizean demographics, endangered species lists, environmental law, and post-colonial politics pepper the storyline. Between these contextual tangents the author strings a narrative of dramatic episodes and dialogue, resulting is a sweeping snapshot of a country as it makes its awkward debut in the new global economy.”

[READ my Mountain Gazette article]

[BUY the book]

[NY Times review of Macaw]

[Grist interview with Barcott]

Belize by Helicopter: Beautiful Video

July 25th, 2008 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Incredible helicopter video tour of Belize brought to you by Astrum helicopters, Belize’s only chopper service. Watching this video gives even the most jaded Belize traveler a fascinating perspective of Belize’s reefs, cayes, forests, rivers, and ruins—and it’s much cheaper than the $1000/hour it would cost to acdtually fly in one of Astrum’s two birds. Enjoy. [LINK]

Belize with a Baby: Shanti Bonus Pix!

July 19th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Shanti in a Mennonite cart!

A hammock!

With more Belizeans!

Making chocolate with the Maya!

I posted a new Belize with a Baby Flickr set with all this and more. Enjoy.

Down Belize’s Golden Stream: The Tranquilo Traveler Meets the Krazy African

July 16th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

On this day, I left my family on the beach and ventured farther into southern Belize. The rivers, as I’ve mentioned, are up—way up—brown swollen snakes pushing swiftly through vast carpets of forest, savanah, and swamp. I saw it all from above, skimming a mere 800 feet above the canopy as I flew from Placencia to a private airstrip called Rio Dorado. I was there for a 24-hour tour of the vast Belize Lodge & Excursions property and so, apparently, were fellow slow travelers Paul “The Krazy African” Zway and Angelica. After our “Dr. Livingston, I presume” moment in the main lodge at Indian Creek (we’d been hearing about each other for days, as we each made our rounds of south Belizean properties), the pair showed me a 1979 Land Rover named Elsie which they’d bought and outfitted in San Jose for their Central American expedition. Zway runs a luxury safari tent company based in his homeland of South Africa and was here to inspect his products on Moho Caye, located four miles offshore in the Port of Honduras Marine Reserve. But first, we had to travel down Golden Stream, whose high waters floated us dangerously close to “tiger’s claw” vines and exotic spiders. (more…)

Tranquilo Photo of the Week: Gecko at Nature’s Way

July 15th, 2008 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

I was doing a quick site inspection of PG’s long-time backpacker haven, the Nature’s Way Guesthouse (about US$12 per person for funky wooden bunk rooms with shared bath), walking through the common room and talking to the proprietor, Chet Schmidt, when I spotted this gecko doing push-ups on an east-facing pane of glass:

Babies in the Bush: Bringing the Right Gear

July 14th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Belize ain’t Boulder, where every other person you see is a mom with the latest baby sling, jogging stroller, and organic hemp diaper bag. So when we spotted another baby carrier on the seafront drive in Punta Gorda, we stopped to inquire. They were a couple from Idaho with four (count ‘em, four!) small children in tow, including a three-month-old in a backpack and a double stroller for the twins. They drove here through Mexico and are part of a group building a school in southern Belize.

In any case, Sutay’s carrier has come in handy for strolls in the jungle and around town, and our stroller bottom (which American Airlines lost on the Dallas-Belize leg of our trip, then found and sent to our hotel the day after our arrival) was great on the wooden walkways at Cotton Tree Lodge.

Though we brought most of our own baby food from the U.S., Shanti has been voracious on this trip, so we’ve had to improvise with mashed up papaya, banana, and watermelon. Our diaper-changing kit (we use a cloth diaper service at home, but brought our own chlorine-free disposables for this trip) has worked well on the fly, and we feel very well prepared. If you forget anything, you can just swing by Brodie’s in Belize City which, we discovered on Day 1, has a full aisle of baby toys, diapers, pacifiers, and formula.

Today, after four days of exploring, chocolate-making, and sea breezes, we will leave PG behind and head back up the Southern Highway … to the Placencia Peninsula.

Belikin Beer: It’s Not Just for Teething Anymore!

July 11th, 2008 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Nothing says “relax!” after a long day in the rainforest like a cold bottle of Belikin. At the Reef Bar in PG:

Belize with a Baby: Shanti Heads South

July 10th, 2008 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

While I scoured Stann Creek District, updating the text of my book, Moon Belize, Shanti was living it up on the beach at Sittee, down the coast from Hopkins. While Daddy sweated buckets and inspected a few dozen hotels, restaurants, bus stations, and parks, Shanti played in the surf, sand, and swimming pool, then tried her first papaya and giggled at the lizards. The next morning, we were back on the road, Punta Gorda–bound.

Shanti slept through our visit to the village of Maya Centre, gateway to the Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve, but was up and ready to rock by the time we reached the Maya ruins of Nim Li Punit.  (more…)

Belize with a Baby Part 3: Belize Zoo y Los Amigos

July 9th, 2008 | By Joshua | No Comments »

No time to write tonight, so a few pictures will have to suffice. Everything is great as our family makes our way south … these are from the Belize Zoo yesterday, and also from Amigos restaurant on the Western Highway, where Shanti continued her Belizean waitress enchantment:

Belize with a Baby Part 2: Gales Point and Belize City

July 7th, 2008 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

The sky was cloudy and calm this morning—no fierce sun, no pounding rains, so I decided to take Shanti (and Mama Tay and her Mama Louise) on a boat ride.

It’s about 90 minutes by boat through labyrinthine lagoons, rivers, and mangrove-lined tunnels to reach one of the more unique and remote spots I have visited in Belize. Gales Point was founded by escaped slaves several hundred years ago and today remains one of the more isolated Creole villages in the country. About 400 people live on this insanely narrow peninsula, surrounded on three sides by a watery manatee reserve. Though difficult to reach, a few hearty visitors make it to Gales Point each year, where there are all of three businesses that are of interest to tourists: Manatee Lodge, Metho’s Coconut Campgrounds & Stone Bass Hideout (home of the legendary Creole drummer Emmeth Young, pictured below with his wife, Jill), and Gentle’s Cool Spot. (more…)