For many years two of our Canadian friends have invited us to fish in Belize and to spend some time with them on Ambergris Caye, where they have a nice winter residence. Their incredible stories inspired us so much that we put a visit to Belize high on our bucket list. When I was still at work, I also heard great stories from military colleagues who did their jungle training over there. I was not interested in their exercises but more in what they saw and experienced during their survival drills. I love nature and wildlife and always asked them to show me their exceptional pictures of the flora and fauna. I like the jungle, the smell, the flowers, the sounds and even the mysteries, but always from a certain (safe) distance and with a lot of respect. I learned how to survive in the Arctic and on the tundra, but also that you never underestimate the power of the jungle. Despite having no experience with all the dangers and risks that you can face in the jungle, I consider myself very lucky that I have seen wild forest elephants and tiger footprints deep in pristine Asian rainforests. Even after several trips into the jungle of Malaysia and Borneo, I am still extremely careful, and the Asian jungle is very different to the rainforests in Central America.

When we visited Belize we wanted to see the jungle, but also to do some birding, fly fishing, sightseeing and snorkelling, because Belize is indeed far too special to be focussed on just fly fishing alone.  One of our strong desires was to see and hear the howler monkeys in the wild. Sadly things do not always go as smoothly as you hope for, and due to several unforeseen circumstances, it still took us many years to bring our wish to fruition.

Let me tell you our story and how we prepared everything to set up a trip that became quite unforgettable. We now even call it ‘un-Belize-able!’  Our final decision to go to Belize was made when we met Sandra van Noord, an amazing lady from Belgium, who lives in Belize for many years. We met her together with Sander Langeveld at a big holiday fair in Holland. Both represented the Belize Hotel Association (BHA) and tourism in Belize and had joined forces with incredible passion and energy. In their small booth they promoted Belize in a way that no other persons could have done to better effect. Personally it pleases me when people put their entire hearts and souls into their jobs.  Sandra inspired us so much that we checked for the best flights as soon we got home that night. Once our flight was booked we searched for an itinerary that fitted perfectly with our most preferred wishes. Together with Sander and Tessie Tonaco, the Marketing Director of BHA, we planned a journey that included all our wishes, but also allowed us to be flexible. That’s what we wanted, and that’s what we love most when taking our holidays and travels.

Through BHA we found the destinations and hotels we wanted to stay at, because it is a non-profit, non- governmental organisation and Belize’s oldest private tourism organisation, with a very good reputation as well.  The BHA members have hotels, resorts, lodges and condominiums that are spread throughout the country. To be sure that we were able to fit in all the adventures we had in mind, Tessie advised us to choose six different locations, three on Ambergris Caye Island and three on the mainland.

After the bookings were made and we had told some of our friends about our upcoming trip to Central America, and it didn’t take long before we got some surprising feedback. Some of our friends had browsed the web and told us stories about criminal activities in Belize that might scare off tourists. When people read negative things it’s not good for tourism, and I knew a few couples that lost all interest in Belize through what they had read on the Internet. It’s sad for the people of Belize, especially when in Holland negative things really get exaggerated.  Personally, I think the World Wide Web has great benefits, but it also has a lot of information that is old and far from up to date

Sometimes one or two particular stories pop up everywhere and make things look a lot worse than they really are. All the people we talked to, and who have been to Belize many times, told us exactly the same thing: not to worry, and we certainly weren’t worried because I had read similar stories while traveling to Havana, Chicago, Male, Kuala Lumpur, Borneo and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. I have travelled to some of those places several times and never experienced the bad side of things described on the web. Of course, if you in the wrong place at the wrong time everything seems suspicious, but every normal person easily understands which places to go and which to avoid. I wouldn’t want to be in certain parts of Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Miami or London also, especially at night. However, the main reason why I wasn’t worried and actually felt safe right away, was the high number of American visitors, because they are usually the first to stay away when things seem risky

From Europe there are several ways to fly to Belize, but you either go through the USA or Mexico because there are no direct flights. The most convenient way is to fly to Houston or Atlanta, but for both locations it means you have to stay overnight before you can continue your flight. Price differences are huge depending on the season, but with clever research and shuffling dates you can be lucky too. The more transfers the cheaper the price, but that’s more for backpackers. We found the best deal with Delta airlines, but it means you have to fly to Atlanta, the world’s largest airfield and for many Europeans an experience that is a real challenge. The flight back from Belize through Atlanta has a direct connection to Europe, so travelling back is a lot faster.

We took that particular flight, but on arrival in Atlanta both our bags were “lost”. It’s common that you pick up your luggage as soon you arrive in the US, but nobody was able to find ours. After two hours searching, and after we’d been through security checks twice, we gave up and went back to our hotel. The next morning everything looked much rosier and the people at the airfield were really nice and very helpful, but nobody was able to trace our baggage, so we continue our flight to Belize City not knowing where our luggage was. I was quite worried because all our fly fishing gear was with our bags. Then when we arrived in Belize we discovered that miracles still happen because as soon we got through immigration and waited at the baggage belt the first two bags that showed up were ours. KLM in Amsterdam had labelled them directly to Belize which actually wasn’t the usual way, and after we had grabbed both bags and had checked in for our next flight to San Pedro, our holiday really started.

The flight with Tropic Air from Belize to San Pedro was pleasant, quite exciting and only took 30 minutes. The crew handled everything really fast and we had no delay during any of our flights. There was never a problem with the size or weight of our luggage, nor did they charge us any extra money during our domestic flights. Wow, what a great service, something we have totally lost in Europe. Their service and the way they treated us as guests, could serve as a real example to a lot of airlines  I have flown with over the years.  Although the company looks tiny they are the only local airline that is part of IATA’s Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA). They have over 200 flights a day to 15 destinations in four countries.

Portofino Beach Resort contact information:
www.portofinobelize.com
info@portofinobelize.com

Phone: + 501.226.5096
Phone: + 501.678.5096
US Tel: 305-848-1980
US Fax: 253.660.0145
BZ Fax: + 501.226.4272
Skype: Portofinobelize
MSN: PortofinoBelize@live.com
Facebook/Portofinobelize

Will be continued