There is only one country in the New World that possesses tropical beaches, verdant jungles, coral reefs, Maya ruins?and English as the national language. Belize, until 1981 an outpost of the British Empire under the name of British Honduras, sits at the southern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, sandwiched between Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea.
Fewer than a quarter of a million citizens live in an area alightly smaller than Massachusetts, making Belize one of the most sparsely populated countries in Central America. It is also one of the most diverse, from the predominantly Creole-speaking Belize City to Spanish-speaking Latino towns further west and the African/Native Caribbean-derived Garifuna of the south. There’s even a German-speaking Mennonite community in the north. With so many distinct cultures in such a small area, it’s not just tourists who find that English makes a useful linga franca for overcoming linguistic barriers. The local language isn’t the only advantage for English speaking tourists who come to Belize, either ? there are far fewer crowds here than in Costa Rica, making Belize an as-yet-unspoiled travel magnet.
