2023 in Belize (Harvest Caye and Placencia)

Norwegian Joy docked near Harvest Caye, Belize, on April 4:

BELIZE?

the Canada of Central America?

• the only English-speaking country in Central America
• Queen Elizabeth II on its Belizean dollar banknotes
• a mixed lot from all kinds of lands: White, Black, Indian and even Chinese

"harvest caye"

• owned by the same group who owns the ship (NCL)
  • yet, food and drinks are not free, even with the "free at sea" ("drink package")
• stay here, lie on the beach chairs and do nothing
• or, take the ferry to see more of Belize (which I later did)

"ferry to placencia"

For US$29, this hidden ferry took small groups from Harvest Caye to Placencia:

• not advertised, only "YouTubers" talked about this boat ride to the mainland
• took a few minutes to reach mainland Belize's Placencia
  • Placencia lies on an overstretched almost-island (peninsula)
  • a 3 hour drive from Belize City should one wish to go further
• the ferry just dropped us off here to do whatever we wanted
  • no hand-holding when it came to finding one's way!
• we could go back by ferry to the ship at set times

"the mainland Belizean town"

it felt enough just to walk on own along the Placencia Sidewalk and Placencia Road:

• Mayans set up shop and sold handicrafts, some more "needy" than others
• a beachside bar (Tipsy Tuna) had some "local" Belikin beer for less than US$2 a bottle and at 10 in the morning
• the beaches were empty and still at this hour which felt great
  • a huge ship load of way-farers had just come a few clicks away and yet this beach was fully empty
• walking back towards the ferry port along the main drag, a group of Chinese kinfolk owned a shop
  • they spoke English, but with a Belizean twang

BELIZE!

• felt good about my short time in Belize by not staying with the crowds on the "shareholder-owned NCL island" of "Harvest Caye"
• made use of their hidden and somewhat cheap ferry to see mainland Belize
• got a better sense of Belize, even if Placencia was still hundreds of clicks away from "the true Belize", as it was much more fulfilling than lying on the crowded beaches of "Harvest Caye"