Belize Part III: The Poverty

I don't have any pictures of the poverty we saw in Belize: the tiny shacks dotting the landscape as we drove to Mayan ruins or the pitted roads leading into Belize City. Nor do I have a recording of the voices of our tour guides, the desperation below the surface, pleading with us to return some day and to tell our friends of the "Unbelizable" time that we had in their country.

What I do have is a renewed sense of my place in the world. For while I simmer angrily with the rest of the 99% in my country, I realize--with a sense of deep unease--that I sit comfortably with the 1% that holds the world's wealth.

Belize Part II: The Colors

Though the animals in Belize were sometimes hard to spot, other life forms (both natural and otherwise) were not. We saw fronds dancing in the sand,



Holiday berries trimming a palm,



A broom sweeping jungle plants,



A beckoning pool,



Bags begging to be bought,



And a rainforest dressed in green.

Belize Part I: The Animals

A holiday cruise to ports of the western Caribbean landed our family for a day in Belize, where we toured the River Wallace (or Olde Belize River) by boat. Look closely to find the animals below:


Slicing the water with grace and ease, a dolphin swims beside us.


Along the trunk of this tree cling tiny bats, which devour mosquitoes in record numbers.


Black howler monkeys are found only in the rainforests of Belize, Guatemala, and southern Mexico. Their howls can be heard as far as three miles away, though they were silent when we saw them.


A study in gray, the heron--with its beautiful fringed feathers--glides over the water.


Green iguanas are not necessarily green. They are found everywhere in Belize--like squirrels at home--and are called "Bamboo Chickens."


The crocodile is as camouflaged as the others. You wouldn't think it necessary for such a fearsome creature to hide so well. Who is hiding from whom?