Belize City, Belize

Although well offshore, Riviera kicked up a lot of bottom sand while anchoring.

Large, reasonably comfortable tenders ferried us ashore.  It was a 20-minute ride from the ship to the cruise ship terminal.

Aboard our bus, we drove through Belize City and out into the countryside on our way to Altun Ha, an ancient Mayan site. The drive took about an hour. Belize City is not much to look at, and once you're in the countryside, there isn't much of interest to see.

At Altun Ha, our guide let us through Zone A and Zone B. Although the temples and associated structures were not as massive as some we have seen, they were nevertheless impressive, reflecting the construction and carving skills of the Mayan people.

Founded about 900 BC/BCE, Altun Ha was a trading center. The community was between 10,000 and 14,000 people. According to our guide, the community collapsed when the leaders promised rain during a drought and none came, resulting in them being killed and the population moving elsewhere.  Had he lived back then, Will Rogers might have told the leaders, "Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance."

The climb to the top of the temple in Zone B didn't look that high, but the placement and rise of the steps up and down left my legs jelly-like. It was, however, well worth the effort to view the site from that perspective.

After checking out the small gift shops containing mostly local crafts, we were back on the bus for the return trip to Belize City.

During the round trip, based on what our guide told us and our direct observations, at some point (and perhaps continuing even now), Belize must have been a magnet for religious groups seeking a place where they had freedom of worship. We heard about Mennonites and Amish communities. We passed churches and schools established by Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Anglicans, Baptists, and other religions. Catholicism remains the primary religion of the country.

The drive back to Belize City was less interesting than the one to the ruins because we'd already seen what there was to see.

Once back in the city, we zigzagged our way through it back to the ship. Describing the city earlier as "not much to look at" perhaps gave it too much credit.  Many of the buildings were run down.  Other buildings were just utilitarian and unattractive.  The whole city underscored the limited economic means of a country with only 400,000 people.  

Parts of the city are three feet below sea level, which has not served it well during hurricanes.  Our guide told us that this house might look like it would come down if someone leaned against it, but in fact, it had survived the last three hurricanes.  

Shot through the tinted window of a moving bus

It was interesting to learn that Guatemala and Belize are in an argument being heard by the World Court.  In fact, Belize likely would have been "reclaimed" by Guatemala based on some 1800s treaty with European powers if Belize weren't a commonwealth country and treaty partner of the United Kingdom.  

At the end of the tour, we were dropped off at the terminal to catch our launch back to the ship. Most of the concessions were closed. Today, being Sunday, the merchants had calculated that giving their day off for such a small cruise ship was a worthwhile investment.

I found the first sentence of this sign in the men's room peculiar. It was over the urinals, each of which was equipped with an automatic flush system. 

From the boat taking us back to the ship, I took this picture of the mouth of the Haulover Creek that runs, dividing Belize City in half. The four bridges spanning it were all built thanks to international help.  

Since RIVIERA was standing well offshore, our departure from Belize City was completely uninteresting.  Anchor down = there; anchor up = at sea.