Fun Facts-Belize
Fun Facts You May Not Know About Belize:
Belize’s wetlands are home to the fresh water Morelet’s Crocodile and the saltwater American Crocodile, that can be spotted in Sittee River and the freshwater lagoon in Hopkins.
White eggs are illegal in Belize.
Mangos are the world’s most popular fruit and Hopkins is the “mango capital” of Belize with locals boasting up to 22 varieties in the village. Some have names like Julie, #11, blue, white, black, Harry, apple, ballet slipper, and thunder shock.
Approximately 1,000 Mayan ruins are scattered throughout Belize. Most are unexplored. Xunantunich and Caracol are some of the most impressive sights in Belize.
Xunantunich is the tallest “building” in Belize.
Belizeans are the world’s largest consumers of pig tail. The pig tails are shipped in five-gallon buckets. That’s why locals refer to five-gallon buckets as pig-tail buckets.
Belize’s Black Howler Monkeys are one of the top 10 loudest animals in the world.
Belize is the first and only country in the world to create a Jaguar nature preserve (officially titled The Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Preserve) and it is located about 15 minutes from Hopkins.
The national dish of Belize is “rice-n-beans” which is stew chicken with rice and beans. Rice and beans and beans and rice are different. Rice and beans are similar to New Orleans-style, with the rice and beans combined. Beans and rice are stew beans served separate from the rice.
Cashew apple. The fruit is edible, but the nut must be roasted to remove the toxins before it can be safely consumed. A small bag of locally roasted cashews are $2.50US/$5BZ and a larger bag is $5.50US/$11BZ. They are considered expensive because of the time-consuming process involved.
Over 540 species of birds have been recorded in Belize. In Hopkins, we regularly spot the Jabiru stork and roseate spoonbills, just on the Hopkins Road. A little further toward the highway, we have spotted green parrots. At our place, we have hummingbirds, brown pelicans, frigate birds. We even saw a mockingbird with her babies in their nest in our palm tree.
There are no fast-food chains in Belize. (That’s right, no drive through Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Subway, etc.) And there are no “big box” stores like Walmart and Target. Will and I like that Belize is filled with locally owned “mom and pop” stores and restaurants that serve real food, fresh. Nothing is fast here, as all food is prepared to order.
The national cocktail of Belize is the panty ripper. If that is too crude for you, like it is my mother, you may say “ripper” or locals say “rippah.” “To go” drinks are called “haul your ass” or “rass” if you don’t want to use profanity.
Lamanai in northern Belize.
