The Secrets Of Belize's South Side: An Adventure Into The Unknown

Belize City's south side is split from the north side by the Haulover Creek and ends in the east at the Fort George area. The south side extends to the outskirts of the city, reaching the George Price Highway. The south side has a couple of tourist attractions, including the historic St. John's Cathedral and the House of Culture.

St. John's Cathedral

The cathedral was once the Church of England's headquarters in Central America and served as the power base for the Anglican Diocese of Belize. It is also the only Anglican church outside of England where kings have been crowned. During the 1800s, four kings of the Miskito tribe were crowned in lavish ceremonies.

The cathedral is a historical landmark of Belize, showcasing the colonial influence of the country's past. Attached to the cathedral is the oldest cemetery in the country, Yarborough Cemetery, which was built by the British using slave labour.

Collet Canal

The canal is accessible via W Collet Canal Street in Belize City. The area surrounding Collet Canal has been affected by disasters such as fires, with the National Fire Service attributing a fire on East Collet Canal to an electrical fault resulting from an illegal electrical drop.

Belize's second-largest barrier reef

The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs that run along the country's coast, starting roughly 300 metres (980 feet) offshore in the north and extending 40 kilometres (25 miles) in the south within Belize's borders. It is home to a diverse array of plants and animals, including 70 hard coral species, 36 soft coral species, and hundreds of invertebrate species. It is estimated that 90% of the reef is yet to be researched, and only about 10% of all species have been discovered.

The Belize Barrier Reef is a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkelling, attracting almost half of Belize's 260,000 visitors. It is also vital to the country's fishing industry, providing seafood such as lobster and conch, much of which is exported. The reef is particularly significant as it contains important natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity.

The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System comprises seven protected areas: Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, Blue Hole Natural Monument, Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, South Water Caye Marine Reserve, Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, Laughing Bird Caye National Park, and Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve. The reserve system covers an area of 960 square kilometres (370 square miles) and includes 450 cayes and three atolls: Turneffe Atoll, Glover's Reef, and Lighthouse Reef.

Despite protective measures, the reef faces threats from oceanic pollution, uncontrolled tourism, shipping, and fishing. Other dangers include hurricanes and coral bleaching due to global warming and increasing ocean temperatures. Scientists claim that over 40% of Belize's coral reef has been damaged since 1998.

Belize's diverse flora

Belize's flora is highly diverse, with over 4,000 native flowering plant species, 700 tree species, and 300 orchid species. The country's small geographical extent, position on the Caribbean coast of northern Central America, and proximity to the equator contribute to its rich variety of plant life.

Belize is home to several unique ecosystems, including lowland broad-leaved forests, lowland savannas, lowland and submontane pine forests, submontane broad-leaved forests, mangrove and littoral forests, seagrass beds, and riparian shrublands. These ecosystems support a diverse range of plant species, such as:

• Tropical trees like Simarouba glauca, Calophyllum brasiliense, Terminalia amazonia, and Pterocarpus officinalis in the lowland broad-leaved forests.
• Trees like Acoelorraphe wrightii, Quercus oleoides, and madre de cacao Gliricidia sepium in the lowland savannas.
• Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis, a type of pine tree, in the lowland pine forests.
• Pinus ayacahuite, Pinus oocarpa, and Pinus rudis, along with some broad-leaved species, in the submontane pine forests.
• Podocarpus guatemalensis, Swietenia macrophylla, Terminalia amazonia, Virola brachycarpa, and Astrocaryum mexicanum, a type of palm, in the submontane broad-leaved forests of the Maya Mountains.
• Several species of mangroves, including red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), and white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), in the mangrove and littoral forests.
• Seagrass species like turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), manatee seagrass (Syringodium filiforme), and duckweed seagrasses (Halodule spp.) in the seagrass beds.
• Schizolobium and Ceiba pentandra, a type of cotton tree, in the riparian shrublands.

Belize also boasts a rich array of native orchid species, with the black orchid (Encyclia cochleata) chosen as the country's national flower. Other notable plant species include:

• Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), the national tree of Belize, which is featured on the country's flag.
• Fruit and nut trees like custard apple (quince), guava, mango, papaya, bananas, pineapple, cashew, coconut palm, and mamey.
• Palms, including silver palmetto (Schippia concolor), palmetto (Acoelorraphe wrightii), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), cohune palms (Attalea cohune), warree cohune (Astrocaryum mexicanum), give and take palm (Chrysophila argentea), xate palms (Chamaedorea elegans and Chamaedorea oblongata), pokenoboy (Bactris major), basket tie-tie (Desmoncus schippii), and royal palm (Roystonea oleracea).
• Medicinal plants used by ancient Maya healers and modern-day ethnobotanists to create remedies for various ailments.

Belize's Creole population

Belize is a melting pot of cultures, with a dozen or more active cultures and diverse linguistic backgrounds. The Belize Creole people, also known as Kriols, are a Creole ethnic group native to Belize. They are the descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans, as well as English and Scottish log cutters, known as Baymen, who trafficked them. Over time, the Creoles also intermarried with other ethnic groups in Belize, including the Miskito from Nicaragua, Jamaicans, other Caribbean people, Mestizos, Europeans, Garifunas, Mayas, Chinese, and Indians.

The Belize Kriol language, initially developed through interaction between the Africans and Europeans, was historically spoken only by the Creoles. In the 21st century, Creoles are predominantly found in urban areas, such as Belize City, and in most coastal towns and villages. They constitute around 24% to 25% of Belize's population, a significant drop from the close to 60% they made up until the early 1980s. This decline is largely due to emigration, with an estimated 85,000 Creoles moving mainly to the United States.

The term Creole denotes an ethnic culture rather than a specific set of physical traits. Persons identifying as Creole can have a wide range of physical features, from dark skin and kinky hair to fair skin and blonde hair, reflecting their mixed-race ancestry. In Belize, the term Creole is typically used to refer to any person of at least partial Black African descent who is not Garinagu, or any person who speaks Kriol as their first or sole language.

The Creole population in Belize has played a significant role in the country's history and politics. They were involved in the Battle of St. George's Caye and have been at the forefront of the fight for political justice, forming the first trade unions and the first national political party, the People's United Party. Despite their dwindling numbers, the Creole sense of identity remains strong, rooted in their shared experience of discrimination and their fight for self-determination.

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