Central America competing in New 7 Wonders of Nature Contest

I don't know if you are aware of this contest, in case you were not aware let me tell you that there is a worldwide competition for naming the New 7 Wonders of Nature. People all over the world is to choose by Internet voting what places they consider to be a wonder of nature. Top 7 places are going to be officially recognized as the New 7 Wonders of Nature very soon. This is happening right now as we speak. At the moment there are over 100 places all over the world competing for this honor. By early 2009 there is going to be a final list for the top 21 places. Final voting for the top 7 is going to be completed in 2009, and winners are going to be announced in 2010.

There are many places all over the world that are candidates for this prize. Right now there are over 100 places already nominated as I said before, beautiful places from all over the world. All nominated places are really beautiful, we're talking about natural beauty, places that really take your breath away by just looking a picture of them. Some of these places are already famous, and some of them are barely known.

Central America had to be on this list, and it is. Yes, there are 10 Central American places already nominated. We would like to give you a quick information on these 10 nominated places from Central America. We're going to mention the nominated places by country and a very brief description of each, just to give you an idea of them. Here we go…

BELIZE
1. Belize Barrier Reef: coral reefs in Belize are really famous, they are definitely some of the best coral reefs in the world, a complete paradise for diving fans. Belize is known worldwide for having some of the best diving locations.

2. Great Blue Hole: it is a famous seascape in Belize, it has the shape of an almost perfect circle, it goes very deep about 400 feet, the diameter of this circular shape is about 1000 feet. This is one of the most known touristic places in Belize, a must see if you ever visit this country.

GUATEMALA
3. Pacaya Volcano: an active volcano, it has some eruptions from time to time. Located about 20 miles south of Guatemala City. When it has some eruption activity, the ashes go all the way to Antigua Guatemala and Guatemala City as well. There are many volcanoes in Guatemala and Central America, but this Pacaya Volcano is one of the most famous.

4. Semuc Champey: it is a valley in the jungle, located in the province of Alta Verapaz, nearby a town called Lanquin. It is really a very beautiful place, there is a river that somehow goes down underground, looks like the jungle swallows the river completely, it is like the river dissapearing down and under the jungle. Not many people know this place. Incredible…

5. Lake Atitlan: one of the most beautiful lakes not only in Central America but in the world, no kidding. It is also the deepest lake in Central America, goes deep down to 340 meters. There is a volcano nearby, and several mayan towns. Incredible natural beauty, a must visit if you ever go to Guatemala someday.

HONDURAS
6. Platano Forest: in the caribbean north of Honduras. A rain forest, it is an incredible jungle. The Platano River is one of the largest rivers in Central America, wild and beautiful. All area around this river is called the Platano Forest. Vegetation, trees, animals, a perfect place to visit if you are into adventure type of tourism. It is still unexplored, virgin land.

EL SALVADOR
7. Coatepeque Lake, Crater Lake: the lake is inside what it used to be a volcano crater. Really beautiful and unique. There is an island inside the lake with some Mayan ruins. This is the only place nominated so far for El Salvador, but an incredible one it is..... don´t you agree?

NICARAGUA
8. Ometepe Island: located inside Nicaragua Lake. Ometepe is the largest island in the world inside a freshwater lake. The island was formed by the union of two volcanoes, both are part of the island, and they are attached together by a portion of land. Very easy to visit not very far from Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua.

COSTA RICA
9. Cocos Island, located offshore Costa Rica, it is a National Park. This is one of the few islands in the world that is a complete rain forest. There are mountains and water falls. There are no hotels or resorts in the island in order to protect nature, visitors must get early in the morning and leave in the afternoon..... Wow!

10. Arenal Volcano, an active volcano as many others in Central America. Sometimes you can actually see the eruptions. It is part of Arenal Volcano National Park, a complete rain forest and beautiful jungle. It used to be not active for over 400 years, until it erupted again in 1968, it's been active since…

As you can see, there are a lot of places in Central America nominated for this world contest, all of them are really beautiful natural locations. Which one did you like the most?. Feel free to post a comment and let us know. I bet some of them were unknown to you, weren´t they?. I really hope some of these places will make it to the final top 7 at the end of the contest. You can also vote for your favorite places if you want, just log on to the following link:

Vote for the New 7 Wonders

Only follow the instructions. Hopefully you will vote for some Central America nominees…..

Spanish Outlook village in Belize

In my previous post I was telling you about San Ignacio, a very nice and interesting town. I was also telling you about a nearby village named "Spanish Outlook". If you want to visit Spanish Outlook, there is something you should know in advance. It is an amish town, the amish people have their own traditions, customs and culture, they are very unique. They have lived in this area for many years. In fact, in all Central America there are only a few amish town communities. A couple of them are located in Belize, and one of them is Spanish Outlook. I bet you didn´t know this story…………..did you?

I would like to tell you about a very interesting experience you can have when taking the road to Spanish Outlook. When you are coming from San Ignacio, you take a left turn from the main road to Spanish Outlook, it is not a paved road, it is in pretty good condition though. A couple of miles into that road, you suddenly get to a river, and if you want to continue in your way to Spanish Outlook, you have to cross that river to the other side. But guess what……………there is no bridge, and it is not a narrow river. How can you do to cross to the other side?. Don’t worry, there is a way, and very interesting indeed……..would you like to know how?

The answer is………….there is a ferry available for crossing the river. You have to move your car up into the ferry, and the ferry will take you to the other side. The interesting part with this ferry is that it is operated by a man, there is a driver inside some type of rustic cabin into the ferry, and that man has to operate some manual devices and gearshifts with his very own effort, moving some pulley. The ferry is attached to guiding cables, and it moves because of the man operating the pulley. That man works very hard all day, every day, going from one end of the river to the other all the time, taking the ferry, cars and people all the time back and forward crossing the river, with his very own hands moving the pulley. He is a full time ferry driver, almost never has a chance to take a rest ……..incredible!

Well, after crossing the river you will finally get to this amish town, Spanish Outlook. Very nice place, a lot of work in the area, agriculture, cattle farming, milk industries, chicken farms, it is a very industrial place in its own ways. And you wouldn´t believe what other industry is set in that very remote area inland Belize, I couldn´t believe it myself until I saw with my very own eyes…… I insist, you will never believe it…

Do you want to take a guess?. If you have never been there I bet you would never guess.........There are oil wells in the area!. They take crude oil from underground and take it to a nearby oil terminal. Yes, in this remote amish community inland Belize, I'm not kidding!. It seems there are oilfields in that area, with enough amounts to take it out from the ground and take it to the refineries. It is under the control of Belize government of course.

What interesting things you can see in these places. You would never believe that Belize has so many different places to see and visit. We will talk about Belize again in future posts, there is so much more to talk about this beautiful country.

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Getting to Dangriga and San Ignacio in Belize

As I was telling you in my previous post about inland Belize, I finally made it to Dangriga, which is a town located in front of the ocean. By now we are down south of Belize City. There are many attractions in Dangriga, being a town right there in the ocean, main attractions are associated to beaches, cayes nearby, everything for which Belize is famous all over the world. I will tell you more details about Dangriga and nearby places in other posts. Right now, let´s go back to inland Belize.

My next destination was another town named San Ignacio. In order to get there from Dangriga, you have to drive back to Belmopan, about one hour and 15 minutes drive as I mentioned in my previous post. When getting to Belmopan you just turn left and continue the main road to the south west. From Belmopan to San Ignacio you have to drive about 40 minutes, it's very near really.

San Ignacio is a very beautiful place, inside the mountains, a lot of nice landscapes. There is a river entering the town, and a very large bridge. A lot of rain forest places, even jungles nearby. It looks nothing like the beach, it is completely different, you couldn't believe these places actually exist in Belize.

There are also Mayan ruins in the area, not very far away from San Ignacio. That´s another visit and will talk about it in the near future. I had the time to have lunch in a very well known touristic resort in San Ignacio, it has a fine restaurant with a beautiful view to the mountains. The name was San Ignacio Hotel and Resort, pretty nice place. You can sit in an outdoor terrace, and enjoy the view while you eat at the same time. Very relaxing experience.

If you want to go back from San Ignacio to Belize City, it's only about 1 hour and 30 minutes drive. However, before going back to Belize City, I suggest you take some time to visit a nearby village in the way. Just ask local people about "Spanish Outlook" village, they will show you the way, it's very near to San Ignacio.

I will tell you about Spanish Outlook village in my next post……

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I'm sure when you think about Belize, you inmediately associate this country with beaches, ocean, cayes, diving, islands, all Caribbean type of destination. And you're right, that's the main reason tourists go to Belize, a beautiful place indeed, a paradise for diving into the ocean and looking at coral reefs. Cayes in Belize are famous all over the world, that is absolutely true.

However, I would like to tell you about a trip I made to inland Belize a few days ago. Not a lot of people have the chance to make this type of trips. Who would want to visit the inland part of a country which has some of the most beautiful cayes and islands in the Caribbean?. Well, there are a lot of people interested in visiting some other destinations in Belize, there is a lot more to see other than beaches and cayes you know.

Anyway, let's start by saying that many people think that Belize City is the capital city of the country. Even myself, not a very long time ago thought that. I was wrong, and many people are wrong also. For your information, maybe you already know but many people don´t, the capital city of Belize is Belmopan, it is about one hour driving south west from Belize City. It is located inland Belize. You know, Belize City is the largest and main city in the country, but it is not the capital city.

The road that goes from Belize City to Belmopan is in good condition, the landscapes are nice, rural areas, very green. It is plain terrain all the way, no mountains or hills, not a lot to see really. My final destination was the city of Dangriga, it is located south east from Belmopan, about one hour and 15 minutes drive. Road in pretty good condition also. When you get to Belmopan you have to turn left and you're in your way to Dangriga. The landscapes change dramatically on this part of the trip. You start to see mountains all over the place, very beautiful views indeed, it is like a rain forest, very nice.

There are some interesting tourists attractions in the area which we will talk about in other posts. For instance there is the Blue Hole National Park, it's in the way to Dangriga into the rain forest. Local people say that it is like a hole in the middle of a river, the water goes from the hole into the ground and travels many miles until getting into the ocean, going through underground caves. Can you believe that?. I'm not completely sure it's really that way, but it is like a local legend and tradition. We will look into this famous Blue Hole in other posts as I said.

There is also a very famous view looking to the horizon at some mountains about the middle of the trip to Dangriga. It is the "sleeping giant mountain", local people say that if you look with full attention to that mountain, you can actually see the figure of a man sleeping, the mountains in the horizon somehow actually look like a sleeping man, a giant man. I could not believe that, not until I saw it with my very own eyes….it is true, the mountains have a shape of a giant man resting, that's the sleeping giant. What an interesting place indeed.

In another post I will tell you about the continuation of this trip, very interesting…

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