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Posts Tagged ‘16th century’

Friendly Belize

September 18th, 2009 No comments

Belize City. Most people picture run down buildings, crime and remnants of hurricane damage. Very few take anytime to actually explore the town instead choosing to hop on a water taxi and head out to Ambergris Caye.

Whatever your vision of Central America is, check it at the door before entering this beautiful and welcoming country. Many travel guides will tell you to “get out of Belize City and head for the islands.” It is too bad really, because they are causing people to miss out on meeting the very proud and helpful citizens of this vibrant town.

Cruise ships stop here regularly and whisk tourists off to Tikal in Guatemala, or to Amgergris Caye off of the coast. The port is well developed and you can spend time walking around the shops in the comfortable terminal. However, walking around the city is where you get the true Caribbean flare.

Settled by the English in the late 16th century, Belize City is a mix Colonial buildings and Creole Culture. Eat international cuisine, or enjoy the local fare at Jembel’s Jerk Pit or Big Daddy’s Diner. Music pumps from inside shops as smiling people great you speaking perfect English, only to turn to their companion and talk in rhythmic Creole. The official language of Belize is English, but you will often hear a mix of Spanish, Creole, Mayan and German throughout the land.

Now that you have actually explored Belize City and realized that it isn’t the big bad city that you thought it was, you can catch a water taxi with peace of mind. You aren’t running away from anything, you are simply moving on to see the rest of beautiful Belize. From downtown, you can catch a water taxi for $10 to take you out to the Cayes on the Caribbean Sea.

The laid-back vibe of the island has an air of Jamaica, and reggae booms from bars and restaurants. Walk along the dirt roads to look for a beach front hotel and you can spend as little as $20 for a room. Only golf carts drive on the island, so you won’t have to worry about exhaust pollution or noise. The resident’s work hard to preserve their culture and large-scale development is not in its future.

While there, you have to take in the sites and the number one excursion is to hire a guide and boat to take you out to Shark Ray Alley. Located 1 mile from shore is the Belize Barrier Reef. A protected marine preserve for since 1996, it has a healthy stock of marine life and coral. The highlight of the trip however is having the chance to swim with a group of nurse sharks and manta rays that inhabit the reef.

Many divers in the world travel to Belize for one reason only, and that is to dive the famous Blue Hole. Jaques Cousteau introduced it to the world and it is an awesome site. A collapsed cave in the middle of the sea attracts divers that want to go deep. Drop down to 150 feet and dive under overhangs as hammerhead and reef sharks swim in the chummed waters above. This dive is not for new divers.

If getting into the water with natural predators isn’t your cup of tea, take a sailing trip to visit other Islands. Belize has several islands and you can take a trip to have a picnic lunch on the beach or enjoy an island drink at an upscale resort on Ambergris Caye. You can find a company to go with by simply walking down the main sandy street where operations line the path.

Caye Caulker may not be overly developed, but you can still enjoy great food ranging from Seafood, to pasta and barbecue. The nightlife isn’t wild, but you can find a nice bar to enjoy a drink or two, look out over the water while swinging on a hammock or listen to some live music well into the evening.

There is so much more to do in beautiful Belize that you need at least two weeks to see it all. Jungles and caves, wildlife and sanctuary’s Belize has something for everyone. Even Mayan ruins can be found in the country and beaches aren’t only out on the islands, Placencia actually has the most beautiful beach in the country and it is located on the mainland.

It isn’t Mexico, The Dominican or Jamaica yet, but it won’t be long until everyone starts thinking of Belize as their vacation destination. So what are you waiting for, book your trip today and discover Belize.

Deb Corbeil and Dave Bouskill are an adventure travel couple from Canada. Together they have trekked, hiked, biked and climbed to over 30 countries all over the planet. Check out their website theplanetd.com for more tips, advice and information on travel and adventure locations. To view their photo gallery from their world travels go to picturetheplanet.com

16th Century UK Vacation Cottage

July 11th, 2009 No comments
by Olivia Parker

UK mainly consists of famous nations like England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. All these kingdoms are pretty ancient and possess a very old background. In United Kingdom you have a number of accommodation options in terms of holiday cottages. There are a huge number of ancient holiday cottages in UK. These cottages are very much praised by the tourists because of the rich heritage they carry. These cottages are very old, but are very strongly built as they have sustained all kinds of climatic circumstances in these years.

I am going to list below, few of the best holiday cottages in UK that were build in around 16th Century:

1. Church Farm Cottage Church Farm is one of the best cottages located in a quiet street at St Briavels, balanced high on a limestone flat terrain and it seems like as if they are overlooking the River Wye which forms the heart of the very old Forest of Dean. Capably and compassionately reformed to a very high customary from a Grade II listed, 16th century hangar, Church Farm Cottage is positioned adjacent to the major farmhouse and forms one side of the yard of this beautiful and traditional smallholding.

There are walks in the whole region and tourists have straightforward contact across the owners’ land through forest onto confined bridle paths. The local region of this province also presents quite a large assortment of things. I must tell you that you will surely love this cottage and never feel like leaving this place after reading about its world class features and interesting background.

2. 16th century cottage in Perch National park This holiday accommodation is newly renovated with 33 acres of property. You will also an easy access to the Lounge with log burning stove and fully outfitted kitchen, shower room as well as bathroom with full central heating. It is considered as the perfect location for activities like cycling and walking. However this is quite a rustic locality and you will certainly find pin drop silence in this locality.

3. Wood cutters cottage Trust me that this is yet another cottage which is quite ancient and in fact it was built in the late 16th century. Due to the rich heritage this cottage carries you would love to stay here.

These are some of the best prehistoric holiday cottages in UK, which were built in 16th Century. Make sure you consider them as an accommodation option for you.

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