Belize

Belize is a small country in Central America, on the Caribbean coast, between Mexico and Guatemala. It is the only country in Central America with English as its official language, a legacy of British rule, which ties it as much to the Caribbean as to Latin America. It has only about 400,000 people, most of them around Belize City and the capital, Belmopan, yet it is one of the most diverse countries in the region: Creoles, Maya, Garifuna, Spanish-speaking Mestizos and others live side by side.

Off the coast of Belize lies the second-largest barrier reef in the world, after Australia's: reefs, sandy islets (the cayes) and turquoise lagoons, with the Great Blue Hole, an underwater sinkhole much loved by divers. Inland, dense rainforest covers much of the country, home to jaguars and toucans, with rivers, sacred caves and mountains. Under this forest stand the ruins of great Maya cities.

Belize was one of the centres of Maya civilisation: at its height, a city such as Caracol probably had more than 100,000 people, and its pyramids still rise above the forest. After the Maya collapse, the coast drew English woodcutters in the 17th century, who came for logwood and mahogany and brought African slaves: this is the origin of the Creole people. The only British colony in Central America, "British Honduras" also took in the Garifuna in 1832, a people descended from Africans and Carib Amerindians. The country became independent in 1981, despite long-standing claims by neighbouring Guatemala.

The official language is English, but the language almost everyone speaks is Belizean Creole (Kriol), born of English and African languages; Spanish, the Maya languages and Garifuna are also widely used, and many people switch easily between them. Belize is mostly Christian, Catholic and Protestant, with churches as varied as its peoples, and Maya and Garifuna spiritual traditions still alive.

Belizean culture mixes Caribbean, Maya and Latin worlds. There is the punta of the Garifuna, driven by drums, whose music and dance are on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, and the Creole rhythm of brukdown. There are living Maya cultures, with their crafts and maize cooking, and the festivals of every community. People eat rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, stewed chicken, fish and tropical fruit. They love the sea and diving, and live by a relaxed motto: "go slow".