The Crystal Maiden at the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave, Belize.

Belize has made it into another notable Top 10 List this week. National Geographic placed Belize’s Actun Tunichil Muknal (also known as the ATM cave) cave system on its Number 1 spot for the Top 10 Sacred Caves in the World.

The National Geographic piece describes the Belize ATM Cave thus:

“In myths, journeys to the underworld are never easy, and after visiting Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Stone Sepulchre), you may feel that you have been through your own epic test.

“Access to the Maya sacrificial site within the cave involves hiking, wading, and underwater swimming, but nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) underground you will reach the resting place of the “crystal maiden,” a complete female skeleton that sparkles from eons of crystal calcification.

“The cave also contains Maya pottery shards, many showing the “kill hole” intended to allow spirits to escape.

Check out the National Geographic Top Ten Sacred Caves

You may also want to check out the Belize.com article on the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave

In the seventh-season finale, Gene and Shannon go to Belize, where Gene has a question to ask Shannon.

Watch Gene Simmons Family Jewels Belize It or Not, season 7 episode 9 to be aired on A&E on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 10:00 PM.

Belizeans, residents, visitors and fans of Belize, you must see this TV episode. Remember the air date guys. Running time about 30 minutes.

Gene and Shannon are known to have visited Placencia and Ambergris Caye as well as a Maya Ruin, reportedly Xunantunich while shooting the Belize episode.

The question on everyone’s mind is what question did Gene ask Shannon? Reports from Belize say Gene goes down on one knee to ask the question. In promotional video footage for their reality show ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’, he asks Shannon: “I come with so much baggage, but you’re the only friend I’ve got, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved, you’re the only one I love, and the only one I ever will love. I’ve never said those words to anybody, and I don’t ever wanna…”

He then gets down on one knee and says “will you marry me,” at which point Shannon is crying. Gene, 61, and Shannon, 54, have been together for 27 years and have two children, Nicholas, 22, and Sophie, 19. The Gene Simmons Family Jewels TV promo.

Cave Tubing in Belize. Image courtesy Chaa Creek Lodge.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek was recently selected as one of the top ten resorts for the Central and South American region, according to the latest issue of Travel and Leisure Magazine, that features their annual “Best resorts in the World” awards list for 2011.

Victoria House on Ambergris Caye, was also named as one of the top ten by the magazine and its website.

Chaa Creek owner Lucy Fleming said the awards confirm that Chaa Creek and Victoria House are a perfect match. “We’ve always recommended Victoria House to our guests who are looking for a Caribbean island and reef experience. It’s a beautiful resort that shares our views on quiet luxury and sustainable tourism. We’ve established a very good relationship over the years, so it’s great to see them recognised along with us.

“A Travel and Leisure recommendation is always an honour, but to be recognised as one of the top ten in the entire Central and South American region, and then to see our Los Dos Cayos partner on the same exclusive list – well, to say we were delighted is an understatement,” she said.

[Read more...]

Top Ten Things To Do In Caye Caulker is a cool post written by Nellie Huang. While Caye Caulker is the poor relation of the Big Island, Ambergris Caye, Belize, it does have some interesting features to offer, especially for the budget tourist.

Ms. Huang describes the little island: “Caye Caulker is the Caribbean without pretentious hotels and snobbish holidaymakers. Put a bunch of hippies, laid-back hostels and clear sea – that’s Caye Caulker. There are no roads, no pollution, no loud noises. Just soft winds, light music and the endless sea.”

Her post list some of the more interesting activities to do on Caye Caulker, or rather the best things to do on, and from this lesser known tourist island. Some of the more interesting “things to do”, such as the Great Belize Blue Hole, actually have little to do with Caye Caulker.

But the list is chatty, upbeat and fun -sea kayaking, singing with the many Rastas that call the island home, eating street tacos, swimming with sharks (harmless and not really “sharks”), sailing at sunset and so on.

Some may look at the list as tacky but hey, the idea is to have fun in an otherwise very small island in Belize. Ms. Huang does a good job at painting as idyllic a picture of Caye Caulker as we’ve seen. Check out Nellie Huang’s post on Belize.

Lan Sluder FODOR’S travel writer and publisher on travel accommodations and services throughout Belize conducted a nationwide survey of middle and upper level tourism accommodations in Belize second quarter 2011.

The survey by the U.S. based travel consultant included the capacity of Internet speeds used by tourism businesses. His findings indicate that Belize is woefully poor and very expensive on Internet services and not up to the standards to compete in tourism with the rest of the world.

Mr. Sluder stated that Belize needs to urgently upgrade Internet speed and introduce reasonable prices for the industry to stay competitive, according to tourism pioneer and news blogger Mr. Raymond Auxillou writing in Western Belize Happenings quotes Mr. Sluder as saying:

[Read more...]

Two weeks after tying the knot, celebrity newlyweds Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth landed in Belize for a romantic six-day honeymoon stay.

“They didn’t ask for any VIP treatment, walked off the plane like regular tourists, waited in the immigration line, then lined up to get their bags from the baggage carousel,” an eyewitness reported to UsMagazine of the pair, who brought Witherspoon’s two kids, Ava, 11, and Deacon, 7, along for the tropical getaway.

Witherspoon, 35, clad in a cream-white T-shirt, jeans and a brown hat, went nearly unrecognized when the couple touched down in the Central American country April 4.

An observer of the foursome, who browsed gift shops and visited other tourist attractions said: “They looked like a happy family. The kids seemed like they had no problem with him around.”

The exact location of the Happy Honeymooners is under wraps. Belize is well known as a a secluded destination for celebrity visitors – and a penchant for “What Happens In Belize Stays In Belize”.