During our time in Belize, many people told us to skip Belize City and head for one of the more interesting and friendly places in the country. We heard rumors of how unsafe it was and that there was nothing to see or do in the city. It seemed that Belize City had a bad reputation and should be avoided. Our flight out of Belize left from the international airport in the city, so we knew that we would have to spend at least one night there before our flight. Since I don’t like to judge a place based on rumor, without having seen it for myself, we also booked one additional night in the city, giving us a day for sightseeing before we had to leave. Based on the recommendation from our AirBNB host, we booked a guest house near where the cruise ships arrive and where there are some restaurants and things to do.

Downtown Belize City, which reminded us both a little bit of Detroit!

We arrived around noon on a Wednesday, giving us an additional afternoon in which to explore Belize City. It was raining and overcast when we checked into our guest house, but we were determined to go out and sightsee. The man working at our guest house gave us two suggestions for places to eat, both of which were within a short walk. As it happens, they were also both near the Museum of Belize, which I wanted to visit as well.

Jon ordered a Belizean specialty at Nerie’s called cowfoot soup! Yes, it came complete with a cow’s foot!

Walking through the city, the sidewalks were falling apart with missing or broken concrete slabs. There was litter strewn on the yards and abandoned lots. There were buildings that were boarded up and seemingly inhabitable. Water collected in the street, since the drainage was not working properly. Stray dogs crossed the road with no worry about traffic. Jon and I were a little bit more cautious, making sure that we knew where we were going without having to consult a map.

A road in a neighborhood in the city, seen from our bus tour.

We ate lunch and dinner at Nerie’s and Celebrity, respectively, and toured the Museum of Belize our first afternoon. We never felt like we were in trouble or in an area where we shouldn’t be walking. When I said hello to people, they would smile and say hello back to us.

The museum had a mini-scavenger hunt to encourage people to look closely at some otherwise overlooked artifacts. We found all 5 items on the list!

The next morning, we had signed up for a city tour so that we would be able to see more of the city and learn about its history from a tour guide. Sitting on an old school bus with about 20 other people (all day-trippers from cruise ships docked in the city), we drove around the entire city learning about their school system, history with Great Britain, slave trade and the effects on the country, Mayan culture, and other miscellaneous facts. My favorite part of the tour were the very random bits of information that our tour guide would mention, almost as an aside. For example: Coke, Sprite, and other soft drinks in Belize are made with raw sugar, whereas all other countries use corn syrup. There are only six stoplights in the entire country of Belize. There are three different types of Mayans still living in Belize today, practicing their traditional ways of living.

St. John’s Cathedral, built from bricks brought over on ships across the ocean that were used as ballast.

Our time in Belize City was short, but well worth it. While I can’t say that it was my favorite city in Belize or a place where I’d like to spend a couple of weeks, I’m happy that we spent the little amount of time that we did to get to know a place for ourselves. Having lived in metro-Detroit for 12 years before this trip, we were accustomed to hearing about what a bad city it is and how dangerous it is. Since we loved Detroit and will always defend the city, we wanted to give Belize City a chance before forming an opinion about it. Walking around, we never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. The people that we did meet were friendly and welcoming. While few, the sites that we did see were interesting and informative. It’s not for everyone, but for those 36 hours, Belize City was for us.

A view of the city, with its many canals.