San Ignacio, Belize - The Central American country of Belize has a great variety of exotic attractions such as canoe rides through the lush jungle, boisterous pub tours in San Ignacio and scuba diving trips on a colourful barrier reef. Belize's Maya ruins at Altuna Ha and Cahal Pech are just a bus journey away.
A visit to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary to go on the trail of jaguar is also a special event in Belize which is relatively unknown outside of Central America as a holiday destination.
It's about 90 minutes by river boat and five on foot from the luxury jungle lodge of Cha Creek to the unpretentious globetrotter meeting spot at Bob's Place.
The journey is varied. Our guide, Lisa, points to a treetop with three parrots, then to a boulder with tiny dark spots which she says are the "smallest bats in the world."
Lisa is from nearby San Ignacio, close to the Guatemalan border.
In the distance, howling monkeys can be heard as the canoe drifts downstream with the river current.
The boat is moored at a bridge with the first houses we have seen before the journey continues by foot.
We are greeted by school children, underlining San Ignacio's reputation as the friendliest, cleanest and safest city in the country.
Bob owns and runs Eva's Bar. Bob's full name is Robert Jones and he's a 57-year-old Briton with friendly, sparkling eyes.
He opened Eva's 25 years ago and welcomes guests from all over the world who come here to make a stopover on the Maya Trail between Guatemala and Mexico's Yucatan.
Bob's friend, Mick Fleming, is also British and helped pioneer tourism in Belize, which was once known as British Honduras.
Mick owns Cha Creek, where a night can cost up to 200 euros (311 dollars).
"Belize is just waking up. After the backpack tourists, we are now seeing visitors who are prepared to pay for exotic beauty and luxury," he says.
Mick and his wife, Lucy, love Belize. They employ 100 people to look after their 50 guests and are welcome investors in this underdeveloped country.
The flight from Belize City Airport across the sea to the airstrip at Caye Caulker in the small propeller plane takes eight minutes.
This small island with its 3,000 inhabitants is one of the "giants" among the 200 Cayes, mangrove and Robinson-Crusoe islands that make up the 180-kilometre-long barrier reef.
The reef attracts scuba divers from all over the world. If you are not diving at Caulker looking at fish, corals and sponges, you are probably relaxing in a hammock, counting coconuts hanging from trees or the stars in the night sky.
You might also be strolling from a barbecue to a fish stand or restaurant.
But everyone takes the time out to enjoy the sunset at the end of the day in his or her own way.
At the Tropic Hotel where rooms cost 15 euros a day, holidaymakers from Canada and Italy are helping the locals to finish the last round of Belikin Beer.
Mainland farmer Isaak Wiebe is sipping on a lemonade at the end of the pier, gazing at the sunset.
He's waiting for the last ferry back to the mainland after selling his honey and vegetables.
Wiebe still speaks the German of his ancestors from Europe as well as Maya and English spoken by the majority of people in Belize.
"Belize," says Wiebe with some pride in his voice, "is a multicultural melting pot."
Internet: www.travelbelize.org, www.visitcentralamerica.com, www.travelbelize.org/german/html/xu.html
