Enjoyed a peaceful stay in Punta Gorda, an authentic multiethnic small town and a lot less touristy than Placencia, probably because it lacks the white sand beaches. This is the end of the road in Belize, and the departure point for ferries to Guatemala.
In this town, I learned about a new twist on environmentally-responsible eating: Eat invasive species! Here in the Caribbean, the invasive lionfish from Indonesia is destroying the coral reefs and native species critical to maintaining the reef ecosystem. This article explains (and illustrates on a series of maps) how this species has spread all over the Caribbean in just the last 10 years. In this case, we don’t need to be concerned with overfishing, as long as the rest of the marine ecosystem is not harmed in the fishing process. We should actually try to eliminate as many of these invasive fish as possible.
I tried the curried lionfish in a local restaurant and it was delicious. While these fish have poisonous spines, the meat is reputed to be very nutritious, with high levels of omega-3s. In most places I’ve been living since I moved from Alaska, I’ve avoided eating fish after learning about very high levels of contamination in the water where the fish are harvested. However, the coastal waters of Belize are covered by more protected areas and restrictions on offshore drilling than most of the Caribbean, so the fish may be less contaminated.
I read that the barrier reef system that extends from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico to Honduras, with 80% off the coast of Belize, is now (as of this year) considered to be larger than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. That’s because so much of Australia’s reef has been destroyed by bleaching from warmer waters and pollution (see this). Both reefs are dying, but apparently Australia’s at a more rapid rate. More than half of its coral has died off in just the last few years!
