Underwater Ecotourism in Belize 貝里斯潛水旅遊（大陸：「伯利茲」）

Belize has some of the most gorgeous underwater sights in the world. Many people visit Belize just to enjoy the unspoiled diving.

Snorkeling is cheap and easy. The only things you need are a mask for your face, a snorkel in your mouth to breathe with and flippers on your feet to help you move through the water:

snorkel and mask--320px-Vieques_underwater_a: CC BY underwhelmer)
320px-SwimFins_02: CC SA Alexander Z.

Belize 2013 from Keith Ketchum on Vimeo.

Belize 2013 is a professionally-shot four-minute video that shows some things you can experience with nothing more than a mask, snorkel and flippers (swimfins).

Of course, if you have more money, time and experience, you can see much more.

Ecotourism in Belize (Land & Air) 貝里斯生態旅遊（陸空）

This lovely short video shows how graphic artists used the sights of Belize to design a logo for this beautiful little country:

Belize Designing A Nation from Olson on Vimeo.

Belize is a great place for ecotourism: 36% of the land is protected, and so is 13% of the water. Responsible ecotourism means doing your best to support local businesses. If you spend most of your time in a big hotel, most of the money probably goes to rich companies outside the country. Whenever possible, try to stay in smaller inns and guest houses run by local people. Remember that Taiwanese passport holders can visit Belize visa-free for 90 days.

Here are some more useful suggestions on how to conserve resources when you travel in Belize: Eco Tourism In Belize.

And here are some of the animals you can see. Belize has lots of different kinds of cats:

Belize Cats, 1~4: margay, puma, ocelot, jaguar

Of course, most cats probably don't want to be seen while they are hunting, so the best place for short term tourists to see them is in the Belize Zoo.

Ecotourism in Costa Rica 哥斯大黎加生態旅遊

Costa Rica is an excellent place for ecotourism. Ever since the army was abolished in 1948, the government of Costa Rica has used its budget  to promote education and (more recently) ecotourism. Costa Rican people are thus friendly, well-educated and used to dealing with foreign tourists. Here is a well-made Vimeo that shows some of the animals you can see while kayaking in Costa Rica:


Kayaking with Crocs in Costa Rica from Matador Network on Vimeo.

Ecotourism in Central America 中美洲生態旅遊

Traditional tourism focuses on visiting famous sites, monuments and museums and perhaps shopping, but ecotourism focuses on unspoiled nature. The goal of ecotourism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism), 生態旅遊 in Chinese) is to enjoy the natural world (plants and animals) and to learn more about it. This sort of tourism is supposed to be low impact (= don't pollute the environment and avoid harming the animals and plants that you see). Ecotourism brings in money to local economies and encourages local people to protect these natural treasures.

Central America offers several opportunities for this sort of travel, especially Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

The Great Blue Hole in Belize (Public domain image)

International Student Identity Card 國際學生證

Sample ISIC card

An International Student Identity Card (ISIC) can help you save lots of money when traveling. You can save money on train fare, you can get into museums at a reduced rate and enjoy lots of other benefits. Read about them right here:

https://www.isic.org/

If you're in Taiwan, you can apply for an ISIC card here:

Civil Wars and Coups in the Americas: A Numbered List

Although many of the countries in the Caribbean Sea, Central and South America are blessed with natural resources, they have long been plagued with a lack of infrastructure, high illiteracy, dictatorial governments and outside interference. As a result, these countries have often suffered from coups and civil wars. The beginning of the 21st has seen a marked improvement, however. Countries that used to be too dangerous for tourism, such as Colombia, are now slowly returning to normal. Let us hope that this trend continues.


Below is a numbered list of coups and civil wars in Central America, the Caribbean and South America, arranged by country:

Panama Canal-1

The Panama Canal lets ships travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Here is a two-minute time lapse video of a full crossing:

A longer (almost six minutes) and much more informative time lapse video set to music (Chitarra Romana) appears below. This video will help you learn quite a lot about how the canal works: