Continuing Spring Break

By: Jeremy Clow

            As I spoke about in the last Blog I visited three countries over spring break. Mexico, Honduras, and lastly Belize. In the city of Belize and in my previous blog I was traveling through the countryside on a bus experience vast amounts of architecture as well as environments. From empty landscapes and fields to thick jungles that seem impassable. The architecture of the country seemed so different than anything I had seen before. The sleeping portions of the homes were built on stilts, walls, or platforms. The space below used passive cooling from the breeze that flowed through it as well as the shade provided from the structure above. The winds also cooled the floors of the sleeping quarters above which would be a huge plus due to the lack of air conditioning. Locals explained that the homes were built up high not only to provide this cool congregation space below but also to stay clear of the “creepy crawlies” that lie below. With thousands of species in the jungle all the homes are in close proximity for exploration. These species also included almost one hundred snakes with over 10 being venomous. One woman told me so many homes appear to be condemned, abandoned, or under construction because loans are nonexistent in the country of Belize. The typical family saves for a couple years, begins construction with the provided funds once this money runs out they start to save again for a couple years before the second phase. The average home can take more than ten years to fully construct for most families. A unique part of Belize is also the construction types and locations. As I spoke of in my last blog the zoning allows for property owners to construct whatever they please. In some areas we passed through a single family would own multiple acres on both sides of the highway. In these key points where two major roads may connect they could construct a variety of shops and opportunities on all sides of the road making each intersection appear to be a small town in itself. Below are some photos I took from the river of new constructions along the water.