Letter from the Publisher

Welcome once again to BELIZEmagazine.com - The Internet Magazine of Belize. In this our fifth edition, we mark the beginning of our second year. And we are once again proud of the work by our staff and our contributors to bring to you our readership some of the best quality Belizean content available on the Internet.

In this January 2005 edition of BELIZEmagazine.com, our '20 Questions' interview guest is again a well known Belizean that locals and visitors alike would no doubt recognize by his voice from the morning show on Love FM, Mr. Nuri Muhammad. In our exclusive interview with the radio personality and Director of Youth For The Future, you will meet the man behind the voice and the mission to give the youth of Belize direction in these challenging times.

For the January edition, we travelled to Belize City's latest attraction, the Old Belize Cultural & Historical Center. We visited the new Belize Tourist Village to explore the controversy surrounding the cruise ship industry and its impact on the future of tourism in Belize. We also report on the largest bird found in Belize in 'Tropical Backyard Birding', that being the Great Blue heron.

We have take an in depth look at the land boom in the real estate market down in the Toledo District before journeying down the New River from Corozal Bay. Further a field we head up the Western Highway to the Belize Maya archaeological site of Xunantunich. We then go fishing with famed fishing guide Charlie Leslie before heading back in time for a crossing of the Bay of Honduras with Captain Morrell on the Golf Cruza. We also will introduce you to a taxi driver in Belize City that will warm your heart with conversation as he takes you through his world of side streets.

New in this edition, we are starting a column 'Happy Hour - Tropical Cocktails' Recipes with a Belizean Flavor, sponsored by Travellers Liquors Ltd. Alfredo Villoria of Dem Dats Doin, the co-founder and co-owner of the Toledo Botanical Arboretum located in the heart of the Toledo District, becomes a contributing writer providing the content for 'It's a Plant's Life too'. We also will be providing suggested itineraries for road trips that will take you beyond the borders of Belize.

As always we would like to thank our sales staff, our staff writers, photographers and the entire in-house support team as well as our contributors for the hours upon hours of hard work required make possible to you this January 2005 edition of BELIZEmagazine.com - The Internet Magazine of Belize. We would also like to thank our advertisers for making this edition possible. As with all advertising revenues, a portion of all ad dollars from BELIZEmagazine.com go directly towards the funding of BelizeRivers.org, an environmental initiative for the promotion & protection of the rivers of Belize. Over and above our commitments to BelizeRivers.org, we are announcing in this edition that we will contribute a portion of our 2005 ad revenues to relief organizations helping the people of South Asia overcome the unprecedented devastation and calamity caused by the earthquakes on December 26, 2004.

We hope that you will enjoy this edition of BELIZEmagazine.com - The Internet Magazine of Belize. Please use our BELIZEmagazine.com search function to find all articles on any specific topic. By using the arrows at the top and bottom of each page, the magazine is easiest to navigate, just like turning the pages of a print magazine.

In closing, on behalf of the entire staff, we wish you and yours a very happy and prosperous New Year, hopefully filled with many exciting and relaxing days and hours in the beautiful country Belize, the Land by the Caribe Sea.