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An overwater palapa provides an idyllic spot to watch a sunrise in Belize.
Photograph by Mark Lewis/Getty Images
This tiny jewel sits between Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the south and west. Its Caribbean coast boasts the spectacular Belize Barrier Reef, the longest live coral formation in the Western Hemisphere and the second longest in the world, after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. • It’s no wonder British and Scottish buccaneers chose to hide out here between raids on Spanish galleons heading home from Mexico full of plunder. • English remains the official language—Belize was once part of the British Empire. • Visitors, especially sportsmen, come from all points of the compass for the incomparable fishing, swimming, and diving.
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