It was all fun and educating on another edition of the Wonders of Africa Webinar held on Friday 27th November as panelists from Ghana, Zambia, as well as the African Diaspora in Belize and Brazil took the audience on an educative and intriguing adventure.
It was a journey to the Diaspora, as the MD of Belaflika Travel & Tours, Sharon Palacio took the helms, navigating the ship to Belize in Central America. Bordered to the north by Mexico, to the south and west by Guatemala and to the east by the Caribbean Sea, Belize is the only English-speaking country in the region.
Starting of straight from the kitchen, Palacio left the audience salivating with the preparation of Hudut, a popular Belizean dish. Hudut is a mashed plantains recipe from the Garifuna people, a very interesting subset of Caribbeans now spread around Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The Garifuna – or Garinagu – are one of the four main classes of people in Belize. The others are: Mestizo, Kriol and Mayan. The history of the Garifuna people starts in the 1630s with a shipwreck.
In 1635, two Spanish ships containing Nigerian slaves crashed and sank off the coast of Saint Vincent. The survivors – almost all Nigerians – swam to shore and were given shelter and respite by the local tribe of Carib Indian people.
Over the next century and a half, the two ethnicities intermingled and mixed and created what is now the Garifuna people. Some of the Garifuna eventually made their way to Belize in the 1830s, when a civil war caused many to flee to other parts of the Caribbean.
According to the MD of Belaflika, Belize is much like a little Africa.
The country is relatively small and can be circled in 24 hours. However small as it may be, Belize has a slew of interesting adventures for tourists.
Several other exciting adventures include: zipline, ATV rides and cave tubing, described as a laid back adventure of floating in an air-filled tube quietly down the stream and through limestone caverns.
Sharon Раlасіо hаѕ аlѕо bееn thе drіvіng fоrсе bеhіnd Yоuth fоr Wоrld Реасе, аnd іtѕ brаіnсhіld thе Dіаbеtеѕ Run whісh hаѕ bееn hеld аnnuаllу fоr ѕіх соnѕесutіvе уеаrѕ, аnd thеѕе асtіvіtіеѕ hеlреd рrореllеd hеr tо bе recently nоmіnаtеd for international humanitarian award for unsung heroes.
Раlасіо, а рѕусhоlоgіѕt bу рrоfеѕѕіоn hаіlѕ frоm Рuntа Gоrdа аnd іѕ thе оnlу gіrl аmоng 6 mаlе ѕіblіngѕ. Ѕhе nоw rеѕіdеѕ іn Веlmораn аftеr rеtіrіng frоm thе Unіvеrѕіtу оf Веlіzе. Gоrdа аnd іѕ thе оnlу gіrl аmоng 6 mаlе ѕіblіngѕ. Ѕhе nоw rеѕіdеѕ іn Веlmораn аftеr rеtіrіng frоm thе Unіvеrѕіtу оf Веlіzе.
