People are proud of their literacy rate (more than 90 percent) and of the number of Belizeans who turn out to vote (more than 70 percent). Everyone we met believed in education. We had two guides, one of Mayan heritage and one of Spanish, who each had three daughters and were working several jobs to send their girls to private schools and then, eventually, on to college.

After Long Caye, we went back to the mainland to stay at Maya Mountain Lodge in the midst of the jungle. Here, we heard critters scuttling over the tin roof of our cabana. During the day, out on a tour, we came across trees full of howler monkeys. We saw toucans and laughing falcons. We saw so many termite nests that we learned to identify them easily.

The dining hall at Maya Mountain Lodge is a covered patio, and you can watch a little agouti dashing about in the leaves as you eat. Dinner at the lodge comes in five huge courses, making it difficult, but not impossible, to save room for the berry-covered desserts.

Maya Mountain was our base camp for several archaeological tours. We took two intriguing half-day tours, one to a recently discovered pottery cave at Chech-Hem-Ha, the other to Xunantunich.

Clambering around the cave with our guide, we saw whole pots, 2,000 years old, in a variety of styles, as well as a Mayan ceremonial chamber — and, of course, stalactites and stalagmites. We saw no one else on the trail or in the cave. The whole experience was otherworldly.

As for Xunantunich, which means Stone Lady, even though it is the most visited ruin in Belize, it is still accessed by a hand-cranked ferry that can take only one car at a time across the river. This Mayan city was at its peak from 600 to 900 A.D.

Belizeans began excavating it around 1908, according to our guide, who added, "The British claimed to 'discover' it in 1938." Although the wooden structures where the common people lived have disappeared, you can still see where the lake once was and you can see the stelae and climb to the top of the largest pyramid. You can begin to appreciate the sophistication of the Mayan culture.

Having stayed on an island and at a jungle retreat, I'd recommend both. If you don't have time to see Belize City, that's fine.

The main reason for going to Belize City is because it is full of taxi drivers and shopkeepers and hair braiders who have children to feed. They need tourists — which might account for the sense of desperation we felt on the streets, as one person after another asked to be our tour guide.

There are some nice hotels in Belize City, to be sure. When we were there, a religious convention and a group of educators were in town. The conventioneers seemed to be enjoying themselves — but they talked of even better times ahead, when their meetings would be over and they could head off to the ruins and the reef.

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E-mail: susan@desnews.com