The Supreme Court of Belize ruled this week that seismic testing (the first 'stage' of oil exploration) is legal in what should be the country’s most protected areas- National Parks. For a country that markets its natural beauty to eco-tourists world wide as “mother nature’s best kept secret” and boasts its extensive protected area system- this decision signals another reality in Belize- the oil craze can hit even a small Central American government when it is tight for cash. Judge Awich only agreed to one of the four arguments- that under the Environmental Protection Act, it was necessary for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be conducted before the permit was issued. We were hoping for a stronger decision- a decision that would have found oil exploration to be unlawful under the Natural Parks System Act. Although we were kind of down after the decision, it is important for us to remember that this was a victory none the less. The company now has to do an EIA. This fight to protect the park is far from being over- at the very least we are delaying the process and that costs the oil company money.

I can't believe it is already October! Jim and I have been in Belize for 6 months now- time is flying! Today is a sleepy rainy Sunday and there is not too much going on. It is days like these that I do get a little homesick for movie theatres, coffee shops, and Sunday family dinners : )

September was the month of Independence Day parties and holidays. It was the 25th anniversary of Belize's Independence- so I think there was more festivities than usual. "Belize a nation alive- a people with pride'" was the slogan we heard a lot this month. As with everything in this country- even the two separate national holidays in September were highly politicized. The two political parties are associated with different holidays. The parade last week was lots of fun- HOT with some good floats, cute dancers and marching band.

And here is my co-worker Lynette with her new babe! His name is Jaden, and is he cute or what?!