Dear David (and Sue of Denver),
 
 
I was in Belize last February, for a holiday between moving from Chile and
to Switzerland.
 
We had contradictory reports about whether shelling was allowed. In fact
there are several marine reserves where shelling is completely forbidden.
We went to the South near Plasencia where there was a huge sandy beach, we
were outside protected areas. There were some regulations, however,
regarding season and size to collect specific species (e.g. Strombus
gigas). There was no check at the airport on leaving the country.
 
In the South there are a lot of small resorts mostly run by expatriates and
diving is the thing. Tourism is developing fast. We found that the further
South we went the better. The small islands closer to Honduras were the
nicest. The water was really clear. Snorkelling was great. We had boat
outings arranged by our small resort or by a local fisherman. The latter
was great and much more interesting.
 
Since we came back I have been too busy settling in, starting work again
etc. to be able to unpack the shells I brought back from Belize. Shelling
was so so. People kept telling us that there were no shells anymore in
Belize. In fact there were a lot of Strombus gigas which are collected by
local fishermen as they are eaten and prepared in various culinary ways.
You keep finding small atolls heaped with shells of Strombus gigas that
fishermen discarded after drilling a hole and taking the meat out. There
were hundreds of Vasum muricatum. We found a strombus costatus and a
Turbinella angulata. I have not yet gone through identifying all I have
collected (about 40 species but not always good quality).
 
Sue: I shall answer you privately about San Ignacio in the north and Tikal
in Guatemala.
 
Janine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
especially the north end of the country?  My brother
>will be there soon, and the only response to my previous inquiry was
>someone else who wanted information.
>Thanks!
>
>David Campbell
>
>"Old Seashells"
>Department of Geology
>CB 3315 Mitchell Hall
>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
>Chapel Hill NC 27599-3315
>919-962-0685
>FAX 919-966-4519
>
>"He had discovered an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus"-E. A. Poe, The
>Gold Bug
 
 
Janine Rodgers
29 rue des Bains
1205 Geneve
Suisse
Tel: (41 22) 329 70 73
e-mail: [log in to unmask]