Last day in Belize

We didn't have that much time to spend on our last day in Belize. Our flight was around 1PM and we still had to drive from San Ignacio to Belize City. Still, we managed to do a couple of things before leaving the country.

We got up early and went again to have breakfast at the New French Bakery. Right after we headed to the Iguana Conservation Project, which was marked as a highlight on our Lonely Planet. The space is located in the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, a place with what it looks like a jungle in their backyard. They rescue injured iguanas and release them again when they're ready. The Conservation Project is not a big venue or tour or anything that, but basically a cage with a bunch of these animals where you can get in and pet them for half an hour.

The iguanas there are used to people and seemed to enjoy being petted -- obviously, you shouldn't do it if you just find one out there in the wild.

Apparently, the best time to see them being active is the early afternoon. When we visited it was too early and the were slow and lazy. Still, we really enjoyed the visit and our guide told us a few bites of information about them. They were so cute!

After visiting the iguanas we headed back to Belize City to take our flight. On the way there we stopped for a quick visit at the Belize Central Prison, which was on the road. It's the only prison in the country, and therefore hosts all kinds of criminals, from casual thieves to murderers. One weird and interests the is that it has a small gift shop that sells items from its wood workshop, like walking sticks, masks, and decorative boxes, crafted by the prisoners themselves.

The facilites are managed by the Kolbe Foundation and they say that all funds earned by gift-shop sales go back to the maintenance of the prison.

This is written on their website: "Punishment by incarceration deprives offenders of their most fundamental human right - freedom of movement and freedom of association. Incarceration also seeks to protect the community from these offenders, however, the majority of them come from a complex environment with grave problems such as drug addiction, unemployment and homelessness. As such then, the aim should be to improve the prospects for their lives upon release. It is our belief that appalling inhumane prison conditions, absence of rehabilitation of family/community reintegration programs, actually only gives inmates a better chance of improving their criminal skills."Read more