Daisy Howe wins Magnum's 2011 Outstanding Service Award

Magnum Belize Tours established its annual Outstanding Service Award in 2006 as a way of acknowledging individuals from all aspects of the Belize Tourism Industry who go the extra mile in helping Magnum agents to provide clients with the ultimate vacation experience.

The 2011 recipient of this prestigious award is SunBreeze Hotel's Daisy Howe. Daisy was naturally very surprised to find out that she had won, and as such was at a loss for words. However, she was very happy, and simply stated that "hard work pays off...I cannot put into words how I feel!!"

Magnum Belize is a network of professional travel planners who make it a point to inspect every resort and hotel showcased in their catalog. All together, their staff has 60 years of experience in customizing travel packages to Belize.

Art of life: Is it worth it?

By Chris Emmanuel

“Circumstances in the right hands can become a great motivator.” – Emmanuel

We create our own traps in life. We suffer in occupations we don t like, incompatible friendships, places we don’t want to be in. We can suffer in abusive relationships wishing that the abuser will change. “if only he stopped drinking, if only she would do as I say, I will leave once the children grows up, I can’t survive without his money,” and on and on.. The excuses continue. It sometimes takes drastic measures for people to wake up and take charge of their lives. It takes courage to strike out on your own-you might fail, but you can also make a better life for yourself. Either way you will gain new experiences.

When you are not happy with your life, it’s important to take steps to correct the situation. It might not happen quickly but it’s well worth the effort. By just striving we become happier than if we had made no attempt at all. Making changes for a healthier life for ourselves and the ones we care for, is not always easy. But when we are suffering in a household of unhappiness it’s time to ask the question, “Is it worth it?” the days are long but the years are short. Life is happening now. When you plan to make changes now for your happiness you don’t need to count on happiness that is (or isn’t) waiting in your future.

Never overestimate your ability to change people and never underestimate your ability to change yourself for the better.

Books by Christopher Emmanuel can be purchased at his Art Gallery in The Sunbreeze Hotel, Art of Touch, Pages Book Store, Black orchid Spa and Sol Spa.

Art of Life: Night walk in town

By Christopher Emmanuel

It’s Saturday night in San Pedro Town and the whole world is happening right here. Walking by the park in town the air is alive with the sounds of night pleasure. The carving and jewelry sellers are in full decor as they greet the evening visitors. Streets hustlers saunter past in anticipation. Laughter rises from the swings at the mini playground as children clamor up the slides, racing in the sand. “Stay out of the water,” a mother hollers. Nearby, a young man courting his new love, smile at her in promise under the moonlight.

Past the statue of St. Peter, the doors leading to the Catholic Church spread light on the dark. Filled with the evening mass, the voices swell at passerby as the priest lead the Holly Maries. Stepping past the church, sounds of the reggae band blares from Fido’s Courtyard, calling the party goers, “don’t worry bout’ a thing,” Bob Marley lyrics drown out the house of worship voices.

We can say there’s a lot wrong in the world, but that’s just our opinions. When you travel around after a while you will see that people are basically the same wherever you go. They all have the same dreams and goals when you get right down to it. You can spend your whole life looking for meaning, judging rights and wrong, but over time you will come to see perceptions give way to reality and the truth is somewhere in between. It’s good to look for meaning at times, but no matter where you are, the world is a smorgasbord of experience, better to enjoy than to try and make sense of it all.

Books by Christopher Emmanuel can be purchased at his Art Gallery in The Sunbreeze Hotel, Art of Touch, Pages Book Store, Black orchid Spa and Sol Spa.

The Art of Life: Freedom & Faith

Freedom & Faith

By Christopher Emmanuel

"Freedom & faith is tied to responsibility and consequences"

I saw a boat named “Freedom” in the back by the lagoon. Just the name makes you want to ride in it. I am sure everyone is looking for a ride to freedom. Naming a boat is an important thing for a fisherman. Many times it’s a name of the love in their lives. Other times it’s an endearing quality or nick name they feel connected to. For many the right name provides a sense of protection and faith. Here in San Pedro there is a ceremony for blessing boats with faith for safety at sea. A boat is significant on the water and having a faithful connection can be a life line when travelling at sea.

Does faith and freedom go together? Freedom conjures up wonderful images for us all-we all want to sail free and clear. Finding freedom is not always an easy task. Each person has a concept on what freedom means. But for most it’s like a boat in the wind. Sometimes the wind dies and we are left standing still wondering, other times we need to dock it, tie it down till the storms of confinement pass.

Freedom always require faith, every journey requires faith to reach a destination. We can say then true freedom is really not an all out doing without care, but the ability to make choices and in that, in this part of the world we all have that. Choice is truly freedom, a gift from the Divine

Books by Christopher Emmanuel can be purchased at his Art Gallery in The Sunbreeze Hotel, Art of Touch, Pages Book Store, Black Orchid Spa and Sol Spa.

BTIA national to conduct anti-crime meetings

The Belize Tourism Industry Association, mindful that crime bears a negative impact on doing business in tourism, continues to advocate for initiatives that seek to combat crime.

In light of this, BTIA national is commencing a series of destination meetings to discuss the state of crime in the areas with a view to present recommendations for fighting crime in the locales.

The first in a series of such meetings will be in San Pedro for Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. The meeting is slated for Friday, September 4, 2009 at Sun Breeze Hotel at 3:00p.m to discuss crime in Caye Caulker and 5:00 to discuss crime in San Pedro.

Recognizing the seriousness of our concerns, on hand we expect: the CEO Ministry of National Security; the Commissioner of Police; the Head of TPU Unit; the Director of Tourism or Director Product Development; the CEO or representative of Min of Tourism; and the NICH representative for Park or Attraction security.

Please come and voice your concerns.