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Great story about the massive mahogany tree from the Chiquibul, known as The Tree. Many famous musicians' guitars were crafted from it.
"What is certain is that the story begins in 1965 deep in the Chiquibul jungle, a remote and largely uncharted broadleaf rainforest in what was then British Honduras and is now Belize. It was there that a clutch of vagabond loggers scouting for timber happened upon an ancient mahogany tree.
Mahogany had for centuries been that nation’s primary export, and was a popular target of poachers and smugglers. Few large mahogany trees remained, and this one was enormous—12 feet in diameter at its base, soaring 100 feet into the canopy. If not the most massive tree in the forest, it was certainly a contender for the title." 
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Happy birthday San Ignacio, Santa Elena, and Benque! They are all 111 today. The Cayo Tour Guide Association has a great article about it. "Today, San Ignacio and Santa Elena, as well as Benque Viejo del Carmen, are celebrating 111 years since they became a town. The Government Gazette British Honduras, published on the 22nd of October 1904, states that a few days earlier, on the 19th of October, it was declared and granted township to both communities. San Ignacio at the time was referred to as “El Cayo” meaning the Faye or the island because it was bordered to the north by the Mopan river and through it passed the Macal River. It also raises the questions: Why was the town inhabited? Why did people flock out west to occupy these areas? The answer is in the industries that existed at the time."
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History lesson of the day. Learn about the Hawkesworth Bridge's history with the latest articles from the Cayo Tour Guide Association. There's an article just about the Hawkesworth Bridge, and one about Edward Hawkesworth too. "The Hawkesworth bridge was opened on Saturday August 20th 1949 and was named after the late Sir Edward Gerald Hawkesworth, former governor of Britsh Honduras. The type of bridge was decided based on the fact of very high flooding and that the River was used to float logs downstream... The total cost of the bridge was $198,384.33 and contained 2,260 tons of concrete, 264 tons of steel work and the cables, made of 7 individual strands and weighing 18 tons each. The foundation was carried to bedrock 12 feet below the surface. The columns were raised to a height of 46 feet and the center to a height of 52 feet, 7 feet above the heightest known flood level. The total length of the bridge is 480 feet and the main span is 280 feet, with an additional 100 feet on each side."
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Video of the day. Take a step back in time, almost a century, with this classic video of the banana trade in British Honduras. It follows the crop from Belize to Northern Europe. Interesting, to say the least. "Clearing forest for banana plantation. Cultivation (including air spraying of crops) and harvesting and transportation of the crop to the port for export to Europe. Loading of ocean freighters and ocean voyage (including stop at Kingston, Jamaica) and unloading at Rotterdam."
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Decent article with a good lead in. How about those fireworks Sunday night?
"A skirmish that pitted a ragtag group of British buccaneers and their slaves against a small flotilla of Spanish warships some 200 years ago was celebrated today in Belize with cultural performances, the installation of beauty queens and citizens’ parades. What most historians describe as a myth, many Belizeans embrace as a defining moment in the history of the former British Honduras. An incident that set the stage for continuing British occupation of territory that belonged to Spain, and eventual freedom on 21st September 1981 when Belize Independence was achieved."
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