What you can see on the Orchid Bay cams
Two cameras look along the beach from each side: the pale sand, the thatched palapas and loungers under the trees, the mangroves at the water's edge and the shallow, milky-green water of the bay, with a long pier and a palapa over the water in the distance. They show the calm of the bay, the light and the weather over the north of Belize.
Orchid Bay beach, looking north
From one end of the beach, this camera looks along the pale sand of Orchid Bay to the thatched palapas and the trees, with mangroves at the water's edge and the calm, shallow water of Corozal Bay.
It shows how calm the bay is and the light over the north of Belize.
Orchid Bay beach, looking towards the pier
From the other end of the beach, this camera looks over the shallow, milky-green water and the curve of the sand to the long pier and a palapa over the water in the distance.
The bay is enclosed and shallow: on still mornings it lies flat as a mirror.
A quiet corner of Belize
The north of Belize is a land of sugar cane, lagoons and small villages, far from the crowds of the cayes. Corozal Bay, part of the wide bay that Belize shares with Mexico, is shallow and calm, and because it is enclosed, it is less exposed than the open coast to the seaweed called sargassum that sometimes covers the Caribbean beaches. Near Orchid Bay, the Maya site of Cerros stands on a point of the bay, and the fishing village of Sarteneja, to the east, is known for its wooden boats.
When to watch Orchid Bay
Belize keeps Central Standard Time all year, six hours behind UTC, with no daylight saving. The dry season runs from about February to May; the rainy season, from June to November, is also the hurricane season.
Around Orchid Bay
Corozal Town, on the other side of the bay, is the main town of the district, and the Mexican city of Chetumal is just beyond the border. The Shipstern Nature Reserve, near Sarteneja, protects forests, lagoons and wading birds.
Getting to Orchid Bay
The community is reached by road from Corozal Town, crossing the New River by hand-pulled ferries, or by boat across the bay. Small planes fly between Corozal, San Pedro on Ambergris Caye and Belize City.
