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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TRAVEL FIRST(sm) is an informal on-line newsletter covering travel and life in the Caribbean Basin, Mexico and Central America. It appears irregularly. It is published by Lan Sluder, a travel writer and publisher who also publishes Belize First, the ad-free quarterly on travel and life in Belize. (Note: Sluder's previous on-line newsletter on travel and technology, also called Travel First, has been merged with the new version of Travel First.) This file contains issues No. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Issue No. 2 was eaten by gremlins. Contents copyright 1993, 1994 by Lan Sluder. All rights reserved. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * #1 in a Series >>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<<< NEWS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder October 10, 1993 Here's an update on news and events in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. >>PUERTO RICO is considering establishing "tourist taxis." These flat-rate taxis would drop visitors at San Juan hotels. Drivers would be trained and in uniform. One of the many problems San Juan has is a reputation for rip offs by its motley crew of taxi drivers (I once paid $16 for a $4 trip). Puerto Rico is one of the few destinations in the region that generally does not permit hotels to pick up guests at the airport. The Federation of Taxicab Drivers of Puerto Rico is expected to oppose the introduction of tourist taxis and may stage a street blockade in/near San Juan's airport. >>GOLF FANATICS may want to check out the new Golf Resort Guides from Hunter Publishing. The new, expanded editions by Jim and Barbara Nicol provide good information on the best golf resorts. The Eastern edition ($13.95) covers the Caribbean, Eastern U.S. and Canada. The Western edition (also $13.95) covers Mexico as well as Canada and the U.S. west of the Mississippi. Among their selection for "best" golf resorts in the region are the Four Seasons in Nevis and Las Hadas in Manzanillo, Mexico. >>ALSO FROM HUNTER PUBLISHING is the newly released second edition of The Adventure Guide to Baja, California, Mexico, by Wilbur H. Morrison. This is one of the best and certainly most up-to-date guides to Baja. The maps are excellent. A bargain at $11.95. >>MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK, closed due to damage by tropical storm Gert, is now partially reopened. Two white sand beaches are again open to the public, but the park's hiking trails are still closed due to fallen trees. Manuel Antonio is Costa Rica's most popular park. In fact, it's too popular. Many feel that overuse is damaging the coastal rain forest. >>WANT TO REALLY GET AWAY from it all? A new resort has opened in the formerly isolated provincial town of Trujillo on the "North Coast" of Honduras, reports This Week in Honduras newspaper. The Trujillo Bay Resort has 23 double rooms. Rates are a very affordable US$29 a night, plus tax. The telephone/fax number is (504) 44-47-32. The Trujillo area, with its Caribbean setting, white sand beaches and Garifuna culture, is beginning to develop as a tourist destination. In addition to the Trujillo Bay Resort, The Christopher Columbus Resort Hotel will open soon. The old Colonial Hotel has been remodeled and the Hotel Glynn has opened downtown. You can get to Trujillo via the new La Ceiba-Tocoa-Trujillo Road or by air from San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa. >>THE BEST MAP TO BELIZE I've seen is new edition by International Travel Map Productions in Vancouver ($7.95). Bon Voyage travel store (owner Bryan Smith is on-line here) carries it. With the ITMP map and Emory King's Driver's Guide to Beautiful Belize, $12 by airmail from Emory King, P.O. Box 107, Belize City, Central America, you'll be set to travel just about anywhere in Belize. --Lan Sluder * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * # 2 in a Series >>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<<< NEWS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder [Text of this edition has been lost] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * # 3 in a Series >>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<<< NEWS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder November 1, 1993 >>SXM STRIKE Reports, only partially confirmed, suggest that a general strike in St. Maarten Nov. 1 was somewhat effective in shutting down shops, hotels, restaurants and, temporarily, even Juliana Airport. The impact was mainly on the Dutch side. >>DOC STRIKE OVER IN HONDURAS A 16-day strike by physicians against state-run hospitals in Honduras has ended, with doctors receiving about a 32% salary increase through 1994. >>ECO CRIMES The Central American Parliament meeting in Guatemala City Oct. 27-29 considered a proposal to make destruction of natural and cultural resources in Central America a crime. >>TICO TRAIN ROLLS Although the famous Jungle Train is no more, and even the electric train to the Pacific is gone, new daily train service from San Jose to Cartago began in October, carrying up to 350 passengers. The five-stop, 40-minute service uses equipment donated by Spain. >>JAGUARS AND MOUNTAIN COWS The second edition of Belize, A Natural Destination, by Richard Mahler and Steele Wotkyns, has just been published by John Muir. Although weak on practical details for travelers, this updated guide is a must for ecotravelers to Belize. The first edition sold 15 000 copies, and this new, improved version should do even better. >>WORLD'S FIRST MEDICINAL PLANT RESERVE The Belize government has transferred 6000 acres [2400 ha] of forest to the Belize Association of Traditional Healers. Called Terra Nova, the reserve is the first of its kind anywhere. Students at the reserve will be taught how to search for and use medicinal plants without damaging the forest. Presently, about one-fourth of modern pharmaceutical drugs come from plants. Belize has more than 4000 species of plants. >>RIGHT-WING VOODOO Haitian right-wingers, many of who are followers of Papa Doc Duvalier, the late dictator, see an opportunity to come back to power in the Hemisphere's poorest country, following the near-collapse of U.N. and U.S. efforts to return President Aristide to his elected office. >>DAY OF THE DEAD is celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America Nov. 2. The Fiesta, part Indian and part Catholic in origin, brings people to cemeteries to put flowers, food and skulls of sugar candy on the graves of departed relatives. >>GARIFUNA ROCK 'N ROLL Garifuna culture is getting more respect and understanding, as Belize radio stations and clubs play punta rock, a blend of Garifuna lyrics and calypso-style rhythms. Punta is an invention of the 1980s, but its origin goes back to the call-and-response pattern of earlier African music and to the daily life of Garifuna villages such as Punta Gorda, from which the music takes its name. Punta rockers such as Pen Cayetano and Chico Ramos use electric guitars and keyboards as well as bongos, maracas and turtle shells. Garifunas, descendents of African slaves and Carib Indians numbering some 14000 in Belize, have reacted with pride to the music. The Garifuna culture, with its own language and unique traditions, was once thought to be fading out in Belize. Garifuna also are alive and well in Honduras, but they have virtually disappeared in Barbados and other parts of the Caribbean. >>TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING The Internet is everywhere. Even The Tico Times in San Jose, Costa Rica, has an e-mail address on the Internet. It's ttimes@huracan.cr >>CHOLERA IN C.A. Through the first eight months of 1993, Guatemala reported 14 962 cases of cholera. El Salvador had 4078; Nicaragua, 2776; Honduras, 596; Panama, 69; Costa Rica, 9. >>EXCHANGE RATES Here are selected currency exchange rates in the Caribbean and Central America/Mexico areas. Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent E. Caribbean dollar 2.70 to 1 US$ Belize dollar 2 to 1 US$ Costa Rica colon 147 to 1 US$ Jamaica dollar 27.5 to 1 US$ Mexico new peso 3.1 to 1 US$ Dominican Republic peso 13 to 1 US$ Nicaragua cordoba 6.2 to 1 US$ Guatemala quetzal 5.8 to 1 US$ Honduras lempira 6.95 to 1 US$ Cayman Islands .85 to 1 US$ Trinidad & Tobago TT dollar 5.5 to 1 US$ Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin French franc 5.8 to 1 US$ St. Maarten, Aruba, Curacao, Statia, Saba NAF 1.79 to 1 US$ El Salvador colon 8.7 to the US dollar --Lan Sluder * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * #4 in a Series >>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<<< NEWS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder November 15, 1993 >>PUERTO RICO VOTERS NIXED U.S. statehood by a narrow margin, voting Nov. 14 in a non-binding referendum for keeping Commonwealth status. >>AEROMEXICO AND DELTA have entered into a "strategic alliance." The airlines will codeshare and may cooperate in Frequent Flyer programs, vacation packages and in other ways. Delta's load factors to Mexico have been high, but the airline has been unwilling to develop either the Central America or Caribbean markets beyond a few token flights. >>TWO NEW EDITIONS OF TOP BELIZE GUIDES ARE OUT The second editions of Belize, A Natural Destination, by Richard Mahler and Steele Wotkyns (John Muir Publications, $16.95), and Chicki Mallan's Belize Handbook (Moon Publications, $13.95) have just been released. Both are excellent, probably the two best guidebooks devoted to Belize. I recommend them highly. >>GINA LOLLOBRIGIDA, looking better than area, made an October appearance in Honduras for UNICEF. The '60s movie star is doing good things for abused and neglected kids in Honduras and elsewhere. >>NEW NEWSLETTER ON COSTA RICA LAUNCHED Adventures in Costa Rica, a monthly newsletter on Ticolandia has been launched by Gregg Calkins and Carol Weaver. The 12-pager is packed (and I mean small type) with information on hotels, restaurants, medical costs, package trips and more. A year's sub is $39.95 from Starflame Publications, P.O. Box 508, Jackson, CA 95642. >>LIAT's FUTURE is clouded, as the troubled Caribbean airline was found to have more financial problems than previously thought, running a $30 million deficit, according to one accounting study. The governments of Antigua and Trinidad & Tobago may buy the airline. A decision on LIAT's future is due by the end of the year. Although pundits claim LIAT stands for Later If At All, the airline is an important, almost irreplaceable carrier, in the Eastern Caribbean. >>WOW, I'M IMPRESSED! I just got my free sample issue of PortHole, The Intelligent Cruise Magazine, from Douglas Ward and Bill Panoff. It's slick and professionally done, yet packed with information. PortHole looks like it gives the straight poop on cruises, rather than the PR puff so many cruising mags feed you. A one-year sub in the US or Canada (six issues) is $35, from PortHole, 10 Fairway Drive, Suite 200, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441, or fax to 305-427-0037. >>RESORTS PITCH TRAVEL AGENTS If you wonder why your travel agent is pushing a bit harder than usual for this or that Caribbean resort, it could be because of promotions hotels are running which could make the travel agent extra money or give him/her a prize. The Almond Beach Club in Barbados, for example, is offering travel agents a $125 bonus, and Jamaica Grande is running a contact which travel agents can enter each time they making a JG booking. A good agent won't try to steer you one way or another, just on the promise of a little extra vig, but if an agent comes on stronger than usual, it doesn't hurt to ask yourself "hmmm, wonder why she's so high on this place?" >>THE NEW ISSUE OF BELIZE FIRST (published by Yrs Trly) is out. The 64- page quarterly ad-free magazine on travel and life on the "Adventure Coast" of the Caribbean has features on 14 Mayan sites in Belize, real estate in Belize, Ambergris Caye, Belize cuisine, Caye Caulker, crime in Belize, and more. Free sample copies are available to those seriously interested in Belize. >>SETTLEMENT DAY will be celebrated in Belize November 19. On that day in 1823, a large group of Garifuna (Indian-Africans) from the Bay Islands of Honduras joined about 200 others who had earlier settled at the mouth of Stann Creek. The anniversary of the Garifuna landing is celebrated all over Belize, but nowhere more than in Dangriga (formerly Stann Creek.) The unique Garifuna culture, dying out in the Caribbean, is undergoing a resurgence in Belize. >>THE FUTURE LIES IN THE BALANCE: SUPPORT NAFTA (Opinion). I am embarrassed and ashamed at the approach taken by Perot and by some other anti-NAFTA factions. Using code words and innuendo, they have libelled 90 million Mexicans and hundreds of millions of other Latin Americans. Using phoney projections and populist rhetoric, they have led unions into anti-NAFTA positions when the fact is that if anything the loss of jobs to low-wage countries like Mexico will increase, not decrease, if NAFTA fails to pass. Latin America is a market with more people than in all of Western Europe or the U.S. and Canada combined. It's vital to our future, and to refuse to endorse NAFTA now, at this late date, we risk antagonizing not only Mexico but most of Latin America, not to mention our trading partners in Asia and elsewhere, who will wonder why anyone should bother negotiating treaties with a country that can't live up to its word. We DON'T NEED the kind of protectionist, high-tariff isolationism that drove the world into a deeper Depression in the 1930s. We DO NEED to move forward with free markets. WE NEED NAFTA. >>CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES IN THE REGION Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent E. Caribbean dollar 2.7 to 1 US$ Belize dollar 2 to 1 US$ Costa Rica colon 148 to 1 US$ Jamaica dollar 27.5 to 1 US$ Mexico new peso 3.17 to 1 US$ (volatile trading recently) Dominican Republic peso 12.5 to 1 US$ Nicaragua cordoba 6.25 to 1 US$ Guatemala quetzal 5.8 to 1 US$ Honduras lempira 6.95 to 1 US$ Cayman Islands .85 to 1 US$ Trinidad & Tobago TT dollar 5.5 to 1 US$ Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin French franc 5.9 to 1 US$ St. Maarten, Aruba, Curacao, Statia, Saba NAF 1.79 to 1 US$ El Salvador colon 8.7 to the US dollar --Lan Sluder * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * #5 in a Series >>>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<< NEWS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder December 2, 1993 >>NEW PREZ IN HONDURAS MAY SHAKE THINGS UP President-elect Carlos Roberto Reina, whose Liberal Party won the Nov. 28 election with 53% of the vote, has vowed to wage war on poverty, government corruption, crime and human-rights abuses in Honduras. Reina's party also won 70 of 128 seats in the congress. Reina, more of a populist and less of a pro- business pol than recent Honduras leaders, faces a tough challenge in reducing the power, and huge budget, of the Honduran military. >>ANGUILLA FEATURED The December issue of Departures Magazine, the travel magazine sent to Amex's Plat members, has a big spread on Anguilla by writer Malachy Duffy, with a sidebar by Janet Carlson Freed. Departures calls Malliouhana "the finest resort on Anguilla." >>YES, WE HAVE MORE TOURISTS Tourism is now the No. 1 industry in Costa Rica, surpassing bananas. More than 610,000 tourists visited Costa Rica last year, up 62% from the level of just three years earlier. The number of visitors from the U.S. almost doubled in that period. >>GRENADA GETS ITS FIRST ALL-INCLUSIVE LaSource, sister property to LeSport on St. Lucia, has opened. Another hotel, the Rex Grenadian, a 212- room business hotel, is scheduled to open in December. >>CANCUN-TULUM CORRIDOR BOOMS The 90-mile stretch of beach that runs from Cancun to the Mayan ruins of Tulum now has 3,000 hotel rooms, with many more properties set to open in 1994. >>TWO INTERESTING DIGS IN BELIZE Among the lodging in Belize that come recommended by our BELIZE FIRST readers (BELIZE FIRST is the quarterly ad-free magazine about life and travel in Belize) are Colton House Guest House in Belize City, a 60-year-old Colonial-style home near the Radisson Fort George Hotel. Doubles are US$35 (with shared bath) or $40 (with bath), plus tax. Blackbird Caye Resort "is not your average vacation" resort, says developer Al Dugan. Blackbird Caye offers an ecotourism experience -- catch-and-release fishing, snorkeling, diving, bird watching, swimming with dolphins, and beach combing -- on an island off Belize's Caribbean coast. You stay in thatched cabanas on the beach. There's a restaurant but no bar -- you can bring your own booze. Weekly rates are US$1350 per person for a dive package. This includes all meals, two dives per day, boat and guide, and water transportation from Belize City. >> "SUMMER" BEGINS IN COSTA RICA The "green season" is over, and the dry season has begun in Costa Rica. The rains ended a week or so earlier than usual this year. >>DENGUE FEVER THREAT RECEDING IN COSTA RICA The number of reported dengue fever cases in Costa Rica has peaked and is now declining, The Tico Times reports. The hardest-hit area has been around Puntarenas and in Liberia on the Pacific Coast, with some 3,000 cases in recent weeks. Dengue, a nonfatal virus illness that is like a strong flu, is carried by mosquitos. A special danger is that sufferers later can be re-infected with a related dengue virus, which results in a more serious, possibly fatal, illness. >>GUIDE TO COLONIAL CITIES OF MEXICO TO DEBUT FROM MOON Chicki Mallan, author of Moon's Belize Handbook, has just completed the 1,000- page manuscript of the new Handbook, she tells TRAVEL FIRST. It will appear in 1994. >>BELIZE MAGAZINE FOLDS Belize Magazine, a glossy four-color production published in San Pedro and distributed in the U.S., reportedly has called it quits after four issues. -- Lan Sluder * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * #6 in a Series >>>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<< The On-Line Letter Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder December 17, 1993 >>AIRPASS AVAILABLE FOR YUCATAN Mexicana Airlines' Mayapass and Mexipass fares are now available for passengers arriving from the U.S. Mayapass allows visitors flying into, say, Cancun, to visit Merida, Oaxaca, Mexico City and Villahermosa for $208. Mexipass offers low rates for visits to Mexico's colonial cities and elsewhere. >>NEW US CUSTOMS FEE FOR CARIB/MEX TRAVELERS Beginning Jan. 1, air and cruise passengers entering the U.S. from Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada will be charged a $6.50 per person U.S. customs inspection fee. The fee is supposed to help pay for NAFTA. >>CONTINENTAL ADDS ANTIGUA/SXM SERVICE Beginning Jan. 15, Continental will offer service between Newark and Antigua, daily except Tuesday. The flight stops in St. Maarten before arriving in Antigua. >>UNITED, LACSA BOOST SERVICE TO TICOLANDIA Costa Rica's national airline, LACSA, has been approved to fly Orlando-San Jose. It just added a non-stop from New York to San Jose. United will add a third daily round trip from Costa Rica. Due to Costa Rica's popularity, most flights to and from the country have high load factors. Delta, which was supposed to have begun service to San Jose from Orlando early last year, delayed those and other Central American flights, instead concentrating on expanding its money-losing service to Europe. >>PHONE BOOKS PRICEY A 1993 phone book for Honduras is being advertised in Honduras This Week for US$25. The latest Belize phone book is available for $15 from Belize Telecommunications, Ltd. >>WHAT THINGS COST: Here are a few prices for ordinary items in the Costa Rica, part of a continuing series of "What Things Cost" in various countries in the Caribbean Basin. Mexico and Central America. Prices are shown in US dollar equivalents. In Costa Rica: * Capri cigarettes: 66 cents a pack * Cinta Azul brand hot dogs: 60 cents a pound * Admission to movie "Como Agua Para Chocolate" ("Like Water with Chocolate"), $2 * Two cheeseburgers and two beers home-delivered in Heredia area, from Quiques Express, $3.50 * 15-course (yes, 15!) seafood dinner at Il Capriccio Italiano in Escazu, $16.70 per person * Double room at Hotel La Amistad Inn, German-owned B&B, $30-$45 plus 16% tax * Apartamentos Scotland, furnished one-bedroom apartment, $250 a week >>FIRST FEMALE VEEP IN HONDURAS Guadelupe Jerezano was one of three VPs elected in the Nov. 28 presidential vote in Honduras. Jerezano was a running mate to President-elect Carlos Roberto Reina. >>SPATE OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN BELIZE An attempt was made Nov. 30 on the life of Eloy Navarro, a senator in the United Democratic Party, which won control of the government in summer elections. Two shots were fired at his Land Rover as he drove near Corozal. Both missed. This comes on the heels of the murder of Gerardo Espiritu, campaign manager for a opposition People's United Party candidate, found July 4 with nine bullet holes in his chest and face. Political violence is relatively rare in Belize. >>AEROMEXICO AND MEXICANA POST BIG 3RD QUARTER LOSSES Aeromexico said it lost $50 in the 3rd quarter, with no profit in sight until 1995, and Mexicana lost $70 million in the quarter, following a $60 million loss in the 2nd quarter. >>DELTA & TWA RATED TOPS BY J.D. POWER Frequent flyers rated TWA best for long-haul (over 500 mile) service and Delta best for short-haul service, in a survey of 24,000 travelers by J.D. Power & Associates. American, which is the dominant US carrier to Latin America and the Caribbean, was rated second-best in the long-haul category. >>ISLANDS MAGAZINE FEATURES THE BAY ISLANDS The Bay Islands of Honduras get a big color spread in the current (February) issue of Islands Magazine. >>AIR POLLUTION IS NO. 1 COMPLAINT OF COSTA RICA VISITORS A poll by the Costa Rica Tourism Institute found that visitors to the country complained most about air pollution in San Jose. The capital city has lead levels in the air as much as three times higher than recommended. --Lan Sluder * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * #7 in a Series >>>>>TRAVEL FIRST<<<< NEWS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN Published Irregularly by Lan Sluder January 2, 1994 >>CHEAPEST PLACES TO VISIT IN THE CARIBBEAN BASIN Want to travel on the cheap? Here are destinations likely to cost the least, given current exchange rates and price levels. Also shown are those places with moderate and high costs for travel. Costs shown, which include safe, clean lodging, food, drink, local transportation and entertainment, are for "middle class" travel, neither backpacker nor luxury, and are per-person. Obviously you can travel in these countries for much more, or for less. CHEAP (Under US$50 a day) Guatemala Honduras Cuba MODERATE (US$50 to $100 a day) Belize Costa Rica Mexico Dominican Republic Saba Statia Montserrat Panama El Salvador Nicaragua Haiti Dominica Jamaica HIGH (Over US$100 a day) Antigua Aruba Bonaire Barbados Grenada St. Vincent Anguilla Puerto Rico Cayman Islands Curacao Martinique Guadeloupe Bahamas Bermuda USVI British Virgin Islands Trinidad and Tobago >>CARIBBEAN-AMERICANS MURDERED IN NEW YORK At least five Caribbean-Americans were murdered in New York City in December. Victims included natives of Jamaica, Guyana and Grenada. >> GUATEMALANS GO GA-GA FOR PHONE SEX In response to ads from the U.S., hundreds or thousands of Guatemalans called a sex hot-line in the U.S., running up bills at the rate of over $2 a minute for international calls. Guatemalans reportedly were shocked when phone bills for hundreds of dollars arrived. Many said they could not or would not pay. >> FLOODS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE CENTRAL AMERICA Costa Rica is the latest victim of possibly changing weather patterns in the region. Five were killed in heavy rains in Limon and Cartago provinces in mid- December. Even San Jose got rain, two weeks after the normal start of the dry season in the Central Valley. Honduras and the Pacific coast of Costa Rica also have been hard-hit this year by tropical storms and heavy rains. >>CONDE NAST TRAVELER FEATURES WESTERN CARIBBEAN REEFS The current (January 1994) issue of CN Traveler has an extensive feature on reefs in the Western Caribbean from Mexico to Panama. In the same issue is a piece on famous Brits who came to live in Jamaica -- Ian Fleming, Errol Flynn and Noel Coward. >>ESL SCHOOLS LISTED The current (January/February 1994) issue of Transitions Abroad magazine includes a list of leading academic programs in teaching English as a second language. >>THIRD COP KILLED IN BELIZE IN THIS YEAR On December 17, another police officer was killed in the line of duty in Belize City, a block from police headquarters, allegedly by a Honduran immigrant. The murders of two other officers earlier this year have not yet been solved. Police say the suspect in the latest murder was also involved in the recent robbery of Raul's Rose Garden, Belize's fanciest bordello. >> SPANISH ROCK ROCKS C.A. Central Americans, tired of hearing English- language rock, are turning to local rock bands. Alux Nahual, a Guatemalan group whose name means "spirit of the dwarf" in Mayan, is among the most popular of Spanish rock groups. The band's latest album is "Americamorphosis." >> HONDURANS CELEBRATE HOLIDAY WITH "SKELETON" CHRISTMAS TREES Hondurans, unable to afford expensive imported Christmas trees or store- bought artificial trees, buy trees made from dry wood branches nailed to a square wood base. These skeletal trees cost US$3 to $6. >> CABLE TV COMES TO PARADISE TV viewers on Ambergris Caye in Belize have a choice of 20 cable channels, including the Disney Channel, Sci-Fi Channel, Uni-Vision, CNN, KCNC-Denver, WGN-Chicago and HBO. Cable and satellite TV from the US and Mexico is now common all over Central America. The impact on local culture is likely to be significant. >> BELIZE EXPELLED 3,000 GUATEMALANS IN 1993 Reportedly, Belize sent 3,000 illegal Guatemalans back to their home country during 1993. The influx of refugees into Belize and Costa Rica from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua has caused an increase in crime and new social and political problems for the two wealthiest countries in the region. >>CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES IN THE REGION (to 1 US$) Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent EC dollar 2.7 Bahamas dollar 1 Belize dollar 2 Bermuda dollar 1 Costa Rica colon 151 Jamaica dollar 28.5 Mexico new peso 3.1 Dominican Republic peso 12.5 Nicaragua cordoba 6.5 Guatemala quetzal 5.7 Honduras lempira 7.3 Cayman Islands .85 Trinidad & Tobago TT dollar 5.5 Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin French franc 5.75 St. Maarten, Aruba, Curacao, Statia, Saba NAF 1.79 El Salvador colon 8.7 Panama balboa 1 --Lan Sluder Note: E-mail addresses for Lan Sluder, Travel First and Belize First are: America On-Line: Lan Sluder CompuServe: 76357,147 Internet: 76357.147@compuserve.com Prodigy: VFJC51A Fax: (704) 667-1717 # # #