Where do world travelers find bright sun, warm beaches, exotic resorts, virginal jungles, roaring waterfalls, fresh piney air, deep-sea wonders, archaeological expeditions, and lots of other cool Caribbean adventures? They find it all closer than most would guess: here in Belize. Exotic does not mean far.

In Belize, exotic means just two or three hours from US airline hubs. Mostly it means natural. On the Caribbean coast of Central America, wedged between Mexico and Guatemala, Mother Nature's best-kept secret whispers, "Welcome to Belize, one of the most wondrous places on earth."

Small in population, but huge in diversity, this English-speaking country excels at eco-adventure. In a world of disappearing rainforests and coral reefs, Belize sets aside 26 percent of its compact 8,867 square miles for national parks, reserves, and sanctuaries. Like Noah's Ark, they preserve a variety of precious wildlife.

Some pine forests and offshore cayes have not felt human footsteps for a thousand years. Now under exploration, the interior unfolds like a vast outdoor zoo, and the underwater world shines like a giant saltwater aquarium. The Belizean proximity of coral reef to inland jungle makes this vacation place unique.

Small in area, but huge in attractions, Belize allows nature junkies to dive coral reefs in the morning, explore Maya temples after lunch, and enjoy brilliant sunsets over fine dining and dancing. Go from Jacques Cousteau to Indiana Jones to Joe Cool all in the same day. How's that for a diverse destination?

The Belizean road to adventure crosses rivers, flats, reefs, jungles, mountains, falls, caves, temples, flora, and fauna - like the world's largest nature theme park.

Each year more and more people discover the snorkeling, diving, fishing, and exploring here. Others just come to relax on a beach or riverbank. With the longest barrier reef in the West, spectacular diving rivals any spot on the globe. Little coral cayes sprinkled along the reef, ringed with white sandy beaches and dotted with coconut palms, each look like postcards.

The wild interior tempts visitors with amazing topography, exotic animals, and historic Maya archaeological sites. Hard-working Belizeans raise sugarcane - so important to the economy - on the flat arable lands to the north. Rivers carry manatees, crocodiles, trophy fish, and wide-eyed tourists through the rugged mountainous south. Black howler monkeys screech at intruders. Multi-colored macaws swoop from tree to tree. Lumbering tapirs drink from the river. Elusive jaguars watch from the shadows.

Human history here - as colorful as the Caribbean Sea - goes back at least four thousand years, starting with the great Maya civilization that vanished mysteriously. Today its descendants share Belize with an unlikely mix of newcomers: mestizo (Spanish and Maya), Creole, Garinagu (black Carib), Mennonite, and various international wayfarers. All speak their traditional language, in addition to English.

The result is a peaceable kingdom of tolerance, with a population of 282,600, evolved from a checkered past of slavery, war, and struggle for survival. While Jesus walked in Judea, 750,000 Maya walked in the land now called Belize. They lived, loved, fought, and died as if the civilization would go on forever.

A thousand years later, it collapsed. Five centuries after that, Spain captured Mexico and Central America, but most of the Maya had left Belize. The forest took over. The mahogany flourished.

British pirates arrived in the 1600s. In the 18th century, the pirates-turned-loggers targeted this piece of swamp to cut mahogany, then in great demand back in Europe. Once the Baymen, as the British called themselves, began cutting the prized wood, the Span?ish sent troops to dislodge them. They failed.

In 1779 Spain joined France and the nascent United States against Britain. The settlement was attacked, and those who could, fled. The prisoners were marched to Mexico, tried, and im?prisoned in Cuba. But the woodcutter's settlement on the Belize River grew anyway, from 400 to 2,500, and the resolute Baymen simply put up defenses.

When a Spanish fleet of 32 ships and 2,500 men arrived in 1798, the settlement met it with seven gun rafts, five sailboats, and one Royal Navy ship, the HMS Merlin. Against all odds, the Baymen prevailed at the Battle of St. George's Caye on September 10, 1798, a date still celebrated.

So the Baymen expanded. When Mexico and Central America threw off the Spanish yoke in 1821, the Baymen were cutting wood all the way to the Sarstoon River, now the southern border of Belize.

Maya of the Yucatán, however, had been enslaved by the Spanish for more than 300 years. In 1847 they revolted, igniting the 60-year Caste Wars. Mestizos and Spaniards fled south by the thousands, doubling the population.

Some got the idea to become a British colony. The British Army would protect them, and mahogany cutting could continue without new taxes. In 1862, Queen Victoria granted colonial status to British Honduras. A legislative assembly formed, the army came, but the British government billed the colony for maintaining its troops here. In 1866, border raids boosted defense costs further. However, instead of raising taxes, the local assembly petitioned London for new status as a crown colony, which it granted in 1870.

Poverty lingered here for decades, so the 1920s did not exactly roar in British Honduras, and the worldwide depression of the 1930s had relatively little effect in the colony. After World War II, hundreds who left to serve in allied militaries returned home with some new ideas.

In 1949 London devalued the British Honduras dollar, after promising not to. Local outrage touched off the Movement of Liberation the following day. Political parties, trade unions, and credit unions joined the cry for independence, which would take 32 years to accomplish. In 1964 British Honduras became self-governing. In 1973 the name changed to Belize. On September 21, 1981, Belize became an independent country. Now the diverse peoples of Belize - survivors with grit and determination - continue to grow their unique society as a model for developing countries.

Belize protects its precious environment and leverages its natural assets to attract tourists - as important today as mahogany was 300 years ago. Visitors find this exotic place much closer than most of them would have guessed.

In Belize, exotic does not mean far. Exotic just means real, natural, and thoroughly wonderful.