Hotel Mopan Bugbus, Belize City 1975
Hotel Mopan on Regent Street back in the days, entrance to the Hotel Mopan in Belize City, the Hotel was old and worn, but had its charm and a service minded staff who sent out relatives to pick up beers for us on a closed Sunday when the Hotel bar was empty.
My students and I spent a lot of time at the Hotel Mopan 1989 through 1997, arriving and departing from Belize City for archaeological field research on Wild Cane Cay and Frenchman's Cay in the Toledo District. Jean Shaw took great care of us, as well as of the dozens of Earthwatch volunteers that arrived and left every two weeks. My last visit with Jean was sitting on the verandah and catching up with her a few months before she died. What a great person. Glad that her children Jeannie and Tomy were able to continue on and expand it. My students stayed there in 2004 for the Belize Archaeology Symposium and I stayed there a few times as well around that time. We now avoid Belize City entirely and go straight to Belmopan and Punta Gorda. Oh the memories!
Tom Shaw came with the GTE group to install the new telecom system for BTA circa 1974. Jean Shaw was the first President of BTIA in 1985.
Great memories of that place. Mrs Jean Shaw was a wonderful host. I was looking to see if Miss Heidi was on her varanda LOL. That look like Aura Young pan d verandah.
Eugene Trench:
The house shown in the forefront is where my Aunt Hadie and cousins lived remembered my mom use to take us there to watch parade on the 10th of September good old days.
Marquis Walsh:
In the mid and late 80's I lived right down the street in the small house on stilts behind what later became the chamber of Commerce. We bought tonic and soda water from there on an almost daily basis. Great family. I had a nice short walk to work at Great Belize Productions on 17 Regent. St.
Russell Allen:
Liz and I always stayed at the Mopan on our trips to the city. Jean always said that Meggie, my daughter, was the youngest guest she ever had. She was born in the old Belize City Hospital in 1986, we checked out and checked into the Mopan when Meggie was about 3 hours old!
First photograph by Infrogmation of New Orleans, second photo courtesy George Villanueva
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