Joshua Berman has been traveling, trip-leading, living, and teaching throughout Central America since 1998. A decade later, he is still amazed by Belize’s utter uniqueness in the region—and in the world. “I’ve never seen any country like Belize,” he says, so “culturally and geographically diverse in such a tiny piece of land and sea.”

Joshua was born in West Virginia and attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He has worked for Outward Bound, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Peace Corps, and the American Jewish World Service Volunteer Corps. In 2003, he crisscrossed the western United States as a firefighter with the National Park Service. More recently, Joshua traveled to 16 countries in 16 months with his new wife, Sutay (he’s currently writing a narrative book about the experience).

Joshua works as a writer, editor, and Spanish teacher, dividing his time between Central America and the Rocky Mountains. In addition to Moon Belize, Joshua coauthored both Moon Nicaragua and Moon Living Abroad in Nicaragua with Randall Wood. His articles have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Yoga Journal, Outside Traveler, The Boston Globe, Worldview, and Mountain Gazette. Joshua’s blog, “The Tranquilo Traveler,” can be found at joshuaberman.net.