--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., "Martin Pratt" <m.a.pratt@d...> wrote:
> > one could even hope that doug might settle this question
> > while in guatemala for bzgtmx this winter
>
> You'll need a machete and a strong arm to get to bzgtmx at the
moment -
> there's nothing but virgin rainforest for miles around. If you
wish to
> play 'spot the tripoint' I have posted an aerial view on the list's
> photos page (bxgtmx.jpg).
wonderful as ever to hear from you martin
but with a pic of this virgin tricountry point in tow
even if class e as in exray view thru the jungle canopy
well
i have been delirious all morning
& of course i couldnt spot a thing in this condition
but did learn the tripoint is very likely on the move now
from its earlier presumptive position
at the initial gtmx reference marker circa 1961
known as vertice aguas turbias
to the position implied in proposal a1 of your link
namely at wlong 89d09m00s283 by nlat 17d49m00s000
which is actually about 200 meters generally eastward
if not perfectly due east of that marker
as announced by the president of belize on 20sept02
per
http://www.caricom.org/newsflash/belizeguatemala-musa.htm
this news was actually first reported by doug 19 days earlier
in message 7124
& tho i expressed incredulity in message 7143
it is essentially true
& what it really means is that there is no bzgtmx at the moment
whether accessible or not
& whether visible or not
or at least there is no true bzgtmx
until the referenda & finalization of the treaty
not to mention the official demarcation at some probably still
later date
however one might still find both the aguas turbias ref marker
& the precise geoposition of the proposed tripoint so nearby it
possibly already provisionally marked
nor do i believe these positions are so hopelessly remote
as they may have seemed from the airplane
judging from the following roadmaps
http://www.belize.net/html/maps/roadmap.shtml
http://www.belize.net/html/maps/orangemap.shtml
& also from an even better canadian made map i have seen
& a report i also just found
that the roads
basically as indicated on all these maps
are good to as far as neustadt
or within about 10km of the tripoint to the northeast
& are difficult but passable to within about 1km to the east
tho the access is thru a big drug production area
where caution must be used after dark & even by day
so i dont know if we really should continue to egg doug on
or not
it is also good to learn from your data that a bzgthn territorial
waters tripoint is already just as imminent or at least just as
probable as bzgtmx
& will join the growing handful of these worldwide
if indeed anyone can name 5 such confirmees yet
m
> Rather more accessible is the soccer field at El Arenal, whose
halfway
> line is reputed to run along the Belize-Guatemala boundary. I'm
afraid I
> wasn't able to touch down to verify this but I did get a view from
above
> - see Arenal.jpg on the photos page.
>
> Guatemala has a longstanding claim to sovereignty over the
entire
> territory of Belize. For those of you who aren't aware, an
Organisation
> of American States-sponsored initiative recently resulted in a
series of
> recommendations designed to settle the land and maritime
boundaries of
> the two countries once and for all. In simple terms, Guatemala
has been
> asked to respect the existing land boundary in exchange for a
larger
> share of the Gulf of Honduras than it might have expected
under normal
> maritime delimitation practice. Although the two governments
have
> supported the recommendations, they must also be approved
by the
> populations of Belize and Guatemala in referenda. Perhaps
not
> surprisingly, popular reaction to the recommendations in
Guatemala has
> been less than enthusiastic and it is far from certain that they
will be
> accepted. If not, it is possible that the issue will be submitted
to the
> International Court of Justice. Details of the OAS
recommendations are
> available from the government of Belize at
> http://www.belize-guatemala.gov.bz/
>
> m a r t i n