Adventures in Belize
(Originally posted January 2012)
From the moment the plane landed in Belize City, I knew I would love this country. I found my sunglasses at the bottom of my carry on and stepped off the plane into the warm, humid air. Belize has been incredibly easy to navigate and we arrived in Placencia a few hours after our landing. We breezed through immigration and got our bags. Every Belizean we encountered gave us reliable directions and a friendly conversation. We grabbed a taxi to the bus terminal and took a chicken bus towards the south. Now, I say “chicken bus” because it was a converted school bus that makes stops for anyone on the side of the road but it was a far cry from the adventures of crazy chicken buses in Nicaragua and Venezuela. It actually ran on a schedule, arriving and departing exactly when people said it would. No one pushed to get on and no one had to stand along the way. Reggae music was playing but not blasting through carpet covered speakers and pimped-out dashboards. It was a smooth ride and two buses later we arrived at Manatee Inn, our guest house for the week, in Placencia.
If I hadn’t yet felt the Caribbean vibes in Belize City or on the journey down the southern highway with low mountains covered with palm trees to the right or with ocean views down the 24 mile peninsula to the left, I certainly caught on to the beach town culture when we arrived in Placencia. We stayed in this beach down with some 500 Belizeans and a mix match of budget backpackers and luxury resort tourists for the week. Our favorite locales during the week were Omar’s Creole Grub for breakfasts with fry bread and homemade guava jelly, Barefoot Bar for music and stiff tropical drinks and Tutti-frutti for the best gelato I’ve ever tasted (and I certainly tasted every flavor, maybe twice).
We found our guest house, the Manatee Inn, to be just what we needed for a week of relaxation, and for $20 a night, we couldn’t complain. We stayed in the corner room with two beds, a shower (it even had occasional water pressure and warm water) and a fridge. Outside on the balcony, I spent many hours in the hammock with an ocean view. A five minute walk into town by the main road or beach sidewalk (named “the world’s narrowest main street”).
On New Year’s Eve we found the Placencia celebration at the soccer field with a endless reggae, fireworks, and lots of kids, families, local and tourists. We spent Sunday relaxing on the beach (until the clouds blocked out the sun) and got settled in for a week of adventures and relaxation. I quickly fell in love with the pace of Placencia, no rush, no hurry. The sounds of Caribbean music and voices, the smell of salty ocean water and BBQ fill the air. Belizeans are the most genuine friendly of folks I’ve met around the world (and I’ve had the good fortune to meet many kind people in my travels), everyone always willing to share a laugh, proper directions, a beer, a song or dance.
Monday morning we were greeted with pouring rain instead of the prescribed sunshine. Fortunately it cleared by midday so Elisa and I decided to go exploring with rented bikes from Captain Jak. We biked ten miles up the peninsula past the airport, past the Garifuna village of Seine Bight, past the luxury resorts and houses (practically castles) of Maya Beach and then back again. The view from the bike was perfect, coast on one side, palm trees all around. It felt a little like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, although instead of Toto in my front basket, I had the local Belikin beer.
Tuesday’s adventures took us to Monkey River, across the water to the mainland and then south. We road with our guide, Ian, and a newlywed couple that joined us on three adventures during the week, Jessica and Kurt. The journey to Monkey River by boat took us through a forest of mangroves. Turning up the river we were greeted by crocodiles, egrets, turtles and herons. Moving inland we hiked through the jungle and found a family of Howler monkeys. Our guide, Raymond, banged his machete against a tree and made angry monkey calls so the monkeys would move around and become visible to us. They certainly did, jumping from tree to tree, throwing their little fruits and peeing on a tourist from the fifty feet above. We walked through streams past hundred foot tall bamboo shoots, holes for enormous crabs, all while keeping an eye out for snakes. Back in Monkey River village, we ate at Doña Alice’s a typical plate of chicken, rice, beans and plantains. Before we jumped back in the boat, Raymond wanted to show us his paca, a large rodent that he’d been talking about like a proud pet owner. After we oohed and aahed over it, he told us how good the paca stew was going to taste. Yum.
Wednesday we rode up to the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich with Doyle, Clarissa, Jessica and Kurt. A great opportunity to see the countryside as the ruins are located several hours Northwest of Placencia. Along the highway I watched palm tree covered mountains, endless rows of citrus trees and wooden houses built on stilts pass by and by. Built between 200 and 900 AD, the Xunantunich ruins have been well-studied and maintained. From the top of “El Castillo” you can see over all the palaces, plazas and ball courts. Looking beyond the ruins, you see green rolling hills with forest, farmlands and villages and off to the right, on the other side of a dirt road lays Guatemala. I really did see all this from the top of the highest ruin, but I won’t deny that my fear of heights kicked in and I was clinging to the ancient stone pillars on the top level of the structure. Returning from our adventure, we stopped for BBQ and a dip in the Blue Hole, a limestone sinkhole with turquoise water surrounded by jungle.
On Thursday we went on a snorkeling adventure at Laughingbird Key. Despite the windy weather, Ms. Donna sent us out with our trusty captain and snorkeling expert, Gus, and first mate and cook, Raheem. Clarissa and I held on tight as the little boat skipped over waves twice the size of our boat, while Elisa was up front cheering with glee over every bump. The Laughingbird Key is a small island with not much more than palm trees and coral reef located eleven miles south of Placencia. It’s also a national park, manned by Gus’s father. Under the water we saw coral reefs and lots of aquatic life. We didn’t find Nemo but many of his colorful friends, along with barracuda, two foot long lobsters, sting rays and squid-lets. On land, we ate BBQ chicken and Raheem’s secret recipe for scallop potatoes. Sitting on the sandbar peninsula of the key, I watched the crystal clear blue waves pull in conch shells and palm trees blowing in the sunshine.
Later that night we met up with half the town at the Barefoot. Our group enjoyed a few Belikins and danced to the live reggae band until the bar closed and a few locals pulled out drums and maracas to continue to fun. Eventually the owner told them to move on and the whole crowd moved the “Tipsy Tuna” beach bar for more music. The night was filled with lots of music, dancing, laughter and fun.
Before leaving town we did a little shopping. Raheem helped me find some new music from his DJ buddy. Elisa found her conch shell to bring home. Before leaving we needed also needed another round of gelato from the Tutti-frutti. Saturday morning we took the first bus out of town and switched buses somewhere outside of Dangriga. Our bus literally pulled the other bus over in the middle of the highway for a quick passenger swap and we cruised the rest of the way back to Belize City.
Our adventure in Belize was filled with warm people, both fellow travelers and local friends. Through we had some rain and cloud cover, the weather held out for some sunshine and gave us time to explore the beautiful country. I may never understand Creole (but thanks for the attempt at a lesson, Bubbles), I’d get right on a plane and back any day.
