To the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary section
We took the Western Highway - which is actually deserving of it's name, since it is a
paved 2 lane highway, at least as far as we drove it to the new capital of Belize,
Belmopane. Along the way we pass the village of Hattieville - location of Belize's
infamous prison. Belmopan is a government town, and doesn't have much else going for it -
except it is a sort of crossroads. They have an open air market, and we had an excellent
lunch at a little cafe called the Caladium - right next to the bus
terminal. Recommended!
As we started down the Hummingbird Highway, we immediately got a taste of
what we were in for - washboard, short stretches of pavement, then more washboard. These
roads are very rough! It's now easy to see why the car rental rates are so high
(approx US$90/day). They must have to replace tires very often, not to mention the whole
vehicles!
The Hummingbird Highway starts out very rough from the Belmopan side for the first 45 mins
to 1 hour, however after that it turns into an excellent paved road all the way to
Dangriga. A convenient rest stop along the way is the Blue Hole National Park.
The cutoff from the Hummingbird Highway to the Southern Highway is a few miles
outside of Dangriga, however we went into town to get gas before tackling the last leg of
our trip to Placencia.
The Southern Highway
is without a doubt one of the roughest roads I have ever driven. Lots of washboard, narrow
bridges and the red dust gets into everything. It appears that Honduran farmers have taken
over in this region, with most growing citrus - orange and lime groves. There is a citrus
concentrate plant on the road near Dangriga. The junction for the road to Placencia is
well marked, however this road isn't much better than the Southern Highway.
The closer we get to Placencia, the sandier the road gets. We finally arrive at Garrett and Janis' house (which we have rented for
the week) around 5:30pm. Lydia is Garrett's mother, and she met us in the yard and showed
us the house. It's a nice 2 bedroom wood frame house built on stilts (Dining room and Master
bedroom).
The next morning, we went for breakfast at Lydia's - coffee, tea, fresh squeezed orange
juice, fresh mango, scrambled eggs, johnny cakes. Everything was delicious! BZ$6 ea.
Lydia's husband Conrad was barbequing chicken in the backyard as we passed by (our
house is behind their B&B - not on the beach). He does boat charters, and we decided
to hire him to take us sightseeing to some of the cayes later in the week. (Conrad
has passed away since we were on this trip, but Lydia is still in the B&B
business, and also arranges boat tours.)
We went for a swim in the ocean this morning (Placencia
beach - looking north) - our first for this trip. I just swim & float, then sit
under a palm tree, and am perfectly content. There are some cute kids swimming nearby. Two
of the boys are running up and down the beach, pushing a plastic wheel nailed to a stick.
Kids play with the simplest toys. In the afternoon I sit on our front porch, catching
glimpses of the Caribbean Sea through the palms.
The odour of overripe fruit is on the breeze from the Trades. Sublime! This is what I came
here for.
This afternoon the Frigate birds are wheeling in the updrafts caused by the afternoon
heat (over 90°F). There are all sorts of colourful birds in the trees. I don't have names
for them all, but two birds I know from previous tropical trips are: the Mynah bird -
almost crow-like, but of course, it has an incredible verbal repertoire, and the
hummingbirds, which are busy flitting from blossom to blossom (they love the cashew tree).
Conrad gave us a tour
of the trees & plants on the property. We have a cashew tree right beside our front
steps (cashew fruit & nuts). I didn't realize that
the cashew nut is inside an outer shell, which is poisonous. Conrad gathers the fallen
fruit up and separates the nut/shell from the soft fruit. The nut/shell is then roasted in
a pot on an open fire. The poisonous liquid between the shell and the nut is explosive,
so he has to stir them with a long stick! The fruit is often made into high
octane wine or fruit preserves.
We walk to Omar's for dinner. BZ$20 for their daily special - exellent
fish fry - conch steak, white fish, shrimp, beans & rice, coleslaw, cashew wine. The
seafood had a nice cayenne seasoning - just right. The cashew wine was sweet and powerful
- would have made a nice dessert wine. Omar's turns out to be our favorite eatery - Recommended.
We spotted Fireflies in the trees in the early evening. Thunder & lightning later this
evening and a rain storm starting at midnight. Hard to sleep - finally put in some ear
plugs. The temperature doesn't cool much, so we keep the ceiling fans and floor fans
going full bore. There is no air conditioning in the house.
The next
day we drive to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary,
which is about an hour's drive north of the Placencia road turnoff - total travel time is
about 2 hours each way. There is a 6 mile rough access road - I wouldn't have attempted
the road without 4WD vehicle, although we only used 2WD today (optimum dry conditions).
It was very hot, however we managed to complete a 45 min walk -
using about 2 quarts of water in the process! We were dripping wet by the end of our
little walk. We saw no animals (probably due to the heat), but did find some interesting
plants such as the Palm nuts Two young guys from
Colorado asked us for a ride out to the main road, where they were catching the intercity
bus. They had just finished hiking up Mt. Victoria (highest peak in Belize; took them 3
days), where they saw a white hawk with a snake in its mouth, among other wildlife.
Here is a scan of a slate carving of a jaguar by Adelita
Pau, a Mayan artist who sells her art through the Mayan Centre kiosk at the entrance to
the Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary.
We went to the Jaguar Reef Lodge for a
late lunch. Although the lunch was very nice, we both agreed that it would be
pretty boring staying here after the first day unless you are into laying on the beach all
day. Although it is certainly luxurious, it is also very isolated and expensive. We are
glad we are staying where we are - lots of choices for restaurants, bars, food stores,
activities, etc. We saw a Bougainvillea tree in full
bloom on the banks of the Sittee River along the way to the resort.
We tried going for a swim when we returned, but the wind was quite strong, the ocean
was too rough, and there were jellyfish were everywhere, so we got out after only 10
minutes. We walked to the bar next door to the pool hall for supper, where we both had the
grilled shrimp dinner with fries and salad - good, but not as good as Omar's.
The next day we stay
home. The water at the beach is perfectly calm. and there is nobody on the beach
except us - which is quote typical. While I'm lying in the shade of a palm, an old black
lab goes by on the beach, takes an impromptu dip in the ocean to cool off, then carries on
down the beach. Two kestrels are diving and swooping for fish just offshore. A local guy
walks down the beach with a bag of coconuts over his back. Joe
on Placencia beach - covered up because of sunburn! 45 minutes on each side
in full shade yesterday did it,
believe it or not.
There are some interesting
shopping for tourists up and down the Placencia peninsula. Our first stop is Lola's
Art. We find our way down a rough cut line through the bush to find her studio.
Both of us buy some small pieces of her artwork. Lola is very friendly and talks
with us for awhile. Recommended. Kitty's is next, and is a
more traditional tourist shop, but I find a nice "Reef
Tings" t-shirt there. Next stop is the village, where we find a gift shop with
some Laughing Bird Caye baseball caps. They will come in handy for our boat trip
tomorrow,
so we each buy one.
Half day trip (9am-3pm) BZ$45 ea - 4 person minimum. Contact Lydia in
Placencia for further information (Phone: 501-623-117) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
