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DANGRIGA: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
HOPKINS: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
THINGS TO SEE AND DO AROUND DANGRIGA
Learn about Garinagu history, custom, and lifestyle at the Gulisi Garifuna Museum. View exhibits of art and photography and even take courses in the Garifuna language. Named after one of the first Garinagu women to arrive from St. Vincent - via Roatan, Trujillo, and Puerto Cortez - the museum opens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The entrance fee is US$5.
Punta rock originated in Dangriga, where Garinagus believe healing powers flow from the music of instruments used in their traditional dances. People come to Dangriga from around Central America and the Caribbean to revel and celebrate Garifuna Settlement Day each November 19, when local people reenact the historic landing. Traditional drumming and punta dancing begin the night before.
Meet Dangriga's most colorful characters: Artist Benjamin Nicholas displays paintings of community life in hotels throughout the country. At the palapa by the market, ask for Austin Rodriguez, who makes drums from mahogany and cedar. Visit Mercy Sabal, maker of folkloric dolls, quilts, and wall hangings depicting Belizean life. Phillipa Vernon also creates Garinagu and Maya dolls. Phyllis Cayetano started a Garinagu dance group for which Queen Elizabeth II recognized her. Pen Cayetano, father of punta rock, jams during Settlement Day celebrations. Storyteller John Mariano spins yarns.
Topping everyone's list is Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, a 128,000-acre bowl of pristine forest, winding rivers, and scenic waterfalls, southwest of Dangriga. It protects the world's largest concentration of wild cats, including jaguars, jaguarundis, margays, ocelots, and pumas. Humans come to hike, camp, canoe, kayak, tube, swim, see waterfalls, and watch birds, much of it great for children.
Witness flocks of 30 or 40 scarlet macaws - brilliant red-blue-yellow-green members of the parrot family - as they screech overhead on migrations from January to March. They feed on ripe fruit at the village of Red Bank, and make for more kid-friendly excursions.
The 7,000-acre Mayflower Bocawina National Park lies north of Cockscomb Basin. Waterfalls include 140-foot Antelope Falls, overlooking Hopkins Village, and remote Big Drop Falls, in the south end. While hiking to the falls, guides often point out jaguar prints. The park includes numerous birds and three Maya archaeological sites: the Mayflower, T'au Witz, and Maintzunun digs.
The hike to Davis Falls used to be a real Lewis-and-Clark expedition. Today the journey still requires a four-wheel drive and a two-mile hike. But cooling off with a swim beneath the 300-foot waterfall makes the trek worthwhile.
Stann Creek resident Marie Sharp parlayed her hot-sauce hobby into an international business. Every restaurant in Belize proffers her sauces, made with carrots, habanero peppers, and spices. Visit Sharp's factory, four miles from Pomona, by appointment.
Blue Hole National Park awaits just up the Hummingbird Highway. This swimming hole radiates a beautiful sapphire blue color, and has a shallow area for kids.
At Gales Point on Southern Lagoon, and Colson's Point north of Dangriga, people encounter more manatees than humans. Hire a guide to commune with the giant sea cows.
Reputable inland tour companies include C&G Tours & Charters.
Dangriga provides easy access to the barrier reef, only half an hour from shore. Ubiquitous patch reefs provide scenic snorkeling for both adults and children. Discover the amazing coral gardens and unique tropical fish. Various canyons, grottos, cracks, and crevices wait to be explored by divers. See whale sharks, turtles, stingrays, fish, and dolphins.
During full moons from April to June, whale sharks, the world's largest fish, migrate through the area to feed. Divers and snorkelers witness the magnificent creatures in waters near Tobacco Caye, South Water Caye, and Glover's Reef.
Great dive and snorkel sites saturate the shallows from shore to reef. Visitors really enjoy Man O'War Caye, where they watch frigate and brown booby birds, and South Water Caye, where they snorkel right off the beach. With perfect sand, coconut palms, and coral clusters, Tobacco Caye and Tobacco Range host incredible diving, snorkeling, and picnicking trips. Besides the usual kaleidoscope of tropical fish, visitors encounter moray eels, turtles, nurse sharks, and the nocturnal squirrelfish.
Carrie Bow Caye serves as home to the Smithsonian Institution Research Center, and Wee Wee Caye hosts marine research groups. Near Columbus Caye, Shark Cave lies in wait for advanced divers, who encounter hammerhead and bull sharks, stalagmites, and stalactites.
Inland excursions and dive trips to the barrier reef range from US$50-80 each for at least four people. Taxis around town normally cost US$3.
DANGRIGA: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
HOPKINS: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
DINING IN DANGRIGA
The restaurant at Pelican Beach Resort features home-style Belizean cooking, fresh seafood, and American dishes. Tony Rath photographs and Benjamin Nicholas paintings adorn the walls.
Riverside Café, a popular spot to wait for boats from the cayes, does tasty Belizean and Creole food and fried fish that melts in the mouth. King Burger serves burgers, chicken, and fish. Chinese restaurants line the streets. Big barrel barbecues appear each evening, producing delicious grilled chicken, with flour tortillas, beans, and coleslaw, for around US$3.
Shake the hips to punta rock, popular in local bars. Dangriga is home to the popular musicians Bredda David and Obi, whose CDs sell throughout Belize.
DANGRIGA: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
HOPKINS: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
ACCOMMODATIONS IN DANGRIGA
Properties may have few rooms, but they display plenty of character. Stay in the small guesthouses, inns, lodges, or hotels here, where rooms rent from US$20 to $140 per night.
Modest, neat, and clean, nearly all have fans and private baths. Many offer cable TV and air-conditioning. The largest, Pelican Beach Resort, has 18 seaside rooms, plus a great collection of Garinagu art and a 400-gallon reef aquarium. At Bonefish Hotel, the cozy lobby feels just like home and the dining room smells of home-cooked food, often fried chicken or pork chops.
The Chaleanor Hotel is a new three-story property on Magoon Street. Seaclift B&B offers six rooms on the beach. Riverside Hotel, once a private home, has 11 rooms. Augustine Flores, retired schoolteacher and avid storyteller, runs Pal's Guest House. Get a taste of Garinagu culture at Ruthie's Cabanas, where Ruthie cooks traditional hudut every Saturday. Mama Noots Backabush Resort accommodates visitors right in the jaguar preserve.
DANGRIGA: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
HOPKINS: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
THINGS TO SEE AND DO AROUND HOPKINS
Garinagus speak the Garifuna language and practice the old traditions, like drumming and dancing punta. Drum maker Rudy Coleman designs instruments to make musical magic. Tribal Arts and Culture House and Joyjah sell exquisite items created by local craftsmen. Share in the Garinagu traditions by observing a drumming session, or even taking a lesson, by appointment, at the Lebeha drumming school, found on the north side.
Sittee River teems with iguanas, crocodiles, turtles, and other wildlife. Birders encounter numerous species along Sittee River, also ideal for canoeing. Good activities for kids, river trips take visitors through cathedrals of bamboo arches, past mangrove forests, under towering fig trees. Near Sittee River Village, ruins of the 19th-century Serpon Sugar Mill make a friendly spot for bird watching.
Exceptional diving and snorkeling surround the nearby cayes, including Tobacco Caye, South Water Caye, and the Elbow, 30 to 40 minutes out. The beautiful stretch of quiet beach between Hopkins and Sittee River lures divers, who choose lodges here for quick access to the pristine cayes and popular Glover's Reef, Lighthouse Reef, and Turneffe Islands atolls.
Just 200 yards offshore, anglers tap the country's rich vein of tarpon - the strongest, most acrobatic fish in salt water - ranging from five to 200 pounds. The larger specimens appear around here during late spring and summer, but fisherman catch all sizes all year.
DANGRIGA: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
HOPKINS: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
DINING IN HOPKINS
Favorite restaurants include Hopkins Diner, Nera's, and Hideaway. Some resorts welcome the public with reservations. Hamanasi Dive & Adventure Resort offers excellent beachside seafood and pasta. Jaguar Reef Lodge has a gourmet menu of seafood, chicken, beef, and vegetarian dishes. At Beaches & Dreams, burgers, pizza, vegetarian plates, and 50 other items fill out the menu. Specializing in fresh fish, American standards, and Belizean food is Parrot Cove Resort Restaurant. For authentic Belizean food, try Iris' or Whistling Seas.
To play billiards, visit Hopkins Restaurant and pool bar. Try New Town Bar for karaoke, or King Cassava to relax with a cool drink. Several internet cafés have sprung up around Hopkins and Sittee River.
DANGRIGA: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
HOPKINS: Things to See and Do | Dining | Accommodations
ACCOMMODATIONS IN HOPKINS AND CAYES
Tranquil, tropical resorts adorn the shore of Hopkins and Sittee River. Upmarket accommodations await at Almond Beach Resort, Beaches & Dreams Seafront Inn, Belizean Dreams, Hamanasi Dive & Adventure Resort, Hopkins Bay, Jaguar Reef Lodge, and Parrot Cove Resort. Reef Club Belize sells ownership interests in three-bedroom beachfront villas, with attractive amenities like the spa.
Stay and play on South Water Caye, sitting directly atop the barrier reef, with several resorts. At Blue Marlin Lodge, a diving, fishing, and leisure resort, guides help anglers catch trophy fish. Pelican Beach Resort's caye location offers environmental facilities in cottages and rooms, with dining on the deck and plenty of watersports. Reef's End Lodge offers accommodations on get-away-from-it-all Tobacco Caye, also right on the reef.
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