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Things to See and Do | Shopping | Dining | Accommodations
THINGS TO SEE AND DO
For hundreds of years, the Maya drank kukuh, a cacao-based drink with black pepper, chilis, spices, and honey, to give them strength. Now trek the Cacao Trail through Maya villages to discover the essence of modern chocolate. Visit cacao plantations. Meet the farmers who supply leading chocolatiers. Celebrate Maya gold during the first-ever Toledo Cacao-Fest, May 18-20, 2007, with native dancing, storytellers spinning yarns, and sound and light shows at the ancient site of Lubaantun (toledochocolate.com). Displays in Punta Gorda feature products that sprout from cacao trees. Participate in chocolate and wine tastings, competitions for using chocolate, and demonstrations by celebrity chefs.
Maya culture flourishes in the outlying villages. In San Antonio, the largest Mopan Maya community in Central America, residents perform the Deer Dance as part of a nine-day celebration of culture each August. Nearby, the unassuming Florencio Mess lives simply in his thatched home, carving violins and harps by hand. But the world-famous musician also plays traditional Maya music on those instruments for audiences from Europe to North America. He even made a CD.
Once thriving but now silent, ancient Maya sites include Lubaantun, Nim Li Punit, Uxbenka, and Pusilhá. Builders of the largest, Lubaantun (Place of Fallen Stones), did not use mortar, as workers had at other sites, but rather crafted each stone to fit exactly. Many impressive stelae, carved stone slabs used for commemoration, came from Nim Li Punit (Big Hat), near the modern village of Indian Creek. Pusilhá sits right in the village of San Benito Poite, near the western border. Uxbenka, between Santa Cruz and Santa Helena, remains unexcavated.
In far-southern Barranco, the largest Garinagu community in Belize, villagers enjoy a unique cuisine, and Garinagu drums waft through the night.
Fifteen national parks and reserves protect half the territory of Toledo, where outdoor adventure lovers find so much exotic flora and fauna, they need more than one week to discover it all. Offshore, divers and snorkelers pour over the vast barrier reef. Anglers cast for permit, tarpon, bonefish, and snook. Everyone enjoys the birds, dolphins, and manatees.
Watch for exotic birds while kayaking down the lively Moho, Temash, Rio Grande, or Monkey rivers, or Joe Taylor Creek. Kayaks pass through caves, pine forests, mangrove stands, savannas, and wetland habitats like Agua Caliente Wildlife Sanctuary. More good routes include the Rio Grande, downstream from San Miguel, and the Moho River, from Santa Ana to Boom Creek village. Farther up the Moho, around San Benito Poite, rapids lure more skillful kayakers. Offshore cayes offer suburb kayaking as well.
Bird watchers discover avian life all over the district - 495 species confirmed in the recent Birds of Belize. Early morning and late afternoon river trips reveal them. Jabirus, wood storks, and black-bellied whistling ducks build nests on three lagoons in Agua Caliente. Spot emerald toucanets, red-capped manikins, and collared trogons in the forest canopy near Aguacate Village. More than 300 species, including the endangered yellow-headed parrot and jabiru stork, spend winters in Paynes Creek National Park. On the cayes and rivers, birders observe osprey, brown-footed booby, brown pelican, frigate, and white ibis.
A pretty waterfall runs during rainy season, a mile from San Antonio, giving natural spa treatments. Lean into the chutes of water and luxuriate. Visit 20-foot cascades at Rio Blanco National Park and watch local kids dive off the cliffs. The stepped waterfalls at Pueblo Viejo form cool pools for refreshing swims after sweaty jungle hikes.
Mazes of unmarked hiking trails crisscross various habitats. While trekking in Blue Creek Rainforest Reserve, near the village of Blue Creek, guides point out the medicinal plants and trees. Visit the cave and take a cool dip in the waterfall. Follow the creek upstream to Ho Keb Ha Cave, where the water gurgles up from underground. Guides with headlamps lead swimmers well inside the cave. Best access is November to May.
Bring hiking boots to trek the three hours, on forest trails recently cleared, to the caves at Aguacate. In Laguna Cave, bats hide behind the stalactites. Upstream from San Miguel, the Rio Grande emerges near miles-long Tiger Cave, a cathedral for dedicated spelunkers. Some local guides transport visitors in a traditional dory, hollowed from the trunk of a single tree. Many caves remain unexplored.
Ask tour operators about the Maya Divide Expedition, an extreme five- to seven-day adventure of camping and hiking. Arranged from San José near the western border, the 55-mile adventure crosses the Maya Mountains, through dense forests, to the wondrous archaeological site at Caracol.
Middle River, Golden Stream, and Deep River feed fresh water into the bay. During boat tours on the rivers, white ibises perform ballets in the air, and manatees forage in the turtle grasses. Trips upstream provide good photo ops to capture black howler monkeys, large green iguanas, rare birds, and lumbering turtles.
Blessed with beautiful beaches, the Moho, Snake, Sapodilla, Bobby's Hunting, and Nicholas cayes provide great swimming, diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. Eight miles offshore, Moho Caye can even be reached by kayak. Bobby's Caye has a new public beach, 20 minutes by boat. Tours go to Wild Cane Caye, an ancient Maya trading post where shards of pottery and obsidian still litter the ground. Pristine Sapodilla Cayes, 35 miles offshore, present divers with ridges and valleys perpendicular to the barrier reef.
Permit capital of the world, the Bay of Honduras also runs thick with tarpon and bonefish - the grand slam of flats fishing. Fly fishermen seek permit, the holy grail of saltwater species, on flats around the many cayes here. Others target snook and tarpon in the rivers that feed Port Honduras. The Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve supports numerous species, and spawns Nassau Grouper along the reef.
Water taxis link Punta Gorda to Guatemala, sailing to Puerto Barrios daily and to Livingston on Tuesday and Friday. Boats leave at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., and return at 2 p.m. The one-hour one-way crossing costs about US$20. River tours cost about US$125-250 per boat per day. Trips to Sapodilla Cayes range from US$350 per day, to $600 for overnight camping. Inland tours go for US$100-200 per day. Consult the Toledo Tour Guide Association, TIDE Tours, and Requena's Charters for licensed guides.
Things to See and Do | Shopping | Dining | Accommodations
SHOPPING
On market days - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - villagers sell root vegetables like cho cho and coco yam, plus other produce. The horses and buggies around town belong to Mennonites, who come from Pine Hill to sell their produce.
Maya women's craft groups display jippi jappa baskets, carvings, and cuxtals (woven shoulder bags) at the Fajina Craft Center, on Front Street past the post office, open market days from 8-11 a.m. Volunteers from as far as Japan help the women learn how to sell the honey and other goods they make. Women and children offer crafts anywhere they find tourists in the district.
Things to See and Do | Shopping | Dining | Accommodations
DINING
Around Punta Gorda, a variety of restaurants do serve basic Belizean, Garinagu, and Caribbean dishes, including the occasional gibnut, a popular rodent. Garinagu fare includes hudut, a light soup of coconut water with the catch of the day and mashed plantains. Breakfast eaters start the day at Sea Front Inn, el Café, or Grace's. Instead of the same old toast, try Johnny cakes or fry jacks. In town, refuel at Snack Shack, serving quick healthy soy-based meals, herbal teas, and travel advice.
For lunch or dinner, Emery's charges a reasonable US$4 for excellent baked chicken, rice, beans, plantains, and coleslaw. Or try the baked pork, shrimp, or lobster. Vicky Marenco's ice cream parlor and restaurant serves excellent watermelon and papaya juices. Marian's Restaurant, on the coast, includes a sea view with imaginative East Indian dishes. For Chinese food, try options along Main Street.
Nightlife means PG Sports Bar, with large-screen TV, and Waluelo's, for entertainment on weekends.
Things to See and Do | Shopping | Dining | Accommodations
ACCOMMODATIONS
From upmarket jungle cottages to cozy guesthouses in Punta Gorda, more than 200 rooms fit any budget from US$15 to $250 per night.
In the heart of Toledo District, the Lodge at Big Falls gives quick access to many inland attractions. The bird watcher's paradise hugs the serene Rio Grande, with modern conveniences in elegant thatched cabanas, plus gourmet cuisine and swimming pool.
Machaca Hill Lodge, formerly El Pescador Punta Gorda, perches high above the Rio Grande, with great views of the rainforest and Port Honduras Marine Reserve. Sleep in elegant cabanas; dine in the excellent restaurant; go tubing and kayaking on the river; and lounge around the hilltop swimming pool.
An oasis not far from town, the charming new Caribbean-style Hickatee Cottages nestle snugly in the jungle, on the road to Boom Creek.
When open, the 20-acre Orange Point Marina and Estates, south of Punta Gorda, will become the only high-end gated residential community and marina in southern Belize. Practically over the Moho River, on stilts and off grid, CottonTree Lodge has monkeys and birds, tours through Hokeb Ha Cave, and a thoroughly natural feel.
Comfortable rooms in town at the Sea Front Inn, named after local flora and fauna, view the Caribbean, source of a constant sea breeze. The seaside Coral House Inn is a 1930s house, beautifully remodeled with custom furnishings by local artisans, at the quiet end of Main Street.
On the outskirts of town, find the new Beya Suites, Sun Creek Tours and Lodge, and Tranquility Lodge in Jacintoville. At Cuxlin Ha Resort and Maya Village, visitors live among indigenous people and learn about their culture.
Visitors get an authentic taste of the culture through the Home Stay Program, which places them with Maya families in three villages, and the Toledo Ecotourism Association Guest House Program, a network of 11 villages with special accommodations. Sleep under thatch. See how women cook traditional fare and how men raise crops. Taste caldo, a savory chicken stew served with tortillas.
In 40,000-acre Payne's Creek National Park, an hour by skiff, Toledo Institute of Development and Environment (TIDE) offers a research facility and lodge.
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