Blogs from Dangriga, Stann Creek District, Belize, Central America Caribbean

So the next leg of my trip was in Belize. It was a short one because Belize is substantially more expensive. Thijs and I left for the border around mid morning, two shuttles, a taxi, and two busses later we arrived in Dangriga, Belize. Dangriga is known as the Garifuna center of Belize. The Garifuna people are a mixed race of carribean slaves and South American natives. They speak a dialect of English that is very hard to understand. But its cool! We had decided to skip Caye Caulker, the backpacker mecca of Belize, and go for more culture. The Garifuan people were very friendly and their food was good. I must pause to explain that Mexican food is the best by far on my trip so far. Guatemala had close to no food culture eventhough ... read more

In going through some photo CDs that I have, I discovered pictures that I'd never placed on my computer or shared with you. Turner and I had traveled to Belize in 2005 to visit friend Rodger Christopher. We briefly experienced Belize City before traveling and being chauffeured by Rodger to his base of Sittee River Village. The towns of Dangriga and Hopkins Village were part of our experience as well. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures at Mama Noots where we had a blast while at the Mayflower Bocawina National Park. Rodger has the Sittee River Lodge and invites visitors. The web address is http://sitteeriverlodge.com/index.html. You will love the area. This is not one of the resort areas. Sittee River is just as great but not the coast. The area in this part of Belize sports Mayan ... read more

It was the weirdest thing in the world to cross the boarder into Belize and all the sudden be reading signs in English. We had to adjust to speaking English, although the local language is Garifuna, the people also speak using a sing-song English that is a blast to listen to. The bottom line is that we don't know which language to use. While here in Belize we plan to spend copious amounts of time on the beach. I am also having a drum handmade by a drum maker here in Dangriga, the town we are at. The drum maker's name is Austin Rodriguez. He has been making drums for 37 years. Mahogany shell and deer skin drum head. Pretty exciting! Life is slow here in Belize. Nobody is in a hurry...ever. I am wearing a ... read more

South Water Caye is part of the South Water Caye Marine reserve. It's home to a huge collection of coral reefs just a half hour boat ride from Dangriga. Our group stayed at the International Zoological Expeditions lodge (IZE) and got classroom instructions on how to identify and evaluate coral health. The beach on the south side of the island was incredible. It had a breath-taking view of Victoria Peak, and the reef could be accessed right from the beach. Other than that, it was a pretty sleepy little island and what time we didn't spend on the beach was out on the reefs. This place was amazing.... read more