Punta Gorda

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So, welcome to the Deep South of Belize.

Punta Gorda is a small town on the east coast of Belize. It has a large Mayan population and acted as our base to explore the deep south for a few days. The town itself is small and friendly and has a fruit and vegetable market running almost every day. It also bases its trade on fishing and acts as a portal to get to Livingstone in Guatemala.

on our first day we travelled to a Mayan village called Santa Cruz and went to see some very dilapidated Mayan Ruins called Uxbencia. These were so dilapidated that we couldnt actually find them and had to search through the village to find someone to tell us where they were. They were a little disapointing as it looked like a pile of rocks (and a hole to put old bones in) but the site had a good view and I can appreciate the history around it. From here we walked (for a long while in the hot sun) to a national park called Rio Blanco which had a pretty waterfall Which we could swim in. Because of the wet season, it had dried up quite a lot but it was still a refreshing swimming hole where we could cool off.

That night we went to a Really nice vegetarian and seafood restaurant called Gomiers. Gomier himself was trying to encourage healthy eating in Belize and made his own tofu and soy as well as using really fresh ingredients in all his cooking. The food was really delicious and original. I had BBQed tofu balls with a yummy salad which was really wholesome and filling and a big change from the other cuisine we have been having.

the following day we went on a day trip to Blue Creek National park which has the Hokeb Ha cave and a few walks around the reserve. The cave was pretty cool but you needed a guide to enter so we had a look inside. It was massive and had a river running through it, we then went on a really tough hike up a hill and actually really struggled getting down again, frequently needing to use the "bum shuffle technique" to stop ourselves from slipping. Thankfully there was a lovely pool at the bottom where we could have a dip in to cool off.

The guesthouse we stayed in was quite nice and the owner was friendly. Travelling around PG was hard as the public buses often came into town from the villages very early in the morning and left town at 11am. We were lucky to find buses coming back from our destinations and had to do quite a lot of research into where to go and what time to make sure that we could get back safely. This was frutrating, but then again satisfying as we did manage to do it on our own.

finally, we went chocolate making at a small Mayan town caled San Felipo which is home to IXCACAO. There, wee had a delicious lunch of chocolate chicken and then made our own chocolate from scratch including peeling the cacao beans and grinding them with a stone into a paste. We then simply added sugar and put it n the fridge and BAM 80% chocolate.

It was really amazing talking and going to these Mayan villages as they have no electricity and dont really need money to live, they get around on horseback, grow their own food and trade at the market (hence the early buses). They have a really friendly community where they don't need to know anywhere or anyone else and they all appear to be happy. The most noticanle thing about them is their dress and the fact that they are tiny, even I feel like a giant!

Then heading west.

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