When us Brits think about visiting Central America, Mexico may very well be the first country on our mind with its vast landscape, culture and beaches. Or maybe it’s the tropical paradise of Costa Rica, with its lush rainforests stretching as far as the eye can see.
But perhaps there is another country that should be on our radar. One which allows visitors to go from trekking through jungle to relaxing by the beach in just 20 minutes.
That country is Belize – a tiny gem with nearly 200,000 less people than Manchester which borders Mexico to the North, Guatemala to the West and South and the beautiful Caribbean Sea to the East.
I had the chance to visit recently on a trip I will never forget.
Step by step
Ascending the stairway to heaven is how the ancient Maya described walking up the 1,200-year-old ruin of El Castillo at Xunantunich. The experience doesn’t feel very heavenly as I pant and heave my way up the 130ft pyramid with the sun beating down on my neck.
But then I reach the summit and realise I was wrong. I’m greeted by a breathtaking 360-degree view, with Belize jungle as far as the eye can see.
There’s barely a soul in sight as I look down on the courtyard of the ancient kingdom and hear nothing but the constant hum of wildlife. The lush green leaves rustle, birds chirp overhead and it dawns on me this trip will be like nothing I have experienced before.
Welcome to the jungle
My journey begins at The Lodge at Chaa Creek resort, which we reach by taking a dirt track up into the Mayan mountains. Civilisation seems to drift away as our vehicle bumps along right into the heart of the jungle in Western Belize.
When we arrive, it’s tempting to sink straight into bed. That’s until I take a look outside and find the dense forest calling me. The Lodge offers several tours, bookable at reception, and I eagerly join up with the night time hike.
A frog sits by the side of the gravel path, happily slurping up his dinner of ants. Up ahead in the trees lies Belize’s national bird – the colourful toucan – calmly sleeping through our excited whispers.
Our new feathered friend almost gets a rude awakening, though. Within moments, my guide David begins poking at a tiny hole next to the path. Out pops an angry-looking tarantula to greet us.
“They’re not dangerous,” David insists. I take a few steps back and feel a slight sense of relief when we get back indoors.
Wild thing
After an evening avoiding any spider bites, it’s time to see what the Central American country looks like in the daytime and with the sun shining, it’s easier to see all the flora and fauna on offer.
Belize is covered in dense rainforest that more than 125 species of mammal and 500 bird species reside in. Among them is the elusive jaguar.
Desperate to catch a glimpse of the big cat myself I head to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected reserve home to around 150 of them. As I walk along one of the many trails the ominous growl of black howler monkeys echo from somewhere above.
I hop over a trail of biting red ants that are crossing the path, foraging for food. Suddenly, my guide stops us and asks: “Do you smell that? It’s a carcass.”
We push the thought of becoming of the predators’ next meals as we reach a stunning waterfall. Caked in sweat from the humidity, I happily leap into the crystal-clear waters to cool off.
Life’s a beach
It’s not the only opportunity to go for a dip. While you wouldn’t expect to find beaches so close to the thick jungle, you can reach the coast at the likes of Hopkins Bay in just 20 minutes and it feels like a totally different world.
We decide to head to the picturesque town of Placencia, which is a gateway to the Belize Barrier Reef – the largest reef in the northern hemisphere. I hop on a 30-minute boat ride to Laughing Bird Caye, a national park and one of the more than 400 islands that lie off the coast.
The humid wilderness of the rainforest feels like a distant memory as turquoise waters and a picture-postcard beach comes into view. Local organisation Fragments of Hope are working to rebuild the coral reef in the area by taking “fragments” from other spots and replanting them.
They take me on a guided snorkel around the Caye. The blissfully warm water hides an underwater ecosystem beneath its surface. A reef shark hides in the shallows as colourful fish poke in and out of the coral looking for food. We swim over one of Fragments of Hope’s “farms”, where baby coral is starting to emerge.
All that swimming helps me to work up an appetite – and the food in Belize definitely delivers.
Spicing things up
With our tummies rumbling, we stop at the coastal village of Hopkins where colourful beach shacks and houses line the streets as the Caribbean Sea crashes against the shore.
Hopkins is home to the Garifuna, descendants of an Afro-indigenous population from St Vincent. I’m given a cultural immersion tour by some locals, who attempt their very best to teach me Punta – an energetic Garifuna dance performed in time to drums.
I don’t quite nail the dance moves but finally get saved from my embarrassment with the call for food.
Behind us, staff cook up a traditional coconut fish stew. The meal, using fresh snapper caught that day and homemade coconut milk, tastes just as good as it looks.
I’m better at eating than I am at dancing, but still manage to find myself working up a sweat. The yellow pepper sitting beside my bowl looks rather harmless, so I pop it into my mouth in one. My tongue is on fire and my eyes water. My neighbour who helpfully informed me not to eat the Scotch bonnet definitely left their warning a little too late.
Breath of fresh air
The family who welcome me into their home a few hours away in the Santa Cruz village offer an altogether different experience.
The indigenous Maya makes up 11% of the country’s small 405,000 population, along with Creole, Mestizo, Mennonite, Garifuna and more ethnic groups.
Around 45 Maya villages exist around the country, with the majority in the Toledo district. Father-of-five Jose Mes greets me and ushers me into his kitchen, which lies in a wooden building with a thatched roof.
On the table lies a colourful array of vegetables gathered from his farm that day, including three types of corn, potatoes, okra and beans.
He gives me a tour of his medicinal garden, where every tree and plant seems to have a purpose. One helps with indigestion, another with skin allergies, a third with flu. One, Jose says, even saved his daughter’s life after traditional hospital methods failed to work.
His wife Hilda grinds down corn on a traditional Mayan metate – a slab of stone passed down through generations – before forming them into tortillas. She serves lunch up on a giant leaf cut from the forest.
The sweet life
I’m given an energising cocoa drink to wash everything down, which locals make themselves. Then at Maya Center Village (MCV), I’m shown a traditional method used in the many cacao farms dotted around Belize.
A farmer cracks open a cacao pod to reveal the beans, transports them to the factory and grinds them down on the metate. I give it a go myself – and admire my handiwork.
The 100% dark chocolate proves too bitter for my Cadbury’s Dairy Milk-oriented taste buds, but this is rectified by a staff member who sieves some cane sugar on top. It’s perfectly sweet and delicious.
The farm-to-food cuisine is among the freshest I’ve tasted. Then I remember what my tour guide said earlier in the trip, only partly joking: “We don’t use barcodes.”
It’s something I’ll definitely miss when I return home.
Finally over my chilli incident, I brave a trip to the Belize Spice Farm and explore acres of fields growing everything from vanilla to cinnamon.
I get a chance to taste the produce with some delicious curry that very night before I retire to my cabin.
It is made entirely from the teak wood that surrounds the farm and is a final reminder of how nature and everyday life in Belize are intertwined.
I drift off to the sounds of the jungle, with memories to last a lifetime.
Getting there
Delta flies from Heathrow to Belize City via Atlanta starting at £729 with Delta.
Stay
For more info, visit travelbelize.org
