Some Culture, Some Nature & Some Other Stuff

Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Hopkins, Belize
  So, we're down to our last days in Belize! The weather turned really nice so we have been trying to make the most of it. We have gotten in some beach time & a lot of wandering & bike riding around. Sunday, we had a barbecue with Brian, our landlord and Scott, the other current tenant, who is here on a long-term rental, and then went over and listened to an Italian country singer (but a long time resident of Tombstone, Arizona). On Monday, I had arranged for a Garifuna drumming lesson at the Lebeha Drumming Center, which trains drummers and promotes the continuance of the Garifuna drumming tradition. The Garifuna are a local people who are decendants of African slaves and Red Arawak from the island of St. Vincent. The center is on the far northside of the village, so we decided to see if we could find some Garifuna food, which is very distinctive from most Belizean food, at one of the local restaurants along the way. As it happened, Tina's Kitchen was cooking up darasa, a kind of green banana tamales, which were wonderful with a small whole snapper each. They took some time but were worth the wait. Then over to the Drumming Center, where they were giving a performance for a group of tour reps, which we were invited into and even got to dance some with the crowd. Then I had a one hour lesson, which was really fun. Some of the beats were easier to pick up than I thought they would be (some were not), but by the end it actually sounded (almost) like I knew what I was doing! So that was our cultural day. On Tuesday, we headed out to the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve. for a little hiking in the jungle. No chance of actually seeing a jaguar there in the daytime but it was a nice easy hike through the jungle to a lovely little waterfall where we had a refreshing dip. Also checked in on a Cessna plane wreck where one of the researchers tracking the jaguars crashed on takeoff from what is now the access road to the park.   .     



















   
  A little more beach time in the afternoon and then we wandered down south of the village to Chef Rob's Restaurant for a much anticipated meal. Unfortunately, the meal was a disappointment. It wasn't really bad but certainly didn't live up to the hype that the place had gotten from everyone. Wednesday--our last day here-- we set out on our bikes about 5 miles down the road to the Sittee River Marina and the Curve Bar, which we have heard good things about, to once again get a glimpse of how the "other half" lives. It is a wonderful, peaceful spot on a beautiful stretch of the Sittee River. And here I sit typing this and munching on some cassava and plantain chips, contemplating having to put long pants on and maybe deal with snow tomorrow. But then I look back up at the view and all is good... carpe diem!
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Comments

ricardo
2014-12-11

looks like you had a great time. Now back to reality snooooooooooooooooow and lots of it.

2025-02-17

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