Hopkins, Stann Creek District, Belize
Hopkins
on
the way to the beach
and
so we leave the mountains behind – the blue sky comes out. But then
we really had to grin: there is that sign with the truck and steep
hill and we could not figure out where it would go downhill when you
are in a totally flat landscape and it didn’t go downhill. And then
it is Welcome to Hopkins
Garifuna
Town Hopkins:
- Hopkins is a Garifuna village – we are in the center of the Garifuna population
- the town is named after a catholic priest: Frederick Charles Hopkins who drowned here in 1923
- the village was created in 1942 to replace Newtown, which was washed away by a Hurricane
- not too long ago it was voted as the friendliest village of Belize’s
- and it is not large with only 1000 inhabitants and yes most of them are Garifuna
Who
are the Garifuna?
- They are mixed indigenous people originally from St. Incent and according to genetic studies the average is 76% African, 20% Carib/Awawak and 4% European
- in the 1700s St. Vincent became a refuge for escaped slaves from the sugar plantation of the Caribbean and Jamaica, they were accepted by the native Carib islanders: they denied their African origins and proclaimed themselves as native Americans
- they originally lived on the Caribbean islands: when the British got the islands they started the Carib war in 1769, then broke several treaties with the Caribs and finally in 1796 the people got divided by their skin colour and exiled
- Many of the surviving Garifuna were send to Roatan (Honduras) – 2000 arrived in April 1797, more arrived in Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua and a large number moved to the US
- today around 500.000 People can trace descents to the Garifuna ethnic group: 15.000 of them live in Belize (making up 7% of Belize’s population) – they arrived in Belize according to their tradition on Nov 19th in 1802 – which is celebrated as the Garifuna Independence day
- the Garifuna language is mainly Arawak, with an added ix of French, Spanish and English. It is spoken in the Garifuna towns in Belize and Honduras. It is not a real language as it has no official written component and is only a spoken language
The
All Seasons Guesthouse
and
we find it right away – it is owned by an American couple and he
loves to talk and gives us a lot of great information. What I think
is super cool we are in the Jungle room with a Zebra painted on the
door – we will not miss our door. First things first: coffee!!! and
there is a beautiful courtyard to sit on cool cement benches, hanging
chairs, wooden chairs or hammocks... whatever you love at that
moment.
Time
at the beach
Even
it’s late it is never to late for the beach: and with only a 1 min
walk to the sandy beach lined with palm trees and calm water... even
the short late afternoon break is amazing and makes us feeling we are
on a relaxing beach vacation.
A
Stuffed Supper on the beach
and
for supper we decided to walk to Maxim’s restaurant and bar on the
beach as recommended by our host. This is really local, we would
never have found it. The chairs are in the sand and then Paul: get
it’s bacon wrapped stuffed shrimps and Gine has stuffed potato
(Paul had one too – and those are the best potatoes we ever had)
with salad and a bit of music on the site. This was really super cool
Relaxing
outside
there
are no flying mosquitoes
– we can sit outside and enjoy the tropic air, enjoy and do our
evening activities :-). A Perfect start for our first round of Beach
time!!
An
unplanned day in Hopkins
today
started as it should have been: a nice cup of coffee in the warm
tropical air.... Gine checked with Paul where he put the swim suits
and then came up the question:
And
where is Gine’s bikini top?
Paul
put all on the fence but one was missing!!! so Paul went on the next
doors property in the hope that the dog moved it around and Gine
couldn’t believe it: Paul actually found it and it was not even
chewed up!!! So is it our lucky day or not? Later we learned that the
little puppy plays with everything
Time
for a yummy breakfast:
Since
it is our “first relax day” we decided we treat ourselves for a
nice breakfast. We went first to one place he recommended, but it was
still closed (it is nearly 9 am), then there was another one which we
thought was to American and too pricy for us, then one place had only
waffles and smoothies – so we ended up at Innes and got a super
yummy breakfast: Gine had her beans and Paul super yummy fresh fried
and perfectly spiced potatoes, our scrambled eggs had an unknown
super nice spice to it and then Gine had the typical fry jacks to it
and all with a yummy fresh Belizean Orange juice.
and
the car won’t start!
Time
to put on long pants for today’s adventure – but then we also
have to be spontaneous right? So our adventure changed the moment
Paul went in the car and it did not start up. He tried again and we
were wondering if the battery is dead – but then we drove it
earlier this morning. Gine checked with the guys next door in the
tour operation and one brought a battery charger and see there the
car started up? Paul discovered that one cable on the battery was a
bit loose and then when they took of the cable during running it
turned off the car – does that mean it won’t charge? Paul called
Crystal and it got decided to have it checked out that means:
We
have to go to town:
as
where I thought we are in town we are not: Dangriga is the town in
this area – which is by the way 35 km away. The guys recommended us
to go to Bucks Best Buy but he is not in Google map.... so we had a
description with going into town turning at some point right and at
the end left... once we arrived in Dangriga Paul said you know where
we are and Gine said No. So we stopped and asked some guys: they were
super nice and tried to help us get it in Google map but it didn’t
work – then he said go straight then at the circle straight (which
by the way means you go left) – over the bridge then after the bump
(yes that is here used as a description) the next street right where
is a park, drive along the park and at the end near the Fishbone
hotel is it. Even Better Google knew the Fishbone hotel... and see
there we found it right away (By the way if I didn’t know it I
would not have known that garbaggy grassy messy spot. A beautiful
location right on the waterfront with palm trees and a big park.
At
Buck’s Best Buy
they
checked and the battery charges and gets charged – so maybe it was
the worn out connector? Quick fix: since tightening doesn’t work –
screw in a screw so it can’t come out (that’s plain old fixing) –
and yes the car starts – perfect!! as the garbage truck comes by
and makes a lot of noise, Paul starts the car to drive back and Gine
said ‘Is it our car or the truck making all that noise” - Paul
said our car. So he turned off and on the car and as per Paul the
starter keeps starting.... he turned it off again – waited and see
there the car won’t start at all. In the meantime we get visitors
later we learned their names Silvester in the red shirt and Chris.
Paul asks for a hammer because sometimes some banging on the starter
helps!! Ok Paul tried to call Crystal rental again and got told the
guy will call back. In the mean time Silvester went underneath the
car banging and pushing and doing whatever – in between Paul got
ask to try... and Gine could not believe it, but suddenly the car
started up again. Chris in the meantime discovered that our breakline
was leaking. Several more tries if the car really starts and it did:
Silvester said the positive cable touched the engine block and we may
need a new starter. And then Chris tightened something to fix our
leaking break line – looks like all is working again. Crystal car
rental called back and told us they will bring us a new car in 3-4
hours – Paul said according to them it is a more fuel efficient SUV
and not a 4wheel drive – Gine said that is a problem. Luckily for
us, once we were on the road they called back and Gine was on the
phone, the lady asked if we need the Tikal permit – Gine yes, she
said 2wheel drive – Gine said when I emailed with your company and
told them we drive to the ruins they said 4x4 – she said; ok it’s
a 4x4. So let’s see what we get...
Is
there a fire??
on
the way back we discovered a small fire near the road... so coming
from wildfire prone BC, we think still small better we get it out
before it becomes a big fire. So we stop and backup – by the way we
are the only one stopping – all other people pass. So we go out and
use our valuable water and Paul becomes a professional fire fighter
in flip flops... And later we discover that there are always little
fires along the side roads and no-one cares....
Bakery
in Hopkins
Gine
said no supermarket or bakery in Dangriga in case the car won’t
start – in Hopkins we could always walk. So we tried first Shadel’s
Pastry shop: that is when GPS said to turn left and then Paul said we
are driving the wrong way on a one-way street, ok we turn right and
then we are on the right one way: see a bakery and find something: I
mean it is really not a lot like 1 bread, 12 muffins, 3 donuts and 16
cinnamon rolls. Shadel’s was closed and then we went to Caitlin’s
bakery – when you turn you think you are on the wrong track when
you see a little sign: you are soon at the bakery: ok we walk over
and then hear a voice I’m right there. She then tells us that she
is a bit late today and only starts now, so maybe between 3-4 pm she
will have something – and normally she is open daily, but then
yesterday she had to go to town so she was not open. You have to be a
bit spontaneous here. Oh and we never turned off the car – so we
would not have a problem with starting it up again :-).
is
the street one way or not?
The
streets here have an arrow and a walking path for people – and also
there are a few signs with one way – but then the cars still drive
in the other direction, so that is something we still have to figure
out.Ok so we learned what
happened: once upon a time they had the dream that there is a one way
up and down on each site of the town, the north site is completed:
but the locals don’t really follow the one way rule. On the south
side one road is completed with the arrows, but the town had only 90%
of the money for the other road, so the construction company said you
have all or we don’t start and guess they never started... so the
arrows are on the road but you drive both directions (even the road
is not really wide enough to be a 2 way road – especially with all
the bicycles and people.
Already
coffee time
we
are back – empty the car and have coffee – yes it is already
coffee time. That is when we discover the street our guesthouse is on
is also a one way – but we and everyone else drives both ways –
so maybe some things are not as they should be. Let’s head to the
beach so we are back before the car rental company comes.
Beach
= Sun
now
we should wait for our car... we decide to go to the beach even there
are clouds in the sky... so into the water – because we decided
that salt water is good for treating Mosquito bites. And then we can
see the blue sky and the sun comes out.... That means we have one
happy Paul.
Our
new car
it
is newer and more modern a Chevy SUV – even Gine thinks it doesn’t
look tough enough. Also we still couldn’t figure out how come that
the Jeep only at 39.000 miles and it was 9 years old and is a rental
caar!! So from now on we will travel in style. And to celebrate it we
have pizza with Beach view – yes everything here is open-air and
then relax in the refreshing evening air.
Breakfast
Smorgasbord
yesterday
we bought some banana bread (by the way here the Banana bread has
some spice in it which is different from what we are used to). So
this morning we had all yoghurt, banana bread, butter, peanut butter,
cereal, banana... I mean what more do you want. And then we are read
for the:
The
Serpon Sugar Mill
First
thing: long pants on – and then we continue down the road, on
gravel!!! for close to 20 Minutes first by the luxury resorts and
then in the middle on nowhere - by the way there are a lot of houses
for sale – we see the Sitee River and after asking once since we
can’t believe we are on the right track we see the sign and the
parking lot. Besides our car there is only one other one and I think
that car is here for a long time!!
And
why are we visiting a Sugar Mill?
- This is an abandoned Sugar mill along the Sitee river
- After the Civil war US confederate soldiers came here and invested a lot of money in sugar estates
- 2 steam-powered mills where established in 1863 – they were abandoned in 1910, when they discovered it is more profitable in northern Belize
- We learned that with the proximity to the coast with humility and salty air, they had to dismantle and clean the engines on a regular base
- By the way after being crushed (which had to be super clean, so nothing fermented, they added alkali which coagulated and then heated and after settled you had 3 layers: the top scum was removed. Now the juice went into different pans in the evaporating furnace and the volume was reduced – until there were only grains of sugar: then it got cooled over 24 hours, then the sugar needed more drying in drying drums: finally it’s ready
- The labour was mostly done by Mayans, East Indians from Jamaica and Belizean Negros: they had to sign a 1-year contract and got 7 $ a month
- They think that the sugar cane comes from North
India, there is a record from 500 AD about a solid form of sugar in Persia:
they called it kandi-sefid, the Indian word for sugar is “Shakar” – in the
old days it was highly valued for medical purposes (not today anymore!!),
then refineries developed in Egypt in the 9th century and the
cruisaders brought sugar back to France in the 11th century
Before
going in one important tastk: Mosquito repellent!!
And there was already the guy waiting for us, he also tells us that
all the round big blobs in the trees are termites. And then we are
heading right away towards the machinery, because that is why we are
here. And we saw a lot of old rusty staff on brick walls –
pathway’s lined with old chains and equipment – piles of metal
pieces. We had a lot of fun walking around all the boilers, engines,
evaporating furnace, locomotives, crushers... and whatever it is
called. No question here you find a lot of really cool spots to take
pictures. We also could read
up on what all of this was used for.
Also once we saw a tree which grew through one of those rusty round
wheels, or chains grown into the tree. The best part was when Paul
touched one metal engine and suddenly we had a lot of flies and
Mosquitos around us – so we put on our rain jackets – and then
you feel how warm it is.
Once we found an old wheel barrel and then some tools... and they
must had a lot and lot of chains – nearly the whole walkway was
lined with chains.
And
then we went to check out that huge tree – Gine followed the roots
on the ground they are endlessly long – and Paul is quite tiny
compared to the tree.
I
can only say we had a lot of fun!!! Back to the guesthouse we took
the paved road which was super fast!! and then we need a quick shower
to wash off all that mosquito repellent. Now it is time to visit:
The
Lodge at the jaguar reef
Odi
told us, that we can go the beach at the jaguar reef and use their
beach chairs and pool, because the hope that you buy a drink in the
bar. So we drove there – and found a perfect set of beach chairs
with cushion – ok one was in the shade – but that is good it will
keep our drinks cool. As where Paul right away went flat down –
Gine walked along the shore line to check out the nice views and
enjoy the beach. Paul questioned why we didn’t stay here; but I
think he got the point when he checked out later in the evening that
it is over 400 $ per day. They also had some super cool swings and
hammocks around perfect to take some pictures. Going out on the dock
and bar there are even more spots for pictures and only to enjoy. And
after 3 hours we decided a break from the sun would be appropriate
and so we will have:
A
Sunbreak
before
having coffee we have a nice shower, coffee and sit in the swinging
chairs.... half an hour later Paul decides it is time to go: first we
wanted to check out Caitlyn’s bakery: and see there it is open and
today there are actually several tuberware boxes with quite a bit a
variety.... And then Caitlyn comes and said oh you came, so it was
worth that I did all that baking (Seriously we bought 2 muffins!!!)
and then after a stop at Jathleens Bakery: a house with a sign:
Bakery Inside we head to:
the
best icecream in town
if
you go to tripadvisor and you check for the best restaurant in town:
#1 will be the ice cream place: home made ice cream – it was good
but: if you get a waffle you get less ice cream!!!! because you pay
for the waffle – Gine thought that is cheating on the icecream. Out
front was a sign with a lot of different flavours, but we are in
Belize so they don’t have them all.... and then we sit at the cute
little pink tables to enjoy. Back at our place we have a huge shock,
because Gine said where is the wallet and we jump in the car and
drive back: Gine asked did we leave our wallet here she said no –
Gine nearly panicked and turns around and there on the floor at the
table we sat is the wallet. We are so lucky!!! Oh and as where a few
people on tripadvisor say,that it is the best ice cream they ever
had, I would not go that far.
at
the beach again
some
final swimming in the ocean and a bit of evening sunshine because we
have to leave beautiful Hopkins. It is quite wavy and windy – a lot
of fun. And then we head back and we have warm water in the shower.
Did I mention that yesterday the cold water didn’t work so the
shower was quite warm nearly hot: that meant short shower!!
Shopping
in Hopkins
there
are a few things I thought I have to mention about shopping here. One
is that in the one store they used a sharpie and write the price
directly on the package (at least that means they can’t go up in
price). Even we are in an English speaking country – nearly
everything in the supermarket it from Mexico or Guatemala– so it’s
good if you can read Spanish. Also in the big supermarket if you want
to pay with the credit card, they are ringing all in: then they give
you the bill and send you over to customer service: because only here
can you use the credit card.
Live
Music
It
is Saturday evening; so we decided to go to that one local
restaurant, but looks like it’s closed. Then after checking out the
Garafuna meals we were not totally thrilled and then decided to go
with the Live Music at the Pizza place. Ok the live music had so many
breaks, that we didn’t even hear a lot except maybe 3 songs when we
came.... different countries – different habits.
2025-05-22