Dangriga Reader Updates

Dangriga

* Wanted to let you know that our April 2004 stay at TUTZIL NAH COTTAGES, at the Maya Centre, was an incredible experience. Our host, Gregorio Chun, made us feel right at home, and was a wonderful source of information about the history of the Jaguar Preserve, the plants and animals of the jungle, and the Mopan Maya people. We spent several hours on an evening jungle walk with Julian Chun, and a morning jungle walk with Gregorio. Both Julian and Gregorio are mentioned in Alan Rabinowitz's book, Jaguar, about the establishment of the Jaguar Preserve, and they are experts on the local flora, fauna, and history. Thanks to them we got to see some aspects of Belize that we otherwise would have missed. We didn't see any large mammals on our walks, but did see a fishing bat (amazing!), and some incredible birds, reptiles and insects, and we learned a lot about local plants and trees, as well. The Maya food that Gregorio's wife prepared for us was excellent, and his children made our ten-year-old son feel welcome as well, with a game of barefoot soccer in the front yard. All in all, it was a great experience that we would highly recommend to others. Linda Sanders, April 2004

* We finally got the opportunity to visit with Kevin and Nanette Denny -- Nanette is Belizean and Kevin is an American -- who run MAMA NOOT'S BACKABUSH RESORT (mamanoots@btl.net, www.mamanoots.com) near the Mayflower Maya site. It’s about 4 miles west of the Southern Highway, at the end of a pretty good dirt road. I was impressed by this newish lodge. The grounds are being kept well-chopped and open, though the backdrop is the rugged Maya Mountains. Power here is from a combination of solar, hydro and wind sources, and some of the food for the restaurant is organically grown. You have a choice of a thatch cabana (US$118 double) or modern rooms (US$75). The rack rates seem a tad high for this type of facility, but what do we know? We didn’t eat a meal here, but Nanette says she tries to make the food interesting, not just rice and beans. Dinner costs US$18. Kevin says the unpleasantness about the the unlicensed guns is behind them. All it took to resolve the matter was a lot of money. Lan Sluder, July 2001

* Our extended family of 9 spent 10 days in Belize and Guatemala, touring the western highlands, Tikal, Dangria and Ambergris Caye. We stayed at several nice hotels, including the BELIZE CITY BILTMORE, WINDY HILLS in Cayo, PETEN ESPLENDIDE near Tikal and TROPICA in San Pedro. All of these
were pleasant comfortable, with few complaints at any of them. However, the PELICAN BEACH RESORT in Dangriga deserves special mention for the effort they made to find and recover my reading glasses from South Water Caye. We spent a great day snorkeling and hanging out at the caye, thanks in large part to Ishmael, our good-humored guide. Somewhere along the line my reading glasses dropped out of my pocket. Because I didn't have a great need to read anything on the caye, I didn't notice this until we returned to the mainland. The Pelican Beach Resort staff offered without hesitation to look for them on the next trip to the Caye, while we
continued our travels. They found the glasses near the dock and shipped them, at no charge, by Maya Island Air to the Belize City airport in time to reach me before we left the country. These were not expensive prescription glasses, but I reallly need them to read. Thanks to Pelican Beach, I was at least able to read the
customs and immigration forms on the way home! I really appreciate their extra effort and want your readers to know about it. David Johnston, Fairfax, Virginia, June 2001

* After three glorious days at Black Rock in Cayo we traveled to Dangriga. We planned on using bus travel, but opted for a taxi. The 3-hour ride was US$150 - or US$75 each - but was well worth it at this point. PELICAN BEACH was our next stop for 2 nights. A room with balcony overlooking the ocean was US$88 double. The room was clean, and meals were good, but more expensive. I found Dangriga interesting, and enjoyed the people we met. We took a trip to South Water Caye for a day. Our guide was Ishmael, and he was lots of fun, taking great care of us. We had a picnic lunch, swam, and he taught me how to snorkel, then took us out in the boat to a beautiful spot to try my new skills. It was a fantastic day. Pelican Beach has a beautiful private beach there. We spent the day and returned just about dinnertime. The hotel arranged our connecting flight from Dangriga to BZE for our flight home that evening. Maya US$40 from Dangriga to the International Airport. Jeannie Finch, Moreno Valley, California, March 1999

* Just back from 12 days in Belize. The weather seemed a lot hotter than previous visits, which seemed to be the consensus of everyone in Belize also. I picked up a 4WD vehicle from THRIFTY at the airport. Another item I have also just started renting on trips here is a cellular phone. Belize Telephone Ltd. has a booth right outside as you exit customs. Phone booths/hotel room phones are not that common in Belize, so this makes life a lot easier. I also no longer have to worry about walking miles to a village for help next time I get stuck "exploring." I headed off immediately for my first ever trip to Dangriga. I took the Coastal Highway and now understand the term "washboard effect." (Shake, rattle & roll.) In Dangriga, I stayed at the PELICAN BEACH RESORT. It turns out I was the only "official" hotel guest staying there. The rest of the rooms were being used by a U.S. Army medical team visiting villages throughout the south offering free care. The staff at the Pelican were very friendly. I enjoyed relaxing on the beach, but once dusk arrived, the bug spray is a necessity. Room small, but clean, and overlooked beach. However probably because of the hot weather, the ceiling fan fought a losing battle trying to keep the room cool. One of the staff remarked I was going to get the wrong idea of Dangriga, it was not usually that hot. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my visit and would definitely come back here again. Pat Marshall, Houston, Texas, August / September 1998

* We spent December 24-25 in Dangriga. Stayed at the PELICAN BEACH RESORT. The rooms are nice, pleasant service, but the beach is a mud bottom and not very nice. Allison Johnson, Gainesville, Florida, December 1997SILVER STAR restaurant has parking out front. Mostly Chinese, but has a little of everything. We had hamburgers. Good hot food and quick service. US$4.50 for two. Rosalie Beasley, Leonardtown, Maryland, March 1998

* We had the opportunity of driving from the Mountain Pine Ridge to Gale's Point (the Hummingbird Highway was a dream and offered good sightseeing). The MANATEE LODGE in Gale's Point looked pleasant and the manager was friendly and tried to be helpful but since it was off season, there was nothing happening there. The village itself seemed to be populated with indigent drug users and was not welcoming at all -- a pity since the surrounding area is quite beautiful. Wherever we went in Belize, one of the things that most impressed us was that everyone had something to do, each person was making a contribution as best he or she could, including the children. In Third World countries, this is unusual as often one sees people lying about seemingly without hope, but not in Belize where pride of country and heritage reigns supreme. The exception to this, sadly, is Gale's Point. In Dangriga we had lunch at a nice hotel, PELICAN BEACH RESORT. Dangriga is not a very attractive or colorful small city but considering the new road from it to Gale's Point, birding and manatee reserves, perhaps it will improve over time as a jumping off place. Catherine McCabe and Steven Helm, Van Nuys, California, May 1997