Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
breakfast plus transfers to and from town; excellent
dinners in the on-site dining room (closed Wed & Sat) cost
US$20. US$82
Nature's Way Guesthouse 65 Front St T 702 2119.
Rustic, somewhat ramshackle place, set in an overgrown
garden, where eight clean rooms overlooking the sea have
shared baths and cold showers. It's a good spot to meet
other travellers and get information. Decent breakfast
(US$6) and a book exchange also available. The owner
promote s eco-t ourism and can arrange trips to Maya
villages. US$27
Sea Front Inn 4 Front St T 722 2300, W seafrontinn
.com. Two imposing yet eccentric stone buildings with
steep Alpine-style eaves, 600 yards north of the centre.
Spacious rooms have tiled floors, a/c and TV; some have a
balcony. Furnished apartm ents for longer stays. Breakfast
and tours available. US$97
Tate's Guest House 34 José María Nuñez St T 722
0147, E tatesguesthouse@yahoo.com. Quiet, friendly,
family-run hotel, two blocks west of the town centre.
Simple but spotless rooms have private bath an d TV; so me
have a/c, and there's access to a shared kitchen. US$27
6
EATING
Asha's Culture Kitchen 80 Front St T 632 8025,
W facebook.com/AshasCultureKitchen. Welcoming local
restaurant in a sleepy seafront spot south of the centre,
serving fresh seafood and bbq either in the main bar, which
hosts live music and/or drumming most nights, or under
the starlight on the large deck over the water. Typical fish
dishes include lionfish (Bz$25) and lobster (Bz$30);
curried, grilled or baked chicken is just Bz$10. Mon &
Wed-Sat 4pm-midnight, Sun 2pm-midnight.
Creole Drum School; ask here about lessons and drum-
making workshops. Daily 7am-4pm.
Fajina Front St. This tiny upstairs restaurant, opposite the
entrance to the docks and, like the crafts shop below (see
p.210), run by the Fajina Maya Women's Coop, is a popular
local choice, serving hearty portions of Maya cuisine for
Bz$5-10. Mon-Sat 6am-7pm.
Gomier's Alejandro Vernon St T 722 2929,
W facebook.com/Gomiers. Simple thatched palapa ,
across from the sea at the north end of town, where the
genial chef/owner Gomier, originally from St Lucia, cooks
up wonderful vegetarian dishes and seafood to a gentle
reggae soundtrack. Exotic fruit juices and seaweed shakes
for Bz$6-8, fish or tofu burgers for Bz$8 and garlic
shrimp or whole fish for Bz$16-18. Gomier can also teach
you how to make your own tofu (Bz$75 per person).
Mon-Sat 8am-9pm.
Driftwood Café & Gallery 9 Front St T 632 7841.
Roomy, friendly café, with free wi-fi and a small art gallery
inside and a spacious veranda. It's renowned for serving the
best coffee in town, plus great food; a large chocolate
espresso, made with real java and local organic cacao, is
Bz$6, while daily specials like fish quesadillas, callaloo
omelettes or vegan chocolate chilli cost more like Bz$12.
This is also the in-town HQ for Emmeth Young's Maroon
THE LOATHSOME LIONFISH
The waters of the Caribbean are being stalked by a dangerous new predator - the fearsome-
looking lionfish , which has in the last few years had a devastating impact on the already
fragile eco systems of Belize's Barrier Reef. Not only does each lionfish eat colossal quantities of
the eggs and young of other species, but none of the larger local fish recognize the lionfish as
being potentially edible. That allows them to breed at an astonishing rate; a single female
lionfish can lay as many as twenty thousand eggs every four days.
The lionfish is originally from the Red Sea, where it occupies a stable position in the food
chain, and is preyed on in turn by other species. It's thought that the problem began in Florida
in 1985, with the release into the ocean of perhaps a dozen fish that had been imported as
pets, but then overgrown their aquariums.
Efforts to alleviate the situation in Belize include simply eating them. To that end, local
restaurants are being encouraged to add them to their menus, the silver lining being that at
least they're delicious.
MONITORING THE SITUATION
Working in conjunction with Belize's Ministry of Fisheries and local NGOs, Reef Conservation
International (ReefCI; T 629 4266, W reefci.com) is helping to tackle the lionfish problem by
monitoring the populations of conch, lobster and lionfish on the reef off Toledo. Participants in
its weekly programme leave Punta Gorda on Monday morning to spend four nights on
Sapodilla Cayes. Acccommodation is in individual cabañas ; a couple are en suite, the rest share
bathrooms. The all-inclusive price for four nights and five days, with three dives per day (and
free PADI qualification if you don't already have it), is US$1195 per person.
 
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