Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
visitor pressure, though a management plan co-devised by the
Southern Environmental
Association
(SEA;
T
722 0125,
W
seabelize.org), aims to limit damage. SEA is active in
environmental education, taking boatloads of schoolchildren to the
Sapodilla Cayes
Marine Reserve
to learn about marine ecosystems and participate in beach clean-ups;
committed
volunteers
can contact their o
ce at Joe Taylor Creek in PG.
These days, day-trippers from Guatemala and Honduras as well as Belize are
challenging the already thinly stretched conservation agencies. Uninhabited
Northeast Caye
, thickly covered with coconut trees and under government
ownership, is the
core zone
of the reserve, to be left undeveloped. A Bz$20 reserve
entrance fee is levied at
Hunting Caye
, an immigration post that handles foreign
visitors, and also has limited camping and picnicking facilities. The sand at stunning
Crescent Moon Beach on the caye's east side attracts hawksbill turtles to nest.
Nicolas Caye
has an abandoned resort, where visitors can camp or ask the caretaker
for permission to sleep in a basic cabin.
The most southerly main island,
Lime Caye
, is a fantastic place to savour glorious
isolation, with rudimentary cabins available to rent from
Garbutt's Fishing Lodge
(see p.207), and snorkelling available on the reef just offshore.
6
Inland Toledo
Exploring
inland Toledo
can be a true highlight of a trip to Belize. Tourism here is
distinctly low-impact - providing additional income without destroying the
communities' traditional ways of life. This region is the heartland for the
Maya
of
Belize. In the country as a whole, the Maya constitute a small minority - around ten
percent - of the population. In Toledo, however, roughly half the inhabitants are
descended from the Maya refugees who have fled repression and land shortages in
Guatemala since the late nineteenth century. For the most part, the
Mopan Maya
from
Petén and the
Kekchí
speakers from the Verapaz highlands keep to their own distinct
villages, which look much like their counterparts in Guatemala. Very few speak
Spanish, maintaining instead their indigenous languages and Belizean Kriol.
The largest villages are
San Antonio
and
San Pedro Columbia
. Simple guesthouses and
Maya homestays are available in the rural areas, though a few more luxurious
lodges
have opened their doors in recent years.
Of course the ancient Maya lived here too, with ruins scattered throughout. The
best-known sites are
Lubaantun
, the supposed home of the famous Crystal Skull, and
Nim Li Punit
, with its impressive stelae.
Pusilhá
, harder to reach near the Guatemalan
border, contains the finest Maya bridge to be found anywhere.
The Southern Highway to Dump
The only road access to Toledo is along the
Southern Highway
, which enters the region
a mile or so south of the Independence junction. It then runs for roughly 45 miles
southwest to a dismally named speck on the map called
Dump
, where it turns sharply
southeast for the last fourteen miles to Punta Gorda and the sea. The first thirty or so
miles of the route pass through a patchwork of forest reserves, with barely a dwelling in
RANGER FOR A DAY
The
Ya'axché Conservation Trust
(
T
722 0108,
W
yaaxche.org) runs an interesting “ranger for
a day” programme from its Toledo HQ, on the Southern Highway halfway between
Independence and Punta Gorda; its website gives access details. Guests spend the day
patrolling the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve, learning about medicinal plants, checking for
signs of illegal activity and monitoring the region's biodiversity. The suggested donation -
US$30 if your patrol is on foot, US$45 if it's by boat along the river itself - directly funds the
locally staffed park-ranger programme.
