Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
A TOAST TO CASHEW WINE
As a Belizean saying goes, cashew wine gives you a double buzz - once when you drink it and
again the next day in the sun. The best time to test this out is at the annual Crooked Tree
Cashew Festival , when the village celebrates the famous nut with music, dance, storytelling,
crafts and tastings of cashew jams, fudges, cakes, wines and more. Crooked Tree is known for
its cashew trees, some over a hundred years old, which flourish in the village's rich soil. In
January and February the air is heavy with the scent of cashew blossoms, and in the spring the
cashew fruits are harvested. The cashew nut is actually the seed of the cashew fruit, and the
wine is made by crushing the fruits to extract the juice, and then distilling and fermenting it,
often in copper pots, for three days. The result is a nutty and sweet wine, which tastes almost
like a light sherry, with an alcohol content of between six and twelve percent (plenty of
alcohol to achieve that “double buzz.”) Cashew wine is served throughout Belize, at bars and
restaurants, and you can also pick up a bottle (or five) to take home at liquor stores,
supermarkets and at the Travellers distillery just outside Belize City (see p.57).
the lagoon. You can also explore the sanctuary on your own; stroll down the sandy,
tree-lined lanes and along the lakeshore trails, and you'll spot plenty of birds and
turtles, and hear frogs croaking languidly from the shallows.
ARRIVAL, INFORMATION AND TOURS
CROOKED TREE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
By bus A couple of daily buses travel to Crooked Tree from
Belize City (1hr); note that buses returning to Belize City
usually leave in the early morning.
Tourist information The Crooked Tree Visitor Centre
(Mon-Sat 8am-4.30pm), where you pay the entry fee, is
near the entrance to the village, and has a variety of
displays and other information on the local flora and fauna.
Tours The best way to tour the sanctuary is on guided boat
trips (starting at around US$75 per person, with discounts
for groups). All the hotels offer these tours, including Bird's
Eye View Lodge (see below) and Tillet's Village Lodge (see
below), as well as nature treks (US$15) and horseriding
(US$40). Numerous tour companies elsewhere in the
country, like S & L Tours in Belize City (see p.24), offer trips
to Crooked Tree. You can also inquire about tours at the
visitor centre.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Bird's Eye View Lodge Near Crooked Tree Village
T 225 7027, W birdseyeviewbelize.com. Not a birder?
You may become one after a stay here. At this longtime
favourite, you can spy birds from the outdoor patio, and
on the surrounding nature trails. The rooms are
comfortable, with ceiling fan, while the restaurant, with
views over the lagoon, serves a top-notch Belizean menu,
including fresh fish and stewed chicken. The lodge offers
superb five-day birding packages, which take in the
sanctuary, as well as Maya s ites and the Baboon
Sanctuary (from US$800). US$90
Crooked Tree Lodge Crooked Tree Village T 626 3820,
W crookedtreelodgebelize.com. Gaze out at the lagoon
from your comfortable cabaña at this wonderfully relaxed
lodge run by the friendly Mick and Angie. They also offer
camping on their eleven-acre property, and can arrange
top-notch birding tours. Ease into the night by feas ting on
home-cooked meal s on the breezy deck. Camping US$10
per person, cabañas US$75
Tillett's Village Lodge Crooked Tree Village T 607
3871, W tillettvillage.com. Formerly Sam Tillett's Hotel
(named after one of Crooked Tree's first guides, the
supremely knowledgeable Sam), the local Creole Tillett
family continues in the same tradition with this simple
lodge. Basic but well-kept rooms and cabañas are
surrounded by the sanctuary wetlands, and the Tilletts
offer excellent boat tours (US$100 per person) that traverse
the lagoons, as well as nature walks (US$15) and guided
horseback treks (US$40). Feast on nicely priced local
cuisine that's often cooked over the wood fire. US$45
The Coastal Road
The Coastal Road - also called the Coastal Highway or Manatee Highway - is
somewhat misnamed: it's not a highway and also not on the coast. Yes, it is a road, but
a rutted dirt one, which can be impassable in the rainy season. The road, which runs
for around 35 miles from the little settlement of La Democracia on the George Price
 
 
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