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by Suzanne Wright
“It was a dark and stormy night” is not how you want your long weekend in Belize to start. But like most stories, this one ended happily: the rains cleared the next morning and the sun I craved reappeared.
Adventure tourism is a well-oiled machine in Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, the only English-speaking nation in Central America. (Although you will hear Creole spoken by natives: a musical, typewriter fast patois where the last syllable is often dropped; it’s not the same Creole that is spoken in New Orleans). For years, the focus has been the scuba, kayaking, fishing and windsurfing of the Turnefee Islands and Ambergris Cay; diving is still the number one draw.
But lately, travelers are venturing to the sleepy southern town of Placencia, a 30-minute flight from Belize City, as a jumping off point for touring Mayan archeological ruins, cave swimming and hiking the rainforest. The 52-room Inn at Robert’s Grove makes a good home base for your explorations—although not everyone is here for the trips to Monkey River, the jaguar preserve or manatee watching. Roberts Grove attracts a fair number of couples—especially from Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania, an impromptu poll shows) that just want to hang out and maybe snorkel the barrier reef, the second largest in the world.
Owners Risa and Bob Frackman, escapees from New York, have carved out a private oasis on a sliver of palm-fringed beach. My two-room villa has a few private steps that lead to the sand, a hammock and Mexican tiled floors with endearing paw prints (the owners live on property with four dogs). I’m surprised to find 40 channels of cable TV—and pleased to find air conditioning (Francis Ford Coppola’s pricey, Balinese-themed Turtle Inn, just down the road, doesn’t have AC).
If you choose to dine between your villa and the beach, the room service is super swift; try the Belizean curry chicken. You can also dine oncontinental food and Mexican food at Habanero’s, the resort’s other restaurant; the bar attracts a good number of locals, who will cheerfully
share their relocation stories. The staff is warm and accommodating.
Pamper yourself at the Sea Spa, a pleasant open-air palapa where Lee (a nine year resident originally from Chicago) will give you a fine massage and share her impressions of the country. Time moves slowly.
The town of Placencia (population: 900) is a 15-minute, $10 cab ride from Robert’s Grove. Main Street is actually a sidewalk running through the sand, with shops on both sides and the ocean beyond. It’s fun to talk with the shopkeepers and stop for a cool drink at one of the bungalows.
But even if you’re just lazing, don’t miss the opportunity to visit one of the resort’s private islands, like Ranguana Cay. The pristine two-acre isle has rustic wood cabanas on stilts (you can overnight here) along with the all-important bar. For my daylong excursion, I snorkeled—it’s just a half-mile from the barrier reef. Green-eyed, corn-rowed, dark-skinned Andrea (“My people are originally from Portugal,” she tells me when I ask about her striking looks) is temporarily living here. She offers to guide me on the reef. She points out helicopter fish, barracuda, angelfish and parrotfish, along with today’s lunch: snapper. I feel like a cast member of Lost—and a long way from stateside pressures.
For more information and reservations, log onto www.robertsgrove.com.
