98
FEBRUARY 2013
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
THREE PERFECT DAYS
||
BELIZE
The final leg of your snorkeling excur-
sion takes you out into openwater, where
some bigger specimens are reputed to lurk.
When your guide spots a turtle, you hurl
yourself enthusiastically, if inelegantly,
over the side and set out in pursuit. There
are indeed three giant sea turtles gliding
along down there. As you approach the
awesome creatures, which are trailed by
pilot fish, they seemmildlyput out by your
presence but alsowilling to endure it with
a kind of tranquil forbearance.
Having returned to the resort, you take
a quick shower and hop into the car to
go back to Placencia. Close to the beach
is the
PlacenciaSidewalk
,
which once held
the GuinnessWorld Record for narrowest
main street on earth (it was knocked off
by the unsightly Spreuerhofstrasse in
Reutlingen, Germany). The slender walk-
way is lined with colorful homes, shops
and bars, and you stroll the length of it,
greeting friendly passersby and cha ing
with artisans hawking their wares.
Dinner is at
Rumfish y Vino
,
an airy and
very popular restaurant run by New York
expats that reflects the cultural melting
pot that is Belize, with Asian, European
and Central American elements jockeying
for prominence. You order the spiced plan-
tain chips and a perfect conch ceviche as
an appetizer, and choose Rumfish’s flaw-
less take on barbecued pork, served with
greens and polenta, for amain, washing it
all down with good wine.
A er dinner, you head to the end of the
street and turn le . The pavement ends,
yielding to sand, and you walk another 10
minutes in the dark along the shoreline
until you reach
Yoli’s
,
a laid-back, open-air
bar overhanging the water. The music is
good, a mix of classic and contemporary
reggae, and the air is cooling, so you belly
up and call for a Belikin as the place fills.
Before long, one of the locals involves you
in a game involving a brass ring suspended
from a string. The aim is to swing the ring
across the room and land it on a hook on
the far post. You try, fail, try again. Patrons
are timing it so they can dance across the
roomwithout ge inghit. Thewomanasks
if youwant tomake awager. Sure, you say:
one beer. She destroys you, but you don’t
care.Goagain?Whynot—what’sthehurry?
Hemispheres
editor in chief
JOE KEOHANE
never did get the hang of that game.
BOARDING PASS
From its forests and ancient Mayan ruins to its pristine Caribbean shoreline, Belize brims with attractions for
adventurous types and beach bums alike. United can take you there with nonstop service from its U.S. hubs at New York/Newark and
Houston. Before your trip, use United’s carbon offset program to support conservation efforts in Belize, which benefit local communities
and address the environmental impacts of travel.
Take action today by visiting united.com/offsets.
COUNTRYROADS
The case for straying
from the pavement
It’s only fairly recently that
travelers have been able
to drive in Belize without a
subsequent visit to the chiro-
practor. Over the past few years
several of the main roads have
been paved, allowing for an
ease of movement that in turn
has triggered tourism boomlets
around the country. Which is all
the more reason to, perversely,
seek out the Coastal Highway.
Heading north from Placen-
cia, you’re presented with two
options: the long way, on the
paved Hummingbird Highway,
and the short way, on the
unpaved and unruly 30-mile
Coastal Highway. The latter
trip will take over an hour, and
you likely won’t see more than
two or three other motorists
(
so if you break down, you’re
out of luck for a while). But
with risk comes reward—it’s a
spectacularly beautiful drive,
superior to the Hummingbird in
the scenery department, even
if it does rattle your fillings. Go
get it while it lasts.
BIGMOUTH
The Rio Frio Cave,
whose entrance rises over 60 feet
