The Hummingbird Highway is supposed to be the most scenic road in Belize, and....well, it is. It was our first foray into the “mountains” here, and while they're small they are definitely not lacking in beauty. The area was reminiscent of the mountains near our home in Tennessee, except with palm trees.
And again, it being such a small country, we managed to stop at a Mayan cocoa farm to try some home-made chocolate ice cream, check out Blue Hole National Park to take a hike to a cave and a dip in a cenote.
St. Herman's Cave
Blue Hole cenote
Stop for more ice cream...
And stop at the famous Marie Sharp's factory for some hot sauce and jelly.
All in time to make it to our a camping spot in the Garifuna village of Hopkins before sunset.
Hopkins was fine, but we'd been ogling pictures of the Mariposa Restaurant and Beach Suites in Placencia for months, so we were up early and on our way. It's a very popular stop with overlanders, because the wonderful owners, Bruce and Sharon, let people camp in their parking lot for free in exchange for buying a meal a day from the restaurant. It's a pretty sweet deal considering the landscaping is beautiful, the food's delicious, and you get to use their amazing beachside pool as well. They're incredibly friendly and seem to let overlanders stay because they enjoy meeting travelers and helping people. Plus they're Canadian, and we've found on this trip that being kind seems to be in their DNA.
It was hard to tear ourselves away from the pool, but we did manage to have dinner a few times with our travel companions, the Vagabroads, in the quaint seaside town, and even make it the local bowling alley.
Gracie and Malta ready to hit the town
