Lola’s Art & Vern’s Restaurant in Seine Bight Village: Put Both on Your List!

On August 31st, I wrote about the small Garifuna village of Seine Bight.  The town that is just north of Placencia and so different from that lovely beach spot…and very interesting in its own way.  After staying in Placencia for two nights, I moved up to Robert’s Grove (WOW…AND another place I STILL need to tell you about)…a gorgeous resort about 2 minutes walking distance from Seine Bight.

I walked into town on my first morning and found some really great stuff.  After taking a bunch of pictures my first stop was Lola’s Art (you can see all the signs in my previous post).  I’d seen her work all over town, even hanging in my room at Robert’s Grove, and I wanted to buy a little something and to meet the lady herself.

She is a few small unpaved blocks off the main road.  There are plenty of colorful though faded signs.    You’ll find her gallery.

Her art is gorgeous…I love it

My pictures do NOT do it justice.

I love my rock paperweight that I bought for $50bzd – $40bzd for my cash discount.I chatted with Lola about a few things including the topic that was hot on my mind, the cruise ships coming to Placencia (you can see that post at the bottom).

She was no fan of cruise ships in Belize.  Years ago she tried to get her art featured at the Tourist Village in Belize (the only port for the ships now) and was rejected.   But, like many I speak to in Belize, she feels like you can’t fight the government…it’s a fruitless venture.

She told me that years ago, her landlocked lot was actually on the lagoon.  She had waterfront property, a dock and a crocodile that visited her…something that was a bit of a tourist attraction.  She got a notice that her land was being filled and that hundreds of additional feet were being filled to provide more land for housing.  Lola and her neighbors worked to stop it…petitions, protesting, letters to officials and she got nothing.

Visiting now you’d have no idea she was even near a lagoon!

So today, like almost everyone I talked to, she says that she doesn’t like the cruise ships coming to Placencia but can only hope for the best.  Sigh…

Lunch time.  There are really only a handful of restaurants in the village and I stopped into Vern’s.  I was glad I did.

I was looking for Garifuna food in a Garifuna village but found good Belizean basics.

The owner Verna is a sweet, sweet sweet heart (she is on the left).  She also used to run a place in Boca Del Rio, San Pedro.  I wish I had stopped in.   BUT it’s cool that I get to meet her in Seine Bight.

The food is local and GOOD.  I often think stewed meat is way over salted, black peppered and just over spiced but this was DELISH.  (Black pepper may be the only flavor in the food world that I despise.)

Verna’s stewed pork chop, rice and beans.

I was about to tuck in when I realized that something was missing.  I’d been chatting to a young guy at the next table (and eyeballing his lunch) and he had PIG TAIL and I did not.   They say that life isn’t fair but COME ON!  I love salty porky pig tail with my rice and beans.  My friends called Verna over and…

Voile.

This place is friendly, the food is delicious and the front screened in porch very comfortable to cool off and relax.

Stop in for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  It’s good eats.