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The weather is so gorgeous and tourism is open…but picking up very slowly.
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After some of the year’s most beautiful days of the year, The last 3…maybe 4…have been grey, drizzly to RAINY and cool in Belize. It looks like things are going to clear up as the week progresses and that is a good thing. Let the deep puddle, the roads and my laundry dry out. AndKeep reading »
Consider the amazing coconut. I have to admit…that I don’t do it very often. In fact, I take the coconut palm for granted on an island…in a country where they are everywhere! (As you’ll see in my photos – I think there are coconut trees in about 75% of the pics I take) But yesterday,Keep reading »
Today marks Day 4 of island lock-down quarantine for the surge of COVID we’ve seen in the last week. Ambergris Caye went from zero active cases (there had only been two diagnosed in late March, early April) to over 50 active cases diagnosed on the island in just the last week. Chicken soup – whichKeep reading »
Belize food is delicious – and often surprises visitors who know little about Belizean cuisine. Many Belizean dishes are also relatively simple. Often a limited number of basic ingredients. Simple but not easy – or at least not to me. I was reminded of that the other day when I took a second to lookKeep reading »
We went for lunch yesterday at one of my favorite eating spots in San Pedro – Elvi’s Kitchen. (It just happens to be featured in my recent book: 50 BIG Experiences on Ambergris Caye, Belize.) I was lured in by the lunch special. $25bzd. Lobster Roll. The New England classic that screams SUMMER. The sandwichKeep reading »
Maria has been a part of my life in San Pedro since I arrived here over 12 years ago. Whether I saw her every day (I lived across the street from her fruit stand for quite a while) or just every few months now that I’m on the other end of the island, she isKeep reading »
Last week I was SO excited to receive this invitation. Belizean Cooking 101. Cooking Class! What a FANTASTIC IDEA. To learn how to cook some of the delicious and multi-cultural dishes of Belize. To listen to some history of how people arrived from Africa, the Caribbean islands, from Europe, from India, from Mexico, from El SalvadorKeep reading »
Walk down the street of San Pedro and you are bound to see someone selling fruit. The year-round standards are banana, beautiful pineapples, watermelon, oranges, limes, and papaya. All grown in Belize (check out my post about the banana industry in the south – super interesting to me.) And then we get seasonal fruits –Keep reading »
Going grocery store shopping will be a part of your trip to Belize whether you are renting a home for a long stay or spending a week at a resort. Even the traveler who packs fastidiously will need to pop into the local shop for a forgotten item. It’s not difficult. We speak English…that’s good. Keep reading »
I spend a good chunk of my time running errands. Maybe “a good chunk” is a bit melodramatic but it really doesn’t feel like it. Shopping for one meal – I can’t even wrap my head around shopping for a whole week (!!!!) – requires at least 3 stops and often more. I buy theKeep reading »
A few months ago I wrote about the magical leaf, the super food of the Yucatan – chaya. You can read all it here: Chaya: Overlooked Deliciousness & Wonder Green of Belize? Chaya’s nutritional properties, where you can find it around town, a few ways to prepare it and chaya’s origins. But last Friday, IKeep reading »
I think that America has it all wrong. I spent the first 30-ish years of my life eating my largest meal in the evening – dinner or, if you are from the south USA, supper. Lunch was a quicky…a grab-on-the-run, a filler meal. True to my American nature, I didn’t think much about itKeep reading »
Chaya or Maya Tree Spinach is native to the Yucatan and to Belize – it’s a food that you see in some of the local restaurants that serve some more typical cuisines – and once in a while you see packages of it at the local green grocer. Chaya is the most delicious green thatKeep reading »
Panda Express is the most popular fast food Chinese chain in the United States. The 1900+ restaurant empire was founded over 30 years ago by an Asian born couple (him – China, her – Burma then Hong Kong) who went to university in Kansas City, Kansas and then moved to California. It’s a mainstay inKeep reading »
Today we have family arriving from the states and my usual shopping list was modified to include “nice things for visitors” – wine from Wine De Vine, smoked fish from the Farmers’ Market and Ian Anderson. So I set off early on a beautiful Saturday morning. (This was my view down the easement by theKeep reading »
I don’t know how to break this gently so I will just say it. And show it. THERE ARE 4 DAYS LEFT IN LOBSTER SEASON 2017. Lobster season in Belize closes – no trapping, no sales, no lobster – from February 15th to June 15th for the mating season. So it was particularly serendipitous thatKeep reading »
Saturday morning I woke up early for one of my favorite days of the year – the Annual Rib Cook-Off at Estel’s Dine by the Sea. Estel’s is one of my very favorite spots in San Pedro. It’s an absolute MUST VISIT for breakfast – you are going to want to add a side orderKeep reading »
Anyone who asks ‘What happened to the Maya people?’ has never been to Guatemala. The indigenous people of the country who identify as Maya comprise 40% of the population. And in some areas, the percentages are much higher, you hear the Maya dialects spoken everywhere and the dress is absolutely gorgeous. Chichicastenango (pronounced just likeKeep reading »
When I set out on my trip to Guatemala almost two weeks ago, I had no clue what the food would be like…but after living in Belize for 10 years, I could make an educated guess. Beans and rice, for sure. Chicken and chilies. A mix of Mayan and Latin/Spanish influences. And lots and lotsKeep reading »
From all the talk I’ve heard about Pollo Campero, I could only surmise that it is the very best fried chicken in Central America..perhaps the world. The family owned chain has 350+ franchises included about 70 in the US…and I’ve heard people remember it with eyes tearing and mouths watering. According to the empire, it’s “theKeep reading »
