Restaurant and Bars

[driftwood]

Ottocal, the Radisson Fort George is the only hotel in Belize City by about everyone's standards. There is a beautiful hotel/resort in San Ignacio, but unfortunately the name has slipped my mind . . . . :rolleyes:

[OttoCal]

driftwood, are you thinking of the Coppola place Blancaneaux (mangled spelling, I am sure)? There is also another Coppola property- Turtle Inn in Placencia, and we checked that out for drinks one afternoon. Fancy schmancy, and the bathrooms there did make it into our growing 'Bathrooms of the World' photo collection due to their decadance.

[driftwood]

No, I think it might have been the San Ignacio Resort Hotel, although if it was, it has benefited from a good coat of paint since the last tour guide I read about it. Major Tom dropped us off there for drinks on the terrace while he went to put gas in the van. "With grounds running to the lushly vegetated Macal River, the hotel boasts good birding from its own terrace, plus a pool, restaurant and bar . . . ."--Lonely Planet Belize, 2005. That sounds like the place, as we sat on a very lovely terrace and watched two parrots--the only ones we ever saw outside the Belize Zoo--flying across the jungle for quite a way before descending into it again. We never got close to any of the Coppola holdings so far as I know, although I am sure they are gorgeous!

 

Major Tom came back and joined us, reading closely three Belize City daily newspapers he had bought early in the morning while he sipped at the Coca-Cola he ordered for himself. He was so intent I took a picture of him there. And a very handsome man he is, too!

[sag1804]

Well i will be there one way or the other in March. Talk to yall soon!

[sag1804]

I think we are going to do the thing with tom. he emailed me and I need to email him back. That is for belize. He said he could get us back to the ports for some drinks. Where is that? sorry to sound like such a partier but I just want to be informed before I even go. You can email me sag1804@yahoo.com and message me back here or on our roll call. Carnival Valor March 2nd, 2008. Hope to hear a lot more!:o

[driftwood]

Wet Lizard and Iguana Rana.

[otisoxnard]

Driftwood,

 

Since you have spent some time in Belize, would you happen to know if it is possible to make it to Caracol and back to the cruiseship if we get in at 8 and leave at 5. Also how does this site compare to Altun Ha or Xanantunich? Appreciate your help. We will be there in late February.

 

Otis Oxnard

[driftwood]

While the site of Caracol is not theoretically absolutely inaccessible, it is the most nearly inaccessible major site I know of. I had hoped to get there during my two-week stay, and we did get to its alleged major rival Tikal in Guatemala (which is certainly an adventure and a half), but I do not dream that it would be possible in any cruise-ship day. It requires going on the Western Highway, which admittedly is very good, almost to the border of Guatemala--nearly as far as Xunantunich--, and then going "about fifty miles from San Ignacio Town" (see below, p.41) on roads some of which are described variously as impassible to very lousy in the best of weather.

 

A helicopter might make a difference, but I did not investigate that idea as it was not within my budget.

 

If what I have read and heard is true, Caracol is an immense site, similar to Tikal. "Research at Caracol has shown that this large city had a population of some 100,000."--Jaime Awe, Ph.D., Maya Cities and Sacred Caves, 2nd ed. 2007, p.36. It would dwarf Xunantunich and Lamanai and Altun Ha. But as in about four and a half hours on site at Tikal, I do not think we saw even five percent of the city, I suggest that even if you made it to Caracol you would only have time to be floored by its immensity before you had to head back to the ship and hope for the best. Even the small part we saw of Tikal has entirely taken my breath away--and I am told that El Mirador farther west is even more immense. I can't breathe.

 

So be careful what you wish for. All three of the "cruiseship-ready" Maya sites--Altun Ha, Xunantunich, and Lamanai--are "digestible," and all three are worth visiting. Even The Museum of Belize, about ten blocks from the cruiseship terminal in Belize City, contains a whole second-floor exhibition of Mayan art--stelae, ceramics and jewelry--that is VERY attractively displayed and very scholarly annotated, probably by Dr. Awe himself (for only $10 BZ adult admission). But unless you want to stay for a month or more and live on or near one of the sites, I think it would be best just to dream of seeing Caracol and Tikal and El Mirador. :D