Delights Await in Belizean Interior

One of the delights of this country is its interior regions, where visitors can find a fascinating variety of flora and fauna.

The adventurous can visit nature sanctuaries, explore Mayan ruins, trek the rain forest, discover more than 150 species of wild orchids, observe clouds of colorful butterflies and take a ride down one of the country’s many rivers.

But not all travelers to Belize need to suffer the indignities of hard-core roughing it in the jungle, because all these sights can be reached from any number of small, comfortable resorts.

Belize’s inland waterways meander past banks lined with thick trees and tangled vines. Under leafy arbors, housewives pound sudsy clothes on river rocks, while iguanas blink at you in the lazy afternoon sun.

A stroll through the Baboon Sanctuary in Bermudian Landing, a tiny town in the southern part of the country, brings you close to howler monkeys, better known as baboons. Locals have volunteered to preserve the treetop homes of the baboons, who live in troops of six to 10.

You may not catch a glimpse of the monkeys in their aerie, but you will no doubt hear them. Their distinctive roar can be heard up to a mile away. The unusual sound is said to resemble that of a jaguar, and helps to warn other troops away. Locals say the monkeys can often be heard just before the rain comes, when they are feeding.

Ask at your hotel about visiting the Baboon Sanctuary. A marked trail is maintained, but it’s advisable for visitors to tour the area with a guide, both for orientation and protection. A good guidebook, “Community Baboon Sanctuary,” is filled with helpful information and a numbered map that corresponds to the trail.

Your hotel should also provide information about a trip into the Cockscomb Basin and the Jaguar Sanctuary, located at the base of the Maya Mountains near Dangriga, south of Belize City on the coast. Land has been set aside there for the magnificent cats of Belize. The jaguar, along with the margay, ocelot, jaguarundi and puma, now have a safe jungle environment.

Laws have been enacted to protect the animals from hunters. At one time, Belize was a favorite destination of big game hunters from the United States. Today, shooting these animals can get you thrown in jail and heavily fined.

Archeology buffs can wander through several areas of Mayan ruins, including Xunantunich in the Cayo District, and Altun Ha. Lamanai and Santa Rita are both in the northern part of Belize, near the coast. Artifacts found in Belize are on display at the Department of Archeology in the capital city of Belmopan.

Then again, you may want to eschew the activities and just lay back, listen to the birds and enjoy good home cooking at one of Belize’s growing number of resorts. No frozen or fast foods here. Most employ a full-time cook. The orange juice doesn’t get thawed, it gets squeezed. Rolls for dinner rise on a warm window sill, and the fried chicken is better than Aunt Minnie’s in Alabama.

Gourmands with a taster’s curiosity should try exotic tropical foods not likely to be found at home. Even the Queen of England ate roast gibnot, a tropical relative of the rabbit. For less courageous palates, menus full of American favorites abound.

In the Cayo District alongside the Macal River, Chaa Creek is highly recommended. Owners Mick and Lucy Fleming visited Belize about 13 years ago, fell in love with it and never left. The white stucco cottages with thatch roofs are scattered across the brow of a neat grassy hillside that slopes down to the edge of the river.

Guests can sightsee in the hotel van, participate in water sports, including canoeing, and take a nature walk on the Panti Trail, where they can learn about herbs and roots used by Maya healers.

After dinner in the comfortable thatch dining room, there’s a magical light show in tall trees around the grounds--no neon, just fireflies doing their mating dance.

Bed and breakfast costs $85 U.S. double; with three meals, $125. Write Box 53, San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize, Central America. In the United States, call International Expeditions at (800) 633-4734.

One of the oldest working cattle ranches in Belize, Banana Bank Ranch is run by artist Carolynn Carr and her Montana cowboy-husband John.

Guests needn’t leave the grounds to find a respectable-sized Maya ruin complete with a lagoon that was hand-dug by the Maya and today is occupied by crocodiles. Visitors can go on a buggy ride through the tropical landscape or stroll along the Belize River, where the only sounds are the calls, whistles and twitters of unusual birds.

Expect a typical dinner of luscious barbecued spareribs. With a private bath, rates are $60 double; it’s $40 with shared bath. Breakfast is included. Call (800) 552-3419.

Du Plooy’s, another small resort on the Macal River, is set on 20 acres of rolling countryside. For something different, the friendly owners will escort visitors to Succotz, a nearby Indian village where visitors can shop for colorful woven clothing and slate carvings.

The simple, pleasant resort consists of stucco buildings with red tile roofs, each with a screened porch. The dining room overlooks the river. Rates: $120 double, including three meals. Call (800) 633-4734.

Maya Mountain Lodge was discovered by nature groups a long time ago. But for those who don’t want to get too far from the hammock, owners Bart and Suzi Mickler provide trails through their own grounds where flora species are marked and explained in a book written especially for them by zoologist Bruce Miller.

Meals are casual, plentiful and good, and include homemade breads, home-grown vegetables and buckets of freshly squeezed orange juice. Be sure to try the papaya cream pie.

The rooms and cottages are campy, and there is no liquor sold on the premises. But you can bring your own. The rate for cottages or rooms is $50. Write to Box 46, San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize, or call (800) 344-6292.

From the Mountain Equestrian Trails resort, horseback riders can view areas of Belize inaccessible by road--natural pools, pine forests, the Rio Frio Caves and Hidden Valley Falls, where the water drops 1,000 feet into the jungle below. Children who are at least 10 years old and have riding experience are welcome.

Riders stay overnight at Casa Cielo Cabanas, which are complete with thatch, stucco and exotic wood interiors (no electricity yet). There is a great restaurant that serves a variety of food.

Rates are $60 double with breakfast.

Contact Mountain Equestrian Trails/Casa Cielo, Central Farm P.O., Cayo District, Belize.

Other recommended accommodations in the interior:

Chan Chich Lodge, set in the midst of a Maya plaza. Rates: $100 per person, including all meals, activities and guides. Call (800) 633-4734.

Warriehead Creek Lodge, which offers bar service, pool and three meals for $104. Call (800) 633-4734.

El Indio Perdido Jungle Lodge. Rates: $60 B&B.; Call Le Grand Travel at (408) 646-1621.

Windy Hill Cottages. Rates: $60 B&B;, with swimming pool.