Products to Try in Belize

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I can't believe that Belize doesn't export more to the United States. The only things made in Belize I've ever seen here are souveniers brought back by tourists (usually textiles). I wanted to bring back more myself, but the markets were only really open for these kind of things on days that cruise ships came to town. So, this post is about things to try in Belize that are available everywhere else where you find real people.

Agricultural products abound, but they are largely consumed locally. At nearly every bus stop speed bump on some roads (except the Hummingbird Highway) you will see people sitting with roadside produce to sell. Most of this looks like they just picked it and bagged it in the wild, that they're doing it in order to supplement their income. It was nice because, when we were hungry, we could simply pull over in nearly any town and purchase produce for a pittance. I mean, where else can you get a bag of unknown fruit for $0.50? A freshly cut coconut for $1? There are so many trees laden with fruit in so many places, that so much of it simply falls to the ground and spoils. Considering the price of bananas, coconuts, pineapples, guava, etc, it's amazing that they don't capitalize on this and export more fresh fruits to the US.

Belize brews a great local brew. Everywhere you go, you see ads for Belikin, the Belizean beer with a Mayan motif on the logo. We first encountered it at Calypso, the restaurant by the Radisson, where a waitress described it as "close to a Heineken". Well, my buddy drank the Belikin stout and says it's far superior. And it's fairly cheap. It costs $1.50 per bottle, is available everywhere, and is almost always the same price (except at the Radisson where it's twice the price), which means it's state regulated. They ought to export this. It's a great beer, it's a huge potential for profit, and yet, I've never heard of Belikin. Plus the logo is pretty cool.

Of course, you can't talk about the Caribbean without discussing rum. My buddy walked into a liquor store and refused to pay the price they demanded for American whiskey and decided to try Traveler's brand rum. He liked it so much that he finished off three bottles. Plus, it's pretty cheap. I mean, the Caribbean is renowned for rum, so why aren't they exporting this? If they make a product that's superior, they could totally rake in the cash selling it overseas.

Granted, I don't drink, so some of this comes on the experience of my traveling friend, but when he stopped everywhere to replenish local produce or liquor, that's a pretty good testament that he enjoyed it. He never went after American products imported to Belize. I cannot conceive why Belizean products are not more widely available. I can only speculate. Perhaps it comes from the attitudes of the people and their government. Perhaps it comes from their infrastructure or from tariffs or due to corporate interests abroad. However, it's sad that, in order to enjoy what Belize has to offer you actually have to go there. Or is it?

Edit: 11 Feb 20
I forgot about the hot sauce.  At the Calypso restaurant by the Radisson, we tried some hot sauce from Bertha's.  You'll see billboards for it on the Hummingbird highway, and they run a small stand where they sell tomales along the roadside.  You can buy the hot sauce which is carrot based for $2.50 for a small bottle or $15 for a coffee container full.  It's wicked hot and wicked good.  You have to order in advance.  Bertha's granddaughters run the stand.  It's pretty popular, and the tomales are pretty good too if you like tomales.

I Can’t Belize the Driving

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I think you ought to drive when you visit Belize, with some caveats. Driving in Belize gives you the greatest degrees of freedom to explore and promises to save you money. Although renting a car and driving one in Belize seems expensive, if you compare that to the outfitter companies, you stand a great likelihood to save money in the long run. If you don’t want to drive, the outfitters will drive for you, or if you don’t like the way Belizeans drive or the way the roads look, I totally understand. Driving in Belize is for the adventurous. You may think you’re adventurous, but you’ll find out just how adventurous you are if you drive in Belize.

Driving Conditions may appall you. Most of the roads in Belize are dirt. Most of the dirt roads have potholes. When it rains, the dirt roads are also slippery, especially in Cayo County, where they are hilly, so you’re likely to get stuck. We did. Getting out was stressful and time consuming.  Even the paved roads are crappier than the worst roads in the USA. They may not have lane lines painted, and most roads have no shoulder. There is basically only one major highway in the nation with branches from the capital city into each of the major Counties from there. It has one lane in each direction, and it’s riddled with speed bumps at almost every bus stop, police station, etc. Belize has like 30 gas stations total, so buy gas when you can, because it’s basically the same price everywhere, which tells us that it’s state run and regulated. Oh, they switch back and forth between miles and km, so I won’t let British people mock America for our measurements since their colonies use both. It gets confusing sometimes, but as a scientist, I’m used to both systems.

Drivers in Belize rival the worst in any nation. In Belize, drivers seem to view driving rules more as guidelines than actual rules. Seeing that Belize is in the Caribbean, it seems fitting maybe that people drive like pirates. Expect to be passed even on yellow double lines. Don’t expect anyone to signal. Expect people to cut you off. Don’t expect people to stop for buses. Speed limits seem to be suggestions for safety. I like roundabouts, but each time you enter one in a city, I felt like I was putting my life on the line because people just go wherever whenever, and nobody yields. If you’re a passive/defensive driver, you’ll probably have a stroke.

Cost of Driving exceeds the cost of driving elsewhere. Gas prices are higher in Belize than anywhere in the Caribbean, but it’s basically the same price as gas in Europe. The real rub is the cost of a rental car or taxi. I rented at the airport for convenience, but I could have saved 25-50% if I took a taxi into town and picked up a car from Crystal on the Northern Highway in Ladyville instead. I do recommend, if you plan to take dirt roads or drive offensively, that you get the collision coverage just for peace of mind. We drove about 1200 miles in a week, and that car was pretty beat up when we got back (worn shocks, bald tires, a broken seat mount, etc.) and we were not responsible for anything. Taxi drivers will harass you. If you have a car, you can ignore them, and you can go wherever you like. An outfitter may cost you $80, but you can rent a car for the day for that including the waiver, and so you can save 50% over an outfitter and have the flexibility to go when you like and stay only until YOU finish. Cars = freedom. The last cost is checkpoints. Police set them up randomly and look for licenses, registration, and insurance. It’s mostly just a hassle. You only have to stop however if they’re standing in the median, but you can avoid them by staying out of town until after 6PM when the traffic dies down. Belize has only one toll bridge, just south of Orange Walk Town, and it’s $0.34 US.

Renting a car gave us freedom in Belize and probably saved money in the long run. In six days, we saw nine Mayan sites, hiked three waterfalls, saw two caves, shopped on the economy, talked to the people, walked the coast and saw every major “city” in the nation. You can’t do that at an outfitter for $700 total + gas. Just watch out for other drivers and try not to have a heart attack when you pay $5.40 US per gallon. Choosing to rent and drive a car allowed us to spend an entire day in each of the Counties (Districts) of Belize and see more than one location in a day. Your results and preferences may vary.

See it to Belize It

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This is Part One of my review of Belize as a Caribbean travel destination. This particular post deals with where to stay. Belize is a picturesque country that extends far beyond the port. The port is probably the worst part of the country to visit, so if that's all you see you're missing out on what Belize is really like. Belize City, like other port cities in the Caribbean, is wet, dirty, and replete with ramshackle ruins left over from hurricanes. It's no worse than Puerto Rico, but a lot cheaper. Getting out of the city might cost money or take time, but most people we encountered only visited parts of Belize as part of a larger Central American tour. That's what I recommend, but if you stay in Belize City and are not flush with cash, I know where to stay too.

If you travel to Belize, stay outside Belize City. Although the port and airport both lie in this city, since the capital was moved to Belmophan, the nation has sort of left Belize City to fester and die. It's the only place I saw homeless people, beggars, and people who looked miserable. Homeless people usually signifies a dying city. If you go to the coast, except for the Radisson, where the launches from Cruise Ships come ashore, the shoreline is mostly empty. It appears that Belize tried to rehab the coastline, but the coastline, which should be the most vibrant part of a Caribbean city imho, is almost completely lifeless. In fact, most of the people stay away from it except for when the cruise ships arrive, at which point you can find jumping restaurants, shops with local art (which is actually competitively priced compared to other places), and smiling faces. However, most of the time, Belize is a gray city- gloomy, noisy, and cramped. It's evident that Belize City is a former colonial port city. It looks like every other British coastal city built during the age of sail. It also looks like it hasn't been updated since 1981 when the British granted Belize independence. It's also not a very safe city at night. I mean, you're not going to get murdered, but the locals will warn you not to be out late, lest you be robbed, but that's not hard to avoid since most places close at 6PM when cruise ships are absent.

If you travel within Belize, consider days in each region and a hotel stay in each region's capital. Outside the port city, you actually meet the native people of Belize. The cities are rustic, but you can find kind people, local cuisine, and friendly faces. As a man of Danish descent, everyone assumed I was a Mennonite, as Belize has two major Mennonite (Amish) communities, and the Belizeans seem to really like Mennonites. Unless you're only in Belize for a day or two or headed there to SCUBA, then go into the interior and meet the people. Belize consists of six "districts" (counties), and you can get a different feel for things in each of the regions. The nicest major county seats are Corazol and Orange Walk Town, but Belmophan/San Ignacio, Punta Gorda, etc. are also nicer cities than Belize City and serve as good central points of focus to see Mayan ruins, go on cave adventures, hike the jungle/wilderness, see the agricultural areas, and hobnob with the people. We spent a day almost in each of the various counties, and it would have been easier if we didn't have to drive 90 minutes from Belize City first just to reach each area. The major highways are pretty much the only paved roads, so you can't drive quickly into the countryside at great speed on dirt roads.

If you stay in Belize City, stay at the Caribbean Palms Inn. It's in a sketchy neighborhood, and it's not convenient to groceries or tourist sites, but it's a good value with helpful staff. However inconvenient these things may be, the hotel is safe, simple, and cheap. It was as easy to find as any other place, but unless you want to be near the tourist traps at the Radisson, save your money and stay here first. They have a fantastic map on the wall. It's a converted residence, so the bathrooms may not be contiguous with your room, but it's a standard European hostel/apartment design, so if you ever lived or traveled in Europe, it's no surprise. You can get purified water and coffee here, as well as good and free advice, so no frills but helpful as a starting point for anyone new to Belize. We even went out to eat our last day with the owner.

Don't judge Belize by its cover. I was honestly shocked, and I'll address other shocks in other posts, but Belize City is not representative of the entire country. It's also not any worse than any other place in the Caribbean. Just go watch "Romancing the Stone", and Belize is pretty much like that except that everyone has electricity, cell phones, and internet. Get out of "Cartagena" (Belize City), and you can have a great adventure. You'll have cell service unless you're in the wilderness, and the people are helpful, but more on that later. I recommend it. The only thing I really dislike about Belize is that it's not part of the United States. Oh well.