A Taste of Belize

When the guide stopped our teak wagon to pull a ripe cacao fruit from its branch and break it open against a palm tree for us to taste, I knew Belize was my new favorite escape from our icy Midwest home. Juice of a sweet passion fruit dribbled down my chin, and the lingering tingle of green peppercorns I'd nibbled right off the branch still prickled on my tongue when our guide handed me a cinnamon leaf with instructions to bite the stem to release its warm flavor. On my hands remained the fragrant scent of crushed allspice, green curry and patchouli leaves I had held.

The Belize Spice Farm and Botanical Garden is home to several non-native species. Initially intended as a place to grow black pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, it was not long before additional exotic fruits and plants were thriving there, too. Most recently, raised cabanas with rustic, teak-skin outer walls have been opened for guests to stay amid the tropical magnolia, jasmine and gardenia plants. Some people have their weddings on a bridge spanning an aqua garden that bursts with lotus and water lily blossoms, and the fragrance of ylang ylang and lemongrass wafts through the breeze.

The farm's restaurant and spice shop enticed me to spend a little extra time tasting savory local dishes and finding useful souvenirs to take home. Dried soursop leaves, gingerroot and cinnamon sticks steeped in hot water for 10 minutes as instructed by our guide, Sendy Mendoza, brings me right back to the warm tropical air of the fragrant spice farm.

Our tour that day also included a visit to Nim Li Punit, a Mayan ruin just down the road from the spice farm. Once home to as many as 7,000 people, most of the buildings that remain were built between 600-800. A trade center focused on obsidian, the ruins center around three main plazas perched on leveled hilltops that have an expansive view toward the sea. Pyramid ruins, terraced platforms, a ball court and several royal tombs are all that is left of the once-bustling site.

In one plaza Mendoza explained to my husband and me the importance of the stelae around us. These upright stone slabs have been found at every important Mayan ruin and were, as he explained, The New York Times or Twitter of their day. On these monuments were carved the most vital and important news. Rulers were depicted in solemn ceremonies; royal histories, marriages and deaths were conveyed; agricultural cycles and calendar dates were noted on these stones that were often placed in front of the most important buildings or plazas to be viewed by all. Three that Mendoza pointed out to us were markers of solstices and equinoxes if viewed from the center of a raised platform across the plaza, although other locations would have stelae that conveyed different information.

So important were these stelae to ancient Mayans that one from Nim Li Punit is depicted on Belize's two-dollar bill. Others have been sheltered on site to protect them from the elements. The current name, Nim Li Punit, means "big hat" and is a commentary on one stela's image of a ruler wearing an overly large headdress. In the carving, he is also wearing a large jade medallion around his neck that was found in a tomb nearby. The power conveyed in these monuments was impactful and has provided insights to the culture that once flourished here -- including the site's original name, Kawam.

After a day in the lush mountain jungles of Mayan ruins and exotic fruits and spices, we decided to explore Belize's other sparkling attraction, the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. The 600-mile long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef stretches from Honduras to Mexico and is home to corals and abundant aquatic life. Some of its healthiest sections lie just off the small town of Placencia, where we were staying.

The warm sun shone on our hourlong boat ride to the Gladdin Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, where fish come to spawn each year and flash colorfully through the water. The protected area is known for excellent snorkeling and reef-diving, so I grabbed a tank and went down along the North Wall with a guide to see coral, moray eels, barracudas, yellowtail snappers and giant spiny lobsters.

We took a break on tiny Silk Caye, where we enjoyed a grilled chicken lunch and snorkelers shared stories of the colorful reef fish they had found on their tour around the island. Bellies full, we all hit the water again. This time, our dive was at the White Hole, where nurse sharks played and swam with us -- close enough to touch. We saw them eating lionfish, a non-native species that has become a nuisance in the warm Caribbean waters, and my underwater guide handed me a slipper lobster, a clawless, spineless lobster the likes of which I had never seen.

After stopping back at Silk Caye to pick up the snorkelers in our group, we all swam together in Turtle Alley, a spot where loggerhead turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays and stingrays gather for a nibble from fishing vessels that toss unwanted pieces of their catch into the water. It was exciting to have the large water creatures dive and swirl around us.

As we boated back to shore, the crew passed out tropical punch -- with a spike of rum, if desired -- and we all marveled at the underwater wonders we had seen. My husband and I had even more to savor as we had literally tasted the best of Belize, walked back into its impressive history and now had been down into the magical depths of its crystalline waters. Our adventures had been, as the locals say with tongue in cheek, unbelizeable.

----

WHEN YOU GO

Belize Spice Farm & Botanical Gardens are best seen with a small group tour: belizespicefarm.com

Nim Li Punit ruins: themayanruinswebsite.com/nim-li-punit.html

Dive or snorkel in Placencia: goseabelize.com

Where to stay: Naia Resort: naiaresortandspa.com

========

Lesley Frederikson is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.