Since failing to reach the top of Antelope Falls in June due to a tight time schedule, we were determined to get back to Mayflower Bocawina National Park, near the villages of Silk Grass and Hopkins in the Stann Creek District, as soon as possible to finish the hike.  We also wanted to visit the town of Punta Gorda in the Toledo District of southern Belize for the first time.  So we decided to combine both goals into a week-long adventure.

On our first trip to the park, which we got to via taxi from Hopkins, we'd discovered an eco-resort right within the confines of the park, Mama Noot's.  We hadn't read about it in any of our resources prior to visiting the park, but once we found it, we knew it would be a much more convenient place to stay to hike the falls as well as indulge in our passion for birding.  So, we booked three nights to allow plenty of time for hiking, birding, exploring, and relaxing.  There is also a new zip-line onsite, but we didn't take advantage of it.  It looked like fun, but would have been an additional expense, and we really preferred the hiking and birdwatching.

We took off from Ambergris Caye on Tuesday, July 24.  We caught an early-morning water taxi into San Pedro, dropped Paisley off at Pampered Paws to board for the week, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Lily's Treasure Chest, since we had some time before the ferry to Belize City departed.  

We've learned while traveling this summer that while the summer months are slow season in Belize for tourists from the US, Canada, and Europe; this is the time when Belizeans as well as other Central Americans travel, since the children are out of school and bargains are plentiful.  As a result, the transportation options most-used by locals, ferries and buses, are packed.  Today was no exception.  Both the ferry and buses were very crowded, and our final leg, a bus from the town of Dangriga to the park turnoff was standing room only.  We were not able to sit together, and Barry was forced to stand way in the back.  Practically the entire aisle was filled with standing passengers.  

As you can see on the sign for Mama Noot's, it is 4.2 miles in on the unpaved road, and the bus doesn't go in.  We could have hired a taxi in Dangriga, but we figured the hike in wouldn't kill us after so much time seated in ferries and buses, and we're trying to keep our travel as frugal as possible.  Times like these are why we travel with backpacks rather than rolling suitcases in Belize!  It was a beautiful hike with no houses at all along the road, just green as far as the eyes could see.

As we walked down the road, we met the manager of Mama Noot's, Liz, as she was heading the other way into town in an SUV.  She offered us a ride, but we were within a mile at that point, so decided to forge onwards.  Before reaching Mama Noot's, we entered park land.

As we neared Mama Noot's, one of the workers met us on the road and walked us the rest of the way in to the resort, and Ms. Marci, who does all the cooking in the restaurant there, showed us our cabana.  We had requested a regular "Longhouse" room since the summer rate was only $39US, but since those rooms were currently under renovation, we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a larger cabana.  Since it is low season for tourism, we were the only guests at the resort for the three nights we were here, although there were zip-line workers staying in the larger cabana close to ours.

The cabana was very Belizean with tiled floors, a thatch roof, and screened windows all around.  It was definitely more rustic than most places we've stayed, but charming.  Inside there were two sleeping areas, each with a queen bed, a large entry area, and a bathroom with tiled shower.  The sleeping area had a screened porch feel; there were curtains for the windows but not all had slats to close.  The heavy overhanging thatch roof kept rain from coming in, however.

Meals were served in a large dining hall (photos later).  Before our first dinner, we chatted with Liz, who brought us a beer, salad, and some of Ms. Marci's delicious home-baked bread.  We were starved by this time, since we'd had only snacks for lunch, so it sure went down easy.  

We had Belizean pork chops, rice, and veggies for dinner, followed by a slice of key lime pie.  Yum!  We definitely did not leave hungry, and the food made the long hike (and day of sometimes uncomfortable travel) all worthwhile.

Stay tuned to future days' blog posts for hike reports and photos (see whether we made it to the top of Antelope Falls this time!) and more on Mama Noot's.  Also coming up:  Visiting Punta Gorda and the Toledo District, Hickatee Cottages, and a brief return to Placencia....

If you read our last blog post, you'll know that I'd written a note to Angela and Tony explaining how early we needed to leave in the morning and that we wouldn't have time for breakfast but would like some coffee.  I also asked them to please call us a taxi to get us to the bus stop in the village by 7 am (the only other bus is in the afternoon).  And Barry planted the note in the gate to their apartment upstairs from their restaurant as they were out to eat in town when we went to bed, early.

Fortunately, they did find the note.  When we got up on Saturday morning and ventured out, I saw Angela, and the first thing she said was "we got your note".  Relief!  She also said that Tony would run us up to the bus stop, which was great.  We finished our last-minute packing, enjoyed some good coffee, and I signed their guest book before we left.

Tony was on the phone, so Angela ended up giving us a ride to the bus stop, which was much appreciated.  Actually, we ran into the bus on its route so got on before the stop, which was good as it ended up being packed.  Who knew this bus would be one of the most crowded ones we'd been on here?

We made a really bone-headed move on this bus trip, however.  Where the road split to go to Dangriga, the bus driver announced that people wanting to go to Belize City could get off at the intersection and catch another bus (instead of taking the bus all the way to Dangriga, then catching another bus and backtracking down the road to Belmopan and ultimately Belize City).  We decided, like lemmings, to follow a bunch of locals who were getting off there, thinking we could just catch a bus to Belize City at the intersection to save time.  

It was a good idea in theory, but not so good in practice. Every bus that passed was either heading south towards Placencia and Punta Gorda, or was already full and wouldn't even stop for us.  We finally realized that catching a bus after it left the Dangriga stop, if it wasn't too crowded to stop for us, would actually make us later than if we'd just stayed aboard the first bus all the way to the station.  And we might end up missing the water taxi we intended to take from Belize City to San Pedro and have to take a later one.

Finally, a bus from down south heading towards Dangriga showed up at the intersection, and we all ended up running across the street to board -- only to go exactly where we would have gone on the first bus, and later, to boot.  D'oh!  We learned a valuable lesson about sticking to our plans rather than "following the crowd".  We felt like even bigger fools when we arrived at the bus station only to realize that the bus we were supposed to switch to was an Express to Belize City so was much nicer (and air-conditioned!) than the one we were on and had just paid for.  Double d'oh!

Quite a few additional passengers boarded the bus in Dangriga, and it stopped to pick up multiple people along the way.  Soon the bus was standing room only. When we got near the Belmopan bus terminal, all the standing people had to crouch down in the aisle so the terminal authorities wouldn't see that we were pulling into the station carrying excess passengers.   

They must really be cracking down at the Belmopan terminal as our bus was delayed leaving the station due to  too many people on board, and the authorities would not let us leave with three adults in any seats. Three (or even four) in a seat are allowed, but only if the third (and fourth) are children.  There were two seats in our bus with three adults, ours being one of them when a local perched on the very end of our seat.  The terminal authorities entered the bus and and said that the two excess people would have to leave.  Normally, pretty much anything goes here in Belize, so when the authorities start to enforce some unpopular regulations, the citizens don't like it one bit. Lots of angry yelling from the peanut gallery ensued, in Creole, so we couldn't understand all of it, but we certainly got the gist, along with plenty of cursing. We definitely agreed with the sentiment we heard expressed that there should be more buses if they weren't going to let people stand in the aisles or ride three-abreast.  So few locals in Belize have cars that public transportation is heavily used, and it seems like the buses and the water taxis are both fuller than they should be at times.  The folks running these have gotta be making money!

Finally, with a little creative seat rearrangement of some of the children and the two adults in question, the bus was allowed to leave the station en route to Belize City, but we still weren't sure if we'd manage to make the noon ferry back to San Pedro, much less stop at Brodie's for a few groceries to save money over San Pedro prices as we'd planned.  We had only ourselves to blame for getting off the bus when we did.

Fortunately, all's well that ended well.  Our bus driver must have really made tracks to make up time, as we got to Belize City in time to make a VERY quick Brodie's run and to make the noon ferry.  We had a list for Brodie's and were in and out in five minutes, a record.  

When we got to the ferry terminal, they were already boarding the boat. When we got up to the ticket taker, he told us and the others behind us that the boat was full and that they were going to have a second boat to take the overflow.  We got on a second smaller boat, which looked like would be almost empty, but it took so long to leave that more and more people kept coming up and boarding, so it ended up packed to the gills as well.  And when we got to Caye Caulker, we had to switch to the original larger boat after it unloaded its Caulker-bound passengers.  It was very crowded, and we had to sit on top of the hot engines, slightly melting the chocolate chips we'd purchased at Brodie's.  But we made it back to Ambergris Caye/San Pedro.

Once in San Pedro, we had to walk over to Pampered Paws to pick up Paisley, who jumped up and down behind the doggie fence when she saw us -- boingy, boingy, boingy -- without making a peep, just jumping.  Wish I had video of that!  Fortunately, Pampered Paws did post these cute photos of her playing while she was there on their Facebook page. It always looks like she has a great time there. 

We had to wait the obligatory half hour before the water taxi north took us home to Grand Caribe, and it was packed, as usual.  A very uncomfortable ride with our backpacks, groceries, Paisley's luggage, and Paisley; but we made it home in one piece, exhausted but happy.  We also vowed not to travel again on the first day after school lets out for the summer, as it seemed like every Belizean in the country was traveling that day.

We can definitely recommend Hopkins as a relaxing, beautiful place to visit if you're in Belize, and Beaches & Dreams as a wonderful place to stay.  We hope to get back one day to try to hike the trails we missed (or didn't quite finish) this time.  Antelope Falls will continue to haunt us until we summit the waterfall!

When we arose to bright sunshine the next morning, we were able to see Beaches and Dreams, where we had arrived in darkness the night before, in a whole new light.  It is a perfectly charming place on the beach, set far enough from neighboring homes and resorts to be private, and with tropical foliage all around, including a large mango tree we could see out our bathroom window.  

Angela made us a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, English muffins, and a huge plate of fruit.  The big breakfasts here were a really nice treat and stoked us for long days of hiking and other activities.

Our plan was to go to Mayflower Bocawina National Park today for hiking and birdwatching, so Tony called us a taxi.  I have to give credit to Sharon Hiebing's Wealthships blog for alerting me to the existence of this park; I'd never even heard of it until this month, but after reading her description of hiking the super strenuous Antelope Falls, I knew it was a place Barry and I simply couldn't miss, and our entire trip to Hopkins evolved from the desire to visit this park.  Yes, you could say we are a bit masochistic to even think about doing such a hike in the summer in the tropics, but hey, that's just how we roll!

Our driver, Kaleem, would drop us at the park in the morning and pick us up in the afternoon for a cost of $70 US.  Traveling by taxi in Belize is not inexpensive, but the rates are understandable as gas prices are high, and once you get off the paved highway, side roads are typically unpaved, rocky, steep in places, and slow-going. The roads really do a number on the suspensions of the vehicles -- mostly older vehicles -- in Belize.  Kaleem would have to travel from our inn, about two miles south of Hopkins Village (unpaved), then the bad four-mile road to and from Hopkins, then the Southern Highway for four more miles, followed by a 4.5-mile unpaved access road to and from the park. Twice.  Definitely not a job I would want.

The views along the access road to the park were gorgeous, as was the day.  What rainy season?!

We decided to start out by doing an easier hike to Bocawina Falls to warm up before we attacked the strenuous Antelope Falls trail.  Most of this hike was along an unpaved road and was quite sunny, so we were soon dripping wet with sweat.  We saw no other people after passing the zip-line area along the way.  I'd love to try zip-lining one day, but today was all about hiking and birding.  

We saved money by not hiring a guide to take us through the park -- we prefer to hike and bird-watch independently anyway, so we don't feel like we're holding anyone up when we stop numerous times to check out and photograph various birds.  Entry fee to the park was only $10 BZD ($5 US) each.

Barry happened to look down and notice this tiny thumb-sized turtle along the path.  How cute is he?

Finally we got to the end of the "road" and continued on a more typical trail through the jungle and up to the falls.  It was absolutely gorgeous and nice to have some more shade, though the humidity was intense.

The falls themselves were really pretty, and the temperature may have even gone down a degree or two right by them.  It was nice having them all to ourselves.

From the falls, the trail continued up, up, up to the upper falls area.  We couldn't resist going just a bit higher through the lush jungle.

There wasn't too much of a view from the "upper falls", but there were additional trails that branched off to the Peck Falls and Big Drop Falls.  These trails didn't look like they'd seen much use lately, and we knew we'd run out of time to see Antelope Falls if we continued on, so we backtracked down the way we'd come.  

When we got back to our starting point, we realized that we probably had not left enough time to complete the Antelope Falls hike.  We had asked Kaleem to pick us up at 2 pm, giving us five hours in the park, but time really flies when we're birding as we stop often to peer through our binoculars and take multiple photos, so our bird-watching hikes are not nearly as quick as regular hiking.  It was 12:20 already, so we needed to turn around after about 50 minutes of hiking to be able to get back at 2 pm.  We took off at a quick clip, unsure if we'd make it to the top of the falls or not.  It was only two miles to the top, but we knew that it would be very steep and slow-going.

First we crossed the Mayflower Bridge.

I guess the trail used to be called "Tind's Trail", per this sign.

The trail was absolutely gorgeous.  It started out easy to moderate, but didn't waste much time in getting fairly strenuous.  Still, we had no idea what was soon to come.

First we got to the stairs. There were ropes along the banks to assist, but we didn't use the ropes on the stairs.  We thought we were in good enough shape that we wouldn't need ropes at all.  Haha!  No, we may not have needed them on the stairs, but once we hit the roots and rocks and even steeper terrain on the upper half of the falls, we definitely needed the ropes.  Some of the rocks were slippery, and it was difficult enough even with ropes.  We were just hoping they wouldn't break.

Since we haven't been able to do much hill training on the flat island of Ambergris Caye, our hearts were really pounding, and I started feeling a little woozy from all this climbing in the heat and humidity.  We've done some really tough things over the years, like century bike rides (100 miles) and hiking rim to the river and back in a day at the Grand Canyon, but this was actually a more strenuous effort, probably in part because we were just not well-trained for it.  And they don't seem to understand the concept of switchbacks when building trails in Belize; they pretty much go straight up the mountain.  I'm sure it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that we're a few years older now!

Finally, we realized we weren't going to be able to make it all the way to the top.  It was a combination of not having enough time and being absolutely wiped out from the heat, humidity, and climbing.  We could look up and see the top about 10 minutes away, but we just didn't have the energy to go for it at that moment.  What a disappointment!  We will definitely have to return and try again, perhaps on a slightly cooler day, and we'll do this trail FIRST next time, while we're still fresh.  Sharon's blog says there's a lovely pool to swim in at the top, so I'll pack my swimsuit next time too!

As it turned out, going down was faster than going up, though my progressive glasses were making it a little weird since I kept looking through the reading part at the bottom and slightly misjudging distance, but we made it with no mishaps.

Since the trail down went faster than anticipated, we made it back to the visitor's center before Kaleem arrived to pick us up, so we got to look around a bit.  There were some ornamental peppers growing and some unexcavated Maya mounds nearby.  There was also a sign to a so-called "Bird Trail" we would have loved to have checked out.  Wish we'd had a few more minutes to walk around more, but Kaleem arrived right on time.

After we arrived back at the inn, Barry decided to head out in one of the kayaks (complimentary).  I was too worn out from our day, so I just watched and took photos after a quick dip in the ocean to cool off.  

After cooling off, we realized we needed to find a grocery store for a few small items, so we grabbed a couple of the complimentary bikes to ride into the village.  After my little dip in the ocean, I had more energy than I expected.

We stopped at this little store for a few things, which we had to stuff in our pockets on the way home after the bag broke.

When we got back to the inn, it was finally time to relax.  I sat out in the palapa over the water and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset to the west.  

The lovely Tapas dinner we enjoyed at the Barracuda Bar and Grill onsite as a fundraiser for the Hopkins Humane Society will have to wait for a later blog post.  It deserves a bit of space as Tony's food was lovely, and we took plenty of photos.

In keeping with our quest to spend time seeing different areas of Belize, we decided to take a short trip to the village of Hopkins in the Stann Creek district during the last week in June.  Since rainy season is officially here, and actually began early this year (May instead of June), we weren't sure if we'd end up getting to do all we wanted to, but as it turned out, we ended up lucking out with a perfect week to travel and only a brief sprinkle of rain the entire time we were away from home.

Hopkins is a small Garifuna fishing village on the coast of the Stann Creek district of Belize, south of Dangriga and north of the Placencia peninsula.  This map shows where we live on Ambergris Caye (just south of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico) in relation to Stann Creek and Hopkins.

Most Belizeans who live in Hopkins were born and raised here, and there is a strong and proud tradition of making music involving drumming, dancing, and rattles.  There are local crafts created in Hopkins such as wood carving, and small restaurants offering traditional Garifuna food.  There are small guest houses, beach cabanas, and upscale resorts catering to tourists.  There aren't any chains -- stores, restaurants, or lodging, which is typical of Belize. 

But let's back up a bit -- first we gotta get there.  Since we try to travel frugally, this journey took a lot longer than the mileage from Ambergris Caye to Hopkins Village would indicate.  We started with the 9:50 am water taxi from Grand Caribe to San Pedro, loaded down with our backpacks and with Paisley and her gear in tow.  After dropping Paisley at Pampered Paws for boarding, we had a little free time before catching the 11:30 ferry to Belize City, so we walked to Lily's Treasure Chest on the beach for a late breakfast.  This is only the second time we've eaten breakfast at Lily's, but we have gotten great meals both times.  Their Huevos Rancheros are the best I've had anywhere.  Yum! 

While waiting for the ferry, a huge stingray appeared in the crystal-clear water beside the dock.  It was fun to hear the local children excitedly checking it out.  We big kids enjoyed it as well!

We ferried to Belize City and since we didn't have a really tight connection, we decided to walk to the bus station.  We've been to the city enough now that we've gotten much more comfortable walking around there than we were on our first visit, and Barry remembered the way to the station.  This saved us the $10 BZD taxi fare, and we knew we'd be sitting so much that we appreciated the exercise.  We didn't even get hassled by panhandlers this time!

We had planned to take a James bus leaving about 30 minutes after we arrived at the terminal, but when we arrived, there was a G-Line bus just about to leave for Dangriga, so we hopped on that one instead.  This worked out just fine.  It's a long journey, stopping in the capital city of Belmopan, then continuing on the scenic Hummingbird Highway over the very pretty Maya Mountains.  This is the same route we took to go south to Placencia in the winter.   

This bus kept us entertained with plenty of music and even a video screen -- that was a first for us.  The bus ride cost us just $10 BZD each ($5 US).

In Dangriga, we had to catch a different bus to Hopkins.  The Hopkins bus only runs twice a day, once in the morning, and once at 5:15 pm.  We met a nice couple in the bus terminal who were staying in Hopkins as well and chatted with them for awhile -- we ended up seeing them later in the week as we biked around the village. 

The bus ride to Hopkins cost $5 BZD each and took under an hour.  The last four miles into Hopkins Village on a mostly unpaved road were quite an adventure.  This road has definitely seen better days, and between potholes, big rocks, and washboarding, took a long time to traverse.  I can only imagine how muddy it is when it is raining.  

After entering the village, the bus driver took a circuitous route dropping locals all over the small Garifuna town, some right at their modest clapboard homes.  What a difference from San Pedro.  Hopkins has nearly all unpaved roads and very little commercialism.  There were a couple of other backpacking tourists getting off at some inexpensive lodging in the north part of town as well.

Tony and Angela, proprietors of Beaches and Dreams, where we were going to be staying, had told us to have the driver let us off at Innie's Restaurant, where they would come pick us up.  Innie's is a small local restaurant serving up authentic Garifuna cooking, and I was excited to try the hudut, which I'd read about beforehand.  This traditional dish consists of a whole fresh red snapper cooked in a delicious homemade coconut milk broth, traditionally served with a soft green plantain dumpling for dipping.  

As we were getting a drink and relaxing at our table, Tony and Angela stopped by our table to let us know they were there, but would be taking a walk and picking us up after dinner.  Right after they left, two van loads of high school students and teachers rolled up.  So much for our quiet dinner!  Actually, they were quite well-behaved considering how many of them there were. 

After we finished our dinner, Tony and Angela drove us down to Beaches and Dreams, a couple of miles south of Hopkins Village at False Sittee Point.  It is located in the same area as several upscale, expensive resorts but is a more laid-back, casual place and proved to be a perfect choice for we frugal travelers who didn't want to spend $200 a night for lodging.  There is an excellent restaurant on site, Barracuda Bar & Grill (#1 rated in Hopkins on tripadvisor.com), where Tony is the head chef and Angela bakes all the wonderful desserts, but they told us that it was closing this week for a couple of months during low season.  We were disappointed with this news; however, Tony said we were welcome to attend a Tapas fundraiser the following night (Wednesday) and also offered to cook for us on Thursday night.  That would work!

It was already pitch dark by the time we arrived, so we couldn't see too much of the grounds or the beautiful ocean very well, but here are a few shots of our room, the "Scarlet Macaw" (Room #3 of only five rooms at the inn).  Since we weren't able to see actual Scarlet Macaws when we visited Red Bank, the many brightly colored, painted birds in this room were the next best thing! 

Our friend David had a golf cart for the week so suggested he drive the three of us down to a restaurant south of town for dinner.  Normally we go to eat out right in town since we (and David) live north of the bridge and have no vehicles other than bikes, so getting to restaurants south of town is not impossible but inconvenient.  David picked us up at Grand Caribe last night, and away we embarked on our adventure to Casa Picasso -- and with the roads in the shape they were in, it really was an adventure!

The road north of town had already been riddled with potholes, but thanks to 2.5 inches of rain on Tuesday, these potholes were now filled with water.  And in some cases (cough...Reef Village...cough), deep water.  We plowed through the "great lakes" as we headed southward, and as we approached the incline of the Sir Barry Bowen bridge, the golf cart stalled out. Oops!  It really wasn't surprising considering that the water in a couple of the "lakes" reached almost to the floorboard.

A couple of locals in a cart behind us stopped to survey the situation (yes, the cart had plenty of gas), and Barry got out and pushed the cart back off the bridge and out of the way.  I jumped out of the cart to snap a couple of photos, and before long, David got the cart going again.  I even jogged over the bridge to keep the weight in the cart down as he drove it over the only real "hill" in town!

Even after we crossed the bridge into town and onto the paved road, the fun wasn't over as we had to negotiate the muddy, unpaved detour in town while Middle Street is under repair near Castillo's Hardware.  And after getting through town, the road in front of the Belikin distributor and around in front of Casa Picasso is unpaved and puddly as well.  We were very happy to see this sign!

We had never been to Casa Picasso before but had heard great things.  And it didn't disappoint.  The decor was bright and attractive, with lots of local artwork on the walls.

Service was polite, professional, and attentive.  Since this is low season, we had the place to ourselves for much of our meal, though more diners arrived near the end of our meal. 

The food was deliciously prepared and lovely to look at as well!  The three of us shared two Tapas (which we forgot to photograph), but here are the descriptions -- I took a photo of the menu since we gobbled up the food so quickly! 

And we each tried a different entree, all of which were wonderful.  

David's entree: Malaysian Style Rendang Pork Ribs -- Tender pork ribs, braised in lemongrass, ginger, garlic chili sauce, fresh coconut, turmeric & coconut milk, served with coconut turmeric rice and acar (Malaysian style pickled vegetables)

Barry's entree: Vegetable Lasagna -- Homemade rolled pasta layered with fresh vegetables, tomato sauce and cheeses, served with an organic salad & garlic bread 

My entree: Curry Rice Noodles with Sautéed Vegetables (v) -- Asian inspired curried, sautéed rice noodles with fresh seasonal vegetables & local chaya

Portion sizes were generous, and I even had enough to take home half of my entree for lunch the next day.  We skipped dessert, but I have a feeling those would have been lovely as well.  Maybe next time!  Our waiter served us complimentary shots of Limoncello after our meal, a perfect way to end the meal. 

Here's a big pond on the road right outside the restaurant:

On the drive home, we remembered to take photos of some of the worst road moguls and ponds up around Reef Village.  Wish we'd gotten these shots earlier while it was still light, but I think you will get the idea.  Fortunately the golf cart held up just fine this time with no more stalling out.  It is worrisome to realize that this is just the beginning of rainy season here, and the the window on grading the road has probably come and gone, as it may not dry out for many months now.  The road just doesn't drain properly and is badly compacted from all the vehicles driving on it when it is in this condition.

Despite the challenges in getting there and back, we had a lovely evening and can recommend Casa Picasso to anyone who enjoys upscale, eclectic dining. This is really a gem of a restaurant that reminded us of nicer places "back home" in the US. The owners, Adam and Jackie, couldn't be any friendlier, and they've created an attractive and unique spot with an obviously talented kitchen staff and excellent service as well.  Check it out!