I left a good job in the city Working for the man every night and day And I never lost one minute of sleeping Worrying bout the way things might have been Big wheel keep on turning Proud Mary keep on burning And were rolling, rolling Rolling on the river by Credence Clearwater Revival, Music & Lyrics: J.C. Fogerty
In this installment in the Off the Beaten Track series the focus is once again a tourist destination located in that great-unknown area just a half hours drive from Belize City, the magnificent Belize River Valley.
In a 1939 speech Sir Winston Churchill referred to Russia as a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. At that time, the beginning of World War II Russia was the wild card. Britain was under serious attack by Hitlers Nazi Germany and Russias military allegiance was still up in the air. Churchill just couldnt figure out what was going on in the Communist Russian mindset, were they allies or enemies?
From that time, 67 years ago, the phrase a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma has become part of the general parlance referring to things or situations that are difficult to decode or understand.
For this critic the Belize River Valley is one such inexplicable place. A place that has a plethora of special attributes but when it comes to visibility and awareness- especially locally- very few have actually experienced the BelRiv grandeur first hand outside a cricket match in one of the villages or a rare horse race in Boom.
Two weeks ago I drove out to Bermudian Landing to stay at the pioneering Bel Riv resort Howler Monkey Lodge. The visionary owners, the husband-wife team of Ed and Mel Turton, have created a trailblazing resort that accomplishes much more than giving North American and European tourists an enjoyable bush experience. They give a multifaceted experience that is equal parts cultural, historical and ecological-environmental.
The Howler Monkey Lodge is first and foremost a family, a Belizean nuclear family- dad, mom and pickney. Sure the resort has all the usual facilities and accouterments international travelers have come to expect in their tourist encounters in foreign lands.
Ed and Mels place has eight spic-n-span cabins nestled on 20 jungle acres along the bank of the Belize River, a swimming pool, palapa restaurant and bar along with loads of critters: iguanas, baboons and exotic birds. Add to those tourist destination givens a heaping helping of family life, delectable grassroots grub and a charismatic tour-guide, one Wallingston Russell, better known locally as Crocodile Dundee and you have an impressive tourist package- a package that is Belizean to the bone.
Usually when I go on one of my travels around Belize my wife Norma doesnt come along, in her words, Me no like the bush. Shes a Belize City girl, born and bred. For her even Caye Caulker is considered the bush. Usually a combination of sons, sons friends and grandkids tag along for the outing. Flukes, two weeks ago when Norma was asked to accompany me, she said yes.
A mixed surprise. Mixed because Norma is one city girl that doesnt beat around the bush, (pun intended). There was the very good possibility that shed go ballistic in the jungle and carry on bad. Her first comment when pulling off the BelRiv Road was, Dis really is da bush and sucked her teeth. Not a very auspicious start to our stay.
To cut to the chase, Normas initial trepidation was neutralized and switched to appreciation before the night was over. No small feat. That unexpected shift in attitude was surely due to the Belizean family spirit that permeates the environs of Howler Monkey Lodge. And the cultural-naturalist savvy of tour-guide Crocodile Dundee.
Ed had scheduled a night crocodile safari down the Belize River for us after the evening meal. Naturally Norma went into her Academy Award acting performance: coughing a lot, shivering and muttering stuff about death of cold and night air and crocodile no friend of mine. Crocodile Dundee had obviously seen it all before and paid her no heed; calmly led us down the hillside to the bank of the river where a pontoon launch was waiting for us. The safari lasted three hours. Russell snuck up on a small croc and with lightening fast reflexes grabbed in from the river. Croc encounter, up close and personal.
Russell knows the river like the back of his hand. Hes been living on it- or next to it- all his life; say forty odd years. While we were rolling on the river, Russell chatted about the flora and fauna of the Belize River, its settling, its culture and its hidden treasures. He is something of an amateur historian that just happens to have an encyclopedic knowledge of his beloved river and its environs. Ultimately, the croc safari was more a cultural-historical experience than a wild-n-wooly adventure experience. A big plus in my mind for that means tourists learn oodles more about Belize than the usual sea, sun and jungle that initially drew them here.
Russell is the master promoter of all things Belizean. The next morning Russell went so far as to teach the tourist kids how to speak Creole while they were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. The moms and dads were slyly listening also.
Ed informed that 98% of his lodgers are foreigners. What an irony. The Howler Monkey Lodge is a place Belizeans should visit. Learn about Creole history, learn about the bush, learn about the river. Ed and Mels unique place is not only a pleasant, cozy resort, its a microcosm of Belizean culture. A place well worth visiting.
I left a good job in the city Working for the man every night and day And I never lost one minute of sleeping Worrying bout the way things might have been Big wheel keep on turning Proud Mary keep on burning And were rolling, rolling Rolling on the river by Credence Clearwater Revival, Music & Lyrics: J.C. Fogerty