I swam with sharks and stingrays and visited a pirate island in a uniquely exotic country the size of Wales
THE view from the top of the High Temple at Lamanai is one you will struggle to find anywhere else.
Most of the great Mayan sites, including Mexico’s Chichen Itza, stopped visitors climbing their pyramids years ago.
Here, you can still haul yourself up the worn stone steps to the summit and look out across the treetops.
It is one of many surprises in Belize, a former British colony, squeezed between Mexico and Guatemala on the Caribbean coast.
Roughly the size of Wales, it packs in ancient ruins, thick rainforest and the second-largest barrier reef in the world. And English is the official language.
I spent a week there, starting deep in the rainforest of the north before heading south to the beach.
My first stop was Chan Chich Lodge, on the Gallon Jug Estate in the north-west of the country, which is surrounded by a 30,000-acre private reserve.
Almost everything on the menu comes from the estate’s own organic farm, and I explored the grounds and saw the free-range animals that supply the kitchen.
The estate grows its own coffee too. It was so good that I came home with a few bags stuffed in my case.
The best way to see the surrounding rainforest is on horseback, on a guided ride along the trails around the lodge.
Braver guests can head out after dark on a night safari in open-top trucks, with a chance of spotting jaguars and tapirs, Belize’s shy, pig-like national animal.
Lamanai, home to that High Temple, is a day trip from the lodge. It is two hours by road, then 45 minutes by boat up the New River.
Its name means “submerged crocodile” in Yucatec Maya, a nod to the crocs that still lurk in the lagoon beside the ruins.
People lived here for more than 3,000 years, far longer than at most Mayan cities.
You wander past the Jaguar Temple and the Mask Temple, with its giant carved stone faces, before tackling the High Temple itself.
The steps are steep and worn smooth, with handrails on some stretches, but the view over the rainforest from the top is worth every puff.
Then it was time to swap the jungle for the beach. I flew south to the coast with domestic airline Tropic Air.
The little propeller plane is half the fun. As you near the coast, the Belize Barrier Reef appears beneath you.
My base for the second half of the trip was the Placencia peninsula, on Belize’s southern coast. I stayed at Naia Resort and Spa, a boutique hotel set in a 200-acre private reserve.
Its pool, a few steps from the beach, is as warm as a bath.
Come sunset, the sky turns orange and pink across the water. With a rum punch in hand, it’s hard to care about anything else.
My beachfront studio opened straight on to the sand, and came with an outdoor shower for rinsing off under the open sky after a long day out.
I ate well at 1981, the resort’s waterfront restaurant, and the cocktails were delicious too.
The real highlight was a day of island hopping and snorkelling by boat from Placencia.
First stop was Moho Caye (pronounced “key”), a speck of golden sand surrounded by clear blue water. I snorkelled alongside nurse sharks, docile bottom-feeders that pose little threat to swimmers, watched stingrays glide past and spotted hefty lobsters tucked into the reef.
Before moving on, I sat down to a seafood feast on the beach, with fresh lobster, white fish and crab — all caught the day before by my guide Akeem from Cultural Experience Belize.
Then it was on to the second stop of the day, King Lewey’s Island Resort, a quirky, pirate-themed private island 12 miles off the coast, where I jumped back in to explore more of the reef.
Back on dry land, a rum punch rounded off the day. I can confirm it’s strong enough to make any pirate proud.
On my final night, the local Garifuna community — people of African and Caribbean ancestry — laid on a beach dinner with drumming and dancing.
Watching the dancers perform, I couldn’t think of a better way to say goodbye to Belize.
GO: BELIZE
GETTING THERE: American Airlines flies from Heathrow to Belize City via the US. Return fares from £721pp. See aa.com.
STAYING THERE: Chan Chich Lodge from £107pp a night, B&B, based on two sharing for a three-night stay. See chanchich.com.
Beachfront studios at Naia Resort And Spa from £203pp a night, room-only, based on two sharing. See naiaresortandspa.com.
MORE INFO: See travelbelize.org.
