Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle

I WAS NO-BREAKFAST HUNGRY LANDING IN DANGRIGA, A BIG TOWN IN SOUTHERN BELIZE WITH A SMALL-TOWN LAID-BACK VIBE. Dangriga, which has gained a reputation as the "Culture Capital of Belize" for its lively punta rock and spiritual ties to a unique Gari- funa culture, was my first stop to a country that has been on my radar. As a recently certified level 3 graduate of the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting, sampling the cacao grown in Belize was high up on my trip hit list as were the natural sur- roundings and timeless traditions. Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean bordering Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west in Central America, this small country where English is the official lingua franca is a cornucopia of multicultural culinary traditions. In Belize, there are three groups of Maya: the Mopan, Kekchi and Yucatec, as well as the proud Garifuna peoples, descended from free African and indigenous Caribbean ancestry, Mennonites, Mestizos, Creoles and more. PHOTOS: THE LODGE AT JAGUAR REEF | BELIZE TOURISM BOARD COOKING WITH THE GARIFUNA Deep in the gardens of tropical Kalipuna Island, hudut, a dish usually reserved for ceremonial occasions, was front and centre at the Palmento Grove Garifuna Eco- Cultural & Fishing Institute where I participated in an Afro-Indigenous Garifuna cooking class with other food lovers. Garifuna cultural visionary Uwahnie Mar- tinez and her dad Eugene dove into this ancient food scene as we husked and cracked coconuts while Uwahnie expertly filleted local brackish water snook. We pounded boiled plantain (this later became a com- ponent of the meal called fufu) and I helped fry the fish over a wood-fired stove. The result was a symbolic stew of garden-picked vegetables, a fried fish fillet and fufu, nestled in an aro- matic coconut broth. We were all quietly contemplative as we ate this hyperlocal meal dating back to the 1600s when a Spanish shipwreck off Saint Vincent led to an exchange of foods and traditions between the on-board Nigerians and a Carib tribe. The layered cultural dish speaks of Africa, the Caribbean, resilience and survival. MAYA-FARMED BELIZEAN CACAO In Stann Creek, I met Julio Saqui, the community- minded Maya co-owner of Che'il Mayan Chocolate Factory, where he lives and works. Che'il, a Mopan Mayan word for "wild Mayan," uses organic Belizean cacao Saqui farms with eight other local Maya at this artisanal direct-trade cacao factory. He proudly demon- strated conching machines, which were busy refining vats of velvety chocolate. I travel the globe looking for at-the-source cacao like this and was ready to savour what many consider premium goods. I sampled the honeyed, slightly fruity cacao used in the refrigerator- only chocolate confections. I'm a newly minted fan! BY MARY LUZ MEJIA

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