Corozal Town
The Quiet Retreat

Wednesday 1st October - Corozal Town

This town is situated about 84 miles to the North of Belize City and just 9 miles away from the Mexican border.

Within an hours` drive we arrived in Corozal Town. It was like stepping into a different climate here in northern Belize. Bright and Breezy!

We made our way to Southern Corozal where Tony’s Inn was; the hotel we were going to book a room with.

When you have had an exciting day and burned some rubber, you don’t feel like doing much but relaxing. So we had dinner there which is reasonably priced and is reputed to be one of the best in town for food and lodging.

Our order wasn’t very adventurous, but too much exotic food can become hard to swallow after a while, so we had potato soup, chicken tacos and jacket potatoes which went down very nicely with melon juice.

By this time I was bush-whacked, so we retired for the night to be ready for what we expected to be another exciting day.

People of Corozal

The people here are mostly Mestizo which means "mixed" in Spanish, the second largest cultural group in Belize. And mixed they are. They are people of Spanish and Ameridian mix, who settled after the Caste war of the Yucatan. There are also Maya, Garifuna, Creole, East Indian, Asian and Mennonite people living here too.

Would this day prove to be exciting? It was a washout. It rained most of the day and we were reluctant to get out and about to seek out the Belize attractions. Next time round I will take the time to explore Corozal town because although it’s quiet, there is a fair amount to do there.

This town really comes alive in September during the Mexican National Day. People across the border in Mexico; step over to re-unite with family in Belize, and visa-versa. It’s party time with body jerking music and good food on both sides of the border. Shame I missed the season!

Going further afield in the Corozal district, the little fishing village named Sarteneja will delight you if you like taking pretty pictures and seafood, but if you like exploring like me, your attention will be drawn to Maya ruins just outside this village that bear the same name.

There is a flight from Corozal town to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, if you want to dive or fish along the barrier reef. We plan on doing that, but for the last, closing days of our trip to Belize, and we will take the boat from Belize City.

As we looked around what struck me was the neatness of the place. The gardens and parks here are well cultivated in contrast to the rest of Belize, and the place gives the feeling of being very spacious.

So what do you do when it’s raining? The Town Hall! No! It’s not boring! In fact, they have a wall mural or fresco which depicts the history of the settlement of Corozal town and the War of the Castes. (I will write about this in a forth coming history page)

I suppose this could be boring for some. The butterfly breeding Centre at Shipstern Nature Reserve just doesn’t have appeal on a rainy day. Butterflies only seem to fly about in the sun. The full species of 200 or more were probably waiting for the sun too. It looks like some shopping and the search for a camera shop to take a look at my camera was all that was on offer. You see, my camera was playing up too!

Gem

If you`re following the trail of my Belize Trip, we returned to Belize City before making our way to Belmopan. So time to take a ride in our trusty red jeep again!