Orange Walk Town
More Than Meets the Eye!
Tuesday 30th September – Destination – Orange Walk The town is small but quite busy. It’s not much of a tourist town as tourist towns go, but has more than meets the eye if you look for it. The history of the town is rich. Loggers from England would travel up the New River to get to the uncut areas. Some settled there eventually but not before there were battle after battle fought with the Spanish. It was the settlers who gave Orange Walk it’s name after the orange tree plantations which were called “orange walks”. If you visit the Banquitas House of Culture you can learn about the towns history with exhibitions and a museum.
If you’re thinking of bird watching in Belize, you have chosen wisely. Belize has one of the best and diverse bird populations in the world especially in the Orange Walk district. Over 300 species have been recorded. Use the time it takes to go up river to the Lamanai ruins to do more bird watching. You will see many dive into the river to fish as you travel along and other species hopping over the water lilies pads. Another place worth visiting is Godoy`s orchid garden. They have over 250 species of orchids on display.
To get to Orange Walk, I stuck to the Old Northern Highway, wanting first to stop off at St. Ann’s, Maskall to find yet another of my dad’s cousins. After that visit we continued on to our destination. The road was just semi-paved so we were in for a bumpy ride with all the pot holes everywhere. It was rough, but only added to the thrill of adventure. Joseph joked with me about being held up by bandits and all of that fun stuff, but we had heard rumours and were warned from some people not to stop and ask directions from strangers, so we took their advice. Some of the dogs here could do with a good dinner. I had to drive carefully because there were lots of them along the road, just sitting there, too feeble to move as we approached. That only lent to our imagination that this was bandit country.
It was getting quite dark when we reached Orange Walk. Joseph and I booked into the Victoria Hotel which was quite reasonably priced. It is the only one I think in the area with a swimming pool. I don’t know if they had one then, but even if they did there was no time to use it. We were people on the move and before we were burning rubber again, we wanted to see the town and do some shopping.That evening we dined at The Dinner Prince. The food was excellent and the staff pleasant.
Wednesday 1st October The next day we walked along to the town centre and had breakfast at The Crystal Diner. Sitting on their balcony that overlooks the road, you will see local farmers selling fresh fruit and veg in the middle of the road. Time for a little shopping and then we were on our way. If you want to catch the market it starts early morning between Main Street and the Corozal road. When we returned to pack up and go, our faithful 4x4 was hosed down by a local man looking to earn a dollar or two. Well five to be precise. I forgot it was red in colour! So! What’s the next destination? Jump in the jeep! We are going to the Lamania Ruins!
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