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Paradise Regained October 2018 Read More ESCAPE cottages are filled with beautiful Balinese furniture and each A Mayan temple in has a working conch ‘shellphone’ to contact reception. Moments Belize. Below: unfurled in a cinematic fashion here: opening the wooden shutters Ka’ana in the morning to reveal the sunrise over the glittering water; cooling off under a bamboo shower in our private walled garden as butterflies danced by; or swinging in a hammock, lulled by the sound of the sea. By nightfall, the enticing aroma of grilled fish would lure us to the restaurant, Mare, where Coppola’s own-brand wines are also served, including a light, sparkling white named after his daughter Sofia. We returned for a pre-snorkel breakfast of juicy dragon fruit and PARADISE banana pancakes doused in syrup that was just the fuel we needed to explore the psychedelic corals circling Laughing Bird Caye, about an hour’s boat ride from the hotel. This tiny island is found at the REGAINED southernmost point of the Belize Barrier Reef, one of the largest in Once upon a time the haunt of buccaneers, Belize is now a natural the world. It was too early in the season for the whale sharks that frequent the waters in May and June, but sea-life sightings were eden of pristine sands, surrounded by a teeming coral reef plentiful, including silvery barracuda, shoals of parrotfish and giant spiny lobsters poking out inquisitively from under the rocks. By LUCY HALFHEAD While Tropic Air’s service connects passengers to Belize’s most remote pockets, we chose a road trip to our next hotel in the Cayo District in the west. The journey took us along the aptly named Hummingbird Highway, a pretty, winding Moments unfurled route that passes through citrus orchards in a cinematic and miniature villages as it skirts the had a feeling that this was going to be no ordinary adven- northern edges of the Maya Mountains fashion: opening the ture when the pilot of our six-seater Cessna plane invited between Belize’s capital Belmopan and the me to join him at the controls (‘But please try not to touch town of Dangriga. shutters to reveal anything during the flight,’ he said with a wink). Looking Before long, we arrived at Ka’ana – ‘heav- the sunrise over the out of the windscreen, with an azure-blue coastline on my enly place’ in Mayan – a boutique hotel that left, and swirling rivers and mangroves on my right, I spent more than lived up to its name, with an glittering water… We took to the skies once more to reach a surreal 60 minutes wide-eyed with the kind of wonder that Dorothy infinity pool over a waterfall, an organic our final destination, Ambergris Caye, the Imust have felt when she first caught sight of the Emerald City. garden and a well-stocked wine cellar. Our largest of Belize’s 200-plus islands floating Sandwiched in between Mexico and Guatemala, with the serene suite included a private pool and a secluded whitewashed in the Caribbean Sea off the coast. Frozen margaritas and Caribbean Sea to the east, Belize’s 380,000 inhabit- courtyard in which to enjoy alfresco lunches of prawn skewers, crisp tortilla chips smothered in guacamole were a nightly ritual at ants occupy an area of a similar size to Wales, which pizzetta and oriental spiced salads. The pristine rainforests sur- Matachica, an enchanting resort five miles north of San Pedro, also happens to be one of the most ecologically rounding the property are home to countless rare species, including the island’s main town. Here, the vibrant streets are filled with bars diverse environments on the planet. Formerly known toucans, tree frogs and howler monkeys, and are best traversed on and shops offering tours to the Great Blue Hole, an underwater as British Honduras until it gained independence in horseback. Led by our erudite guide from Hanna Stables, we fol- sinkhole that attracts scuba divers from all over the globe to its 1981, Belize is the only English-speaking country lowed the trails to the ancient ruins of Xunantunich, a magnificent teeming reefs. For non-divers like us, Matachica itself was the in Central America. If it remains relatively unknown acropolis that is just one of 600 Mayan sites identified across Belize, principal attraction – with elegantly appointed cabanas painted in to British travellers this is because there are no same- before a rejuvenating picnic on the riverbank where the Ka’ana staff a rainbow of colours, fresh local snapper for dinner, and soothing day connecting flights from the UK. Instead, my produced parasols, beanbags and delicious vegetable wraps, seem- treatments at the spa, it was the epitome of barefoot luxury. friend and I opted for a stylish sleepover at Soho ingly out of thin air. Of course, we couldn’t resist another opportunity to snorkel Beach House in Miami, where we lounged on striped in the sapphire seas at the nearby Hol Chan Marine day-beds by the pool, before an indul- Reserve, and the infamous Shark Ray Alley, where gent dinner of tagliatelle Bolognese at fishermen used to come to clean their catches. We Turtle Inn Cecconi’s, and a swift transfer to the jumped, hearts racing, into the water with a cluster of airport the next morning. stingrays and at least 20 nurse sharks looking for We began our week in Placencia, a particularly scraps – harmless but still intimidating at six-feet lovely peninsula in the south of Belize that was pop- long. And then, the star turn: a huge sea turtle, calmly ular with buccaneers in the 17th and 18th centuries. grazing on the seabed, that looked up at me as if to The film-maker Francis Ford Coppola first fell for say: ‘Life doesn’t get much better than this.’ its charms when he visited in the Eighties, and by 2001 British Airways (www.britishairways.com) flies daily he had opened Turtle Inn, one of his trio of Central from London to Miami. Turtle Inn, from about £265 a American resorts (its siblings are Blancaneaux Lodge room a night (www.thefamilycoppolaresorts.com). Ka’ana, and La Lancha in Guatemala). from about £230 a room a night (www.kaanabelize.com). Matachica, from Dotted along the white-sand beach and among about £305 a room a night (www.matachica.com). For more information the lush tropical gardens, Turtle Inn’s 25 thatched MEAD, CATHERINE ROOTS, WYLD PHOTOGRAPHS: ZRINSKI/WWW.INESZRINSKI.COM, INÉS MORNEAU PETER STOCKSY, Matachica on Belize, visit www.travelbelize.org. www.harpersbazaar.com/uk www.harpersbazaar.com/uk October 2018 | HARPER’S BAZAAR | 297 Circulation/Impressions/UMV: 2,295,470 Editorial Value: $84,172.
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