A Saturday in San Ignacio

by admin January 6, 2019 Post Comment

Tucked in the Belizean jungle on the Guatemalan border is San Ignacio–a vibrant, diverse community offering a little bit of everything.

There’s nothing quite like driving at sunset through the warm Caribbean breeze, windows down, reggae music blasting on the radio… The last rays of the day streaming through the growing jungle canopy.

That was the scene as we left behind Orange Walk and our tour of the Lamanai ruins and drove towards San Ignacio.

To read about the Lamanai ruins near Orange Walk, click HERE!

San Ignacio is about a 3 hour car ride away from Orange Walk, on the western border. According to Google Maps, it’s roughly 180 km. And pretty easy to navigate, considering you’re on the only major highway the whole way–except for a cutoff route that allows you to bypass driving back through Belize City.

Driving in Belize is a breeze!

The highway is well maintained and, for the most part, well labeled. Drivers are the normal level of erratic. Traffic is especially light in the off-season. And having the freedom of personal vehicle is worth the expense.

We drove south. The night crept in. We turned west, and after a minor roundabout confusion detour, we arrived at our next destination: Smith’s Family Farm.

Click HERE to check them out!

Smith’s Family Farm was an incredible stay for our two nights in San Ignacio.

It is just outside of the city, down a dirt road. It’s close enough to walk to town and far enough away, surrounded by fields, next to the Macal River, enclosed in a grove of old banana trees. The four of us rented a private bungalow with two queen beds, a full bathroom, and a screened-in patio kitchen. Perfect for our two nights.

Our host was very accommodating, checking us in well after hours. During our stay we enjoyed brief pleasant encounters with the owner and his family.

Lucky for us we woke up in San Ignacio on a Saturday, the day of the market!

The weekly market had everything. Clothing stands and butcher shops, locals selling all sorts of fresh fruits and veg. All of my favorites. Bananas and pineapples and coconuts, oh my. Avocadoes the size of a child’s head! Grass-fed yogurt made by a guy from Wisconsin. Hibiscus flower wine brewed by a dude from Chicago. And Even Puppies!

Grilled chicken and the best-darn-pico-this-gringo-has-ever-made would ensue. Later. While at the market we snacked on fry jacks and coconut water and walked down the hill to sit on the banks of the Macal and appreciate the sun.

Rousing ourselves from satiation, we looked in our handy Moon Guide to Belize book and walked across town and up the hill to the Cahal Pech ruins. The site is small compared to the more famous ones, but still conjures the mystery of ancient times. For the price of only $5 Belize Dollars, you can climb up these unearthed stone steps and follow the footsteps of people 1200 years ago and ponder: how advanced were they? How different are we?

We paced ourselves in the 80 degrees F heat, lingering in the shade, in no particular hurry to go anywhere or do anything. A billboard next to the market expressed it best,

“Long bench, all ya want!”

A happy grandma on her cell phone proclaimed.

Not long later, a man watching us walk too fast to dinner told us, “Go slow.” We were learning quickly.

Coming back down to town, we wanted to get out of the heat and happened to go into the Belize Military Museum. We learned that Belize was a British colony that gained its independence without war.

We headed back early to Smith’s Family Farm. And to the sound of a light rain on the tin roof, we cooked dinner and played cards and talked about Long Benching all ya want. Then we planned our next destination in Belize: Hopkins.