Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges — something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!

The Explorer, Rudyard Kipling

Our winding road whipped through the green-covered mountains. Miles of palm trees stretched to the horizon and houses of every shape and colour popped out from the roadside. The sun was high and hot as we raced along the Hummingbird Highway of Belize.

During our honeymoon in May 2022, I had completely fallen in love with the rainforest and I was dreading leaving it. Wanting to see as much of it as we could, we chose a long goodbye on the scenic route. We left Table Rock Jungle Lodge early in the morning and headed off for the coast.

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Connecting the capital city of Belmopan to the coastal hotspot of Dangriga, the Hummingbird Highway is 53 miles of stunning beauty. Crossing west to east, the endless road takes you through the untouched rainforests of the Maya Mountains to the shores of the Caribbean coast. Along the way, you’ll see all that Belize has to offer — lively towns and villages, sweet-smelling orange groves and plenty of cultural attractions.

It’s also an eye-opening adventure, especially if you’ve been spending the majority of your time in Belize in a resort. As you stop at local food stands and pass by curious and often poverty-stricken villages, you really get a feel for the way of life here outside of the tourist areas. The entire trip can be done in under two hours but we took our time stopping at a few famous foodie hotspots.

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Experiencing real chocolate

Nothing makes me slam on the breaks faster than chocolate. We saw the sign for Lamanai Chocolate Experience and pulled over to find out what a “chocolate experience” actually meant. Turns out, it was a slice of tropical paradise.

Roger, the American owner, came out to meet us and led us into his lush garden of cocoa trees and exotic plants. It’s impossible to describe the beauty of his garden. I felt like Alice in Wonderland surrounded by bright red hibiscus, spiky pineapples, hanging avocados and some mysteriously tall plants that felt almost too alive.

First, Roger gave us a few chocolate samples to try, all made using the traditional Mayan method. I was taken back by how bitter and crunchy the chocolate was — a far cry from Hershey’s or Cadbury — but Roger explained that true chocolate should be invigorating, not sweet.

“Pure dark chocolate can cure ailments and even whiten your teeth. “

While Roger explained the method to his chocolate madness, I was distracted by a gnarly wound on his hand. “Don’t worry about that,” he said, “Nature is my doctor and it’s already healing so fast I don’t even need stitches!” He walked us around his vast garden of medicinal herbs and plants to prove his point, showing us roots that cure ulcers, fruit that treats cancer — and popular houseplants that can kill in seconds.

Then we were introduced to Wendy, a Maya woman who showed us how the ancient Maya made chocolate. She brought out a large stone slab and showed us how to grind cocoa beans into a paste, just as the Maya did a thousand years ago. One of the tricks, she said, is to let the wind sort the cocoa from the lighter, bitter husks.

We took turns grinding the cocoa beans into a paste, then Wendy added hot water, honey and chilli pepper flakes — the ancient recipe for hot chocolate! It was deliciously dark and spicy. We bought back a few chocolate slabs as souvenirs and gifts.

Tamales with friends

With our tastebuds afire, we were ready for lunch. Just up ahead on the road, we quickly came upon Bertha’s Tamales sitting pretty on the roadside. Before her death, Bertha was a local celebrity for her tamale recipe, and her children and grandchildren continue to offer good, simple food to travellers on the Hummingbird Highway.

The ice-cold coke and spicy chicken tamale was just what we needed to refuel. We even had a good chat with a couple wild locals.

Meeting Marie

As we neared the coast, the landscape began to flatten dramatically and the trees dispersed. You could almost sense that the sea was just ahead. Farmland soon replaced jungle and it wasn’t long before we arrived at our last stop on the Hummingbird Highway — Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce Factory.

Known as the ‘Hottest woman in Belize”, Marie has been making hot sauce and sweet chilli jams since 1980. These days, you can’t eat anywhere in Belize without seeing at least one of her hot sauces on the table.

By this time in our Belize adventure, we were true Marie Sharp fans and we couldn’t wait to grab a few bottles of hot sauce to take home.

When we arrived, we met the friendly Clyde who would be our guide. After putting on a fashionable hairnet, Clyde took us through the ins and outs of the factory. Unfortunately it was over 100 degrees with or without industrial-sized fans, and I could barely concentrate on the tour, let alone breathe.

So when it was time for the tasting session in the air-conditioned building, I was ready for it! Clyde set us up with a full table of hot sauces and jams to try. We tried all the different varieties on some tasty crackers and marked down our favourites. The mango and green cactus flavours were our top picks. We then cooled down with some tasty coconut water straight from the coconut.

Learning the Belize Way

One of my favourite memories from the Hummingbird Highway is watching the locals drive. It was awe-inspiring. They pass each other without fear, often coming within inches of oncoming cars. In the same respect, the oncoming cars keep on coming at full speed while you’re in their lane — I never saw a single one pump the breaks or swerve out of the way.

I have to hand it to Belizeans for their blasé attitude towards certain death. They’ve succeeded in creating a very efficient way of terrifying foreigners.

A slow goodbye to the jungle

After a long, incredible day on the road, we finally arrived at our hotel in Jaguar Reef, Hopkins. Our days in the jungle were now over — but I wasn’t as sad as I thought I would be. Thanks to the Hummingbird Highway, we had experienced a new, beautiful way of seeing the emerald mountains and lush forests so full of life.

Now, we were ready to explore the sandy beaches of Belize.