Day Six: Transfer to Placencia

A fitting motto for Placencia!
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Jose picks me up at 9 for the 3 hour drive to Placencia, which according to my Frommer’s guide is Belize’s premier beach destination. It’s now time for the surf portion of my surf and turf trip. We take a quick tour of Belmopan, Belize’s capital. It’s very small, only becoming the capital ten years after Belize City was wiped out by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The United States does have an inexplicably large embassy there though.

We get back on the Hummingbird Highway, which is paved thankfully, then turn onto the Southern Highway. From there we turn off onto a dirt road that runs the length of the peninsula. I arrive at the Inn at Robert’s Grove just around noon and check into my 1^st floor ‘beachview’ room. I have a balcony with hammock, table and chairs. The room is large and luxurious compared to my cabana at Pook’s. There is hot water 24/7, air conditioning, 2 fans, clock radio alarm clock, a phone, bathroom supplies, hairdryer, robes and a TV! (I do see an ant in my bathroom however, so it doesn’t look like I will totally be avoiding the bugs here.) Robert’s has two private islands out near the reef, 3 pools, tennis courts, roof top Jacuzzis, a marina on the lagoon side and a dock with a bar (which isn’t open). From my deck I can see one of the pools and the dock bar.

It’s now time for the surf portion of my surf and turf trip.

On the shores of Placencia.
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I’m on the full meal plan. I probably overdo it at lunch – shrimp ceviche, shrimp fajitas and a scoop of cookie ice cream, but I want to get my money’s worth and I haven’t had any seafood so far.

The weather isn’t that great today – cloudy and windy – and the place is nearly deserted. I take a walk down the beach. To the left is the Garifuna village of Seine Bight. Garbage is everywhere. Plastic litters the high tide line. This isn’t unlike many of the villages I saw in the Cayo district – makeshift dumps at the side of the road, people burning their trash.

Parrot at Robert's Grove.
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Dinner is delicious. I have half a chopped salad, curried lobster and half a chocolate cake. Unlike Pook’s I have to eat by myself here. All the other guests, the few that are here, seem to be couples, there are even some newlyweds. But folks are friendly and we chat between the tables.