We fly to Dangriga, Belize, with a connection from San Pedro to Belize City. Of course, again with small planes… In fact, there are 5 of us on a 13-person plane from Belize to Dangriga. We go to Dangriga as comfortably as if we had caught a private plane. As I mentioned in my other Belize articles, one of the longest coral reefs in the world is in Belize. These coral reefs allow waves from the open sea to break through the coral reefs before they reach the shores of Belize. Thus, the sea is quite calm off the coast of Belize. Why did I state this? Because during our flight between San Pedro and Belize City, you can clearly see from the air where the coral line is and how it separates from the open sea like a line. You can photograph the famous Belize River while flying from Belize City to Dangriga. I also mentioned that Belize’s soil is very fertile. You can witness the agricultural areas from the air and how orderly they are. Dangriga Airport is even smaller than San Pedro. Here, we will first go to Pelikan Beach Hotel by the sea. We pass through the city on our way to the hotel. But don’t pay attention to what I say city. This place feels more like a village than a city. There are single or two-storey wooden houses everywhere. Very few of the roads are concrete, and travel is generally done on dirt roads. The majority of the houses here are built on wooden legs. Our guide explains the reason for this as follows: Dangriga was one of the places most affected by hurricanes in Central America. For this reason, they built the houses on these wooden legs to raise them a little higher in case there was a lot of rain during the hurricane period and they would flood. It is an establishment that does not have the luxury of a hotel, but is spotlessly clean. The place is very beautiful. On the white sandy beach and among the palm trees… We did not waste any time and had some sea fun. At this moment, it rained a little and the rainbow that came out was the surprise of the day. For dinner, we ate Belizean style fish, rice with beans and puree. Here, like all other Central American countries, coconut is used extensively. There was coconut cake for dessert. I love coconut. It just happened to coincide because it was my birthday that day. For this reason, on the first day of the trip, we drank the cashew wine we bought from the street vendor on the way to Altun Ha. The gift from our group also made me very happy. At the beginning of our trip, we went to Kennedy Space Center in Orlando. They bought me a t-shirt from there 🙂 It was great 🙂 We started visiting Dangrigia the next morning. As in every day in Belize, Lasel accompanies us. In Dangriga, where approximately 9,200 people live, the majority of the population is made up of the Garifuna ethnic group of African origin. One of the most important features of this city is that the locals, who were brought here from Africa as slaves, adapted to this region and adapted the culture and language here to their own music and religion. These three percussion instruments in the city square are also called father, son and holy spirit. The Dangriga region is considered the center of music in Belize and even on the Caribbean coast. Popular music here is Punta Rock. Of course, we went to the studio of Pen Cayetano, who makes Punta Rock and is also a painter. This is actually the couple’s own home. But they turned part of their house into a studio. In one section, there are musical instruments and Pen sometimes gathers with his band and makes music here. They occasionally organize painting and music workshops in their gardens. The most different musical instrument I saw here was the one made from turtle shells of different sizes. Pen’s wife is German. They came here for travel years ago. But they loved this area so much that they decided to settle. For a while, they moved back to Germany for their children’s schooling, but they could not bear it and returned to Dangriga. In this art workshop, the masks they use in local festivals are also exhibited from time to time. This mask was used to make fun of the European white man who came to Central America. Her own daughters live in America and she also draws children’s books. Their two sons are involved in music. So the whole family is artist. We leave here by taking a photo together. Then we see a school in Dangriga. Actually, this school has nothing special. But the figures they painted on the outer wall give brief information about Belize. On the outer wall of the school, the country’s national tree, Mahogany, its flag, its national animal, the Tapir, and its national plant, the black orchid, are depicted respectively. Mahogany wood is widely used in furniture making. The Belize flag is the only flag in the world with a human image on it. The real color of this black orchid is not black, but purple… There was a giant multiplication table on the garden wall of the school. In fact, it is good for placing it in the students’ subconscious. They can see this multiplication table at any time. As we proceed a little further, we see the bust commissioned by the Dangriga people in honor of Thomas Vincent Ramos, whom they consider the father of the Garifuna ethnic group. Then we enter a church. The church, which looks quite plain from the outside, is also quite plain inside. The church can be entered from both sides. Some even enter the church on a bicycle. The priest here preaches at certain times of the day. When we went, he said to us, “Come on, the sermon is starting.” “Stay too,” he insisted. The priest is originally from Boston. But he came here from America and continued his missionary work. We observed the following environment and set off towards our next point, Blue Hole… Mavimore Tourism is a travel agency registered with TÜRSAB. Document number: A-8307