“The horseback ride was one of my favorite parts of the trip.” – Hand-cranked ferry to Xunantunich, 5 minutes from Ka’ana.

Incredible Trip

We stayed at Ka’ana from thurs-sunday in early May. The tone for the trip was set immediately when we arrived and were greeted with drinks as we stepped out of the van. The staff could not have been friendlier and more attentive. We truly felt like we were the only guests there and they attended to our every need. We met with the concierge Onil who walked us through our planned activities and asked what type of foods we liked for our arranged meals.

We did a horseback ride/river picnic as the lone excursion type activity. I heard a lot of great things about the ATM tour but didn’t try that out. The horseback ride was one of my favorite parts of the trip. After a 5-minute car rise we arrived at a horse ranch and were led by the owner of the ranch Santiago (request him if you can, he was awesome) through a long trail ride that ultimately led us to the Mayan ruins. These are simply incredible to see and should be visited. on our way back we stopped off at an area near a river and enjoyed a picnic right near the water. Oscar, our favorite Ka’ana employee, had set-up an incredible picnic area for us. It was an overall fun and relaxing experience and the food we ate (from a menu discussed the day before back at the hotel) was delicious.

We got massaged the last day which my girlfriend and I both enjoyed. Be sure to book them in advance as they are not full time employees on-site.

The last night we did the private five course meal on the yoga platform and again, Oscar helped serve us and did an incredible job ensuring that we were enjoying ourselves. He goes above and beyond with little touches like putting local flowers on the ground around our table.

The hotel grounds and rooms are very nice, the staff waits on your hand and foot and I would recommend the hotel for special occasion type vacations. You get almost every TV channel you can think of and there is WiFi on the grounds. The pool area is a little small but suitable for the size hotel. You should have no problem getting a chair.

Some note: As mentioned often, breakfast is the best meal of the day. Dinner is good too although not everything stands out. I will say that I had red snapper that was cooked on a cedar plank that was incredible. The only “Con” I would mention is that the hotel itself is a considerable drive from the airport. While this has nothing to go with the hotel and can’t be improved upon, it is something to factor in. It took us 2 hours to get from the airport to the hotel and while it was very interesting to learn about the country from our driver, we had come from NYC and were tired from traveling for so long. On the way home we had mentioned to Oscar (now one of our buddies) that the initial drive-in took a while and he forwarded our frustration along. The drive back was actually cut to about 1.5 hours thanks to an aggressive driver which was much appreciated.

1.) Choco Banana – A chocolate-covered Banana Popsicle. Add coconut flakes and nuts!

2.) Sugar Corn Popsicle – Pureed and strained corn kernels with cream, milk, sugar and vanilla – and frozen on a skewer.

3.) Tablata – Freshly-grated coconut, cooked in ginger and sugar and baked. Served in little squares (We like to dip ours in chocolate with nuts!).

4.) Belizean Fudge – “Burnt” condensed milk. Prepared with Peanuts, but varies. Cashew Nuts, Coconut Flakes and Raisins (Our favorite!) are used.

5.) Wangla (Creole) – Sugar candy with lightly toasted Sesame Seeds. [Sesame Seed Brittle/Candy or Jojoli (Spanish).] Similar to Sesame Seed Snaps, but thicker. Pepitas Seeds (Pumpkin or Squash seed.) are used.

Ingredients:

2 Oz. Water
8 Oz. Brown Sugar
8 Oz. Sesame Seeds (Toasted)

Preparation:

Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and cook until sugar caramelizes. Lightly toast Sesame Seeds in separate saucepan (Releases natural oils and nutty aroma.). Add Sesame Seeds into caramelized sugar and pour onto a baking dish or sheet tray lined with parchment paper; cool for 15 minutes and cut into desired shapes.

You like us, you really like us! We topped great places in Costa Rica and Guatemala – even our own Placencia and San Pedro! The farmlands, jungle hikes, nearby rivers and ruins – all contribute to make us the #1 Belize spot on Trip Advisor’s Central America: Top 25 Destinations 2012.

Ingredients

Salt
Pepper
3 Avocados
Chilli Flakes
1 Cup Chopped Cilantro
1/2 Chopped Red Onion
1 Chopped Vine Tomato
1 Chopped Jalapeno Pepper
1-1 1/2 Limes – Fresh Lime Juice
1 Lime – Zest (Depends on how zesty you’d like it.)
2-3 Chopped Garlic Cloves (Roasted, even better!)

Preparation

Mash avocados, using either a fork or masher, in large bowl (Leave lumpy; we’ll mix remaining ingredients – and who doesn’t like chunky guac?). Add chopped cilantro, garlic, jalapeno pepper (Unless you’d like it extra spicy, remove seeds.), lime juice, onion, pepper, salt and zest – stir thoroughly. Top with chopped tomatoes; sprinkle chilli flakes.

Portion: 3-6 Persons. Taste Test: Add cilantro, garlic, lime juice and salt if needed.

Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips!

Chic Expert Nhung Nguyen (Of Our Fave Store, Gargyle), Shares Her Picks On What To Wear In Our New Villas!

Women

United Bamboo Epaulet Muscle Tee

Surface To Air Savana Shorts

Rachel Comey Revival Bikini

F Troupe Bathing Shoe

Rachel Comey Kiefer

Karen Walker Eyewear Anywhere – Vanilla Wood

Rachel Comey Kenya Bag

Men

Won Hundred Laurel Washed Out Tee

D.S. Dundee Linen Shirt

D.S. Dundee Smart But Lazy Pants

Franks Washed Yellow Beach Shorts

YMC Navajo Shoe

Illesteva Hudson – Matte Black

Miansai Turk’s Head Bracelet

1-Bedroom Private Pool Villa

2-Bedroom Private Pool Villa

1.) Choco Banana

2.) Hazelnut Caramel

3.) Sweet/Sugar Corn

4.) Dark Chocolate And Ginger

5.) Mango And Cilantro (Seasonal)

6.) Classic Vanilla, Lemon And Mint

7.) Soursop [Guanabana (Seasonal)]

8.) Mammy Apple [Sapote (Seasonal)]

9.) Custard Apple [Annona (Seasonal)]

10.) Craboo [Nance Cherries (Seasonal)]

Soursop (Guanabana)

Green, prickly skin with soft, fleshy white interior and lots of black seeds. Perfect when scooped out of the skin, served cold with milk and sugar; not overly sweet, but has a distinct flavor.

Custard Apple (Annona)

Size and shape is like an over-sided apple. Skin is a mottled pinkish-red and the actual fruit is whitish-pink with small seeds; sweet, distinct flavor.

Craboo (Nance Cherry)

Small, bright yellow, berry-like fruit with a hard seed inside; sweet when ripe.

Mammy Apple (Sapote)

Hard, brown outer shell while interior is burnt-orange, smooth and sweet; has a large black seed.