Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot, welcome aboard!!! Our flight today will follow the coastline south. Our first stop will be the town of Dangriga. Please fasten your seatbelts and I hope you enjoy the flight.”

I then sat back in my seat and watched out the right side of the Maya Island Airways airplane as the greenery of the tropical jungle weaved it’s way south separated by a thin white line of beach from the turquoise waters of the western Caribbean. We crossed over rivers and lagoons and banana plantations and shrimp farms before taking a slight turn inland.

Following a hard left banked turn the pilot lined up the nose of the plane to a small paved stretch of paved tarmac that looked as though it ran into the sea. Landing gently onto the runway the pilot taxied the plane over to the terminal. A smiling Maya Island Airways agent greeted me as the sole passenger disembarking the plane. As I was reunited with my backpack the plane came roaring back down the runway and once again flew off into the wild blue yonder seconds.

There was a taxi that I had arranged through the hotel where I had a reservation with a small sign with my named inked upon it. Together the driver and I headed into town to the Bonefish Hotel. Located in the center of Dangriga just over a hundred yards from the Caribbean the hotel is managed by the owners, Rosella and Mariel Zabaneh. The Bonefish is a comfortable little place with a small restaurant and bar on Mahogany Street, walking distance to main street.

Dangriga is not really recognized as a destination, more of a jumping off point for the overland route to Placencia and Punta Gorda or the over sea rout to Glover’s Atoll and other offshore cayes. Dangriga is also a great place to arrange tours into the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Basin and Jaguar Reserve. And for the more adventuresome, the long and gruelling climb up Victoria Peak, the de-facto highest mountain in Belize.

The town is best known for the Garifuna culture. In mid November the Garinagu celebrate Settlement Days, a festive time when they re-enact their arrival to Belize through Caribbean music and Punta Rock. In fact legendary founder of Punta Rock that now lives in Germany Pen Cayetano was born in Dangriga and returns to Belize often to perform with fellow Garifuna musicians.

Despite being arguably the Garifuna capital of Belize, there is no restaurant in town that serves only Garifuna style cooking. But that does not mean that you will starve. To the contrary two of my favourite places to eat in Belize are found in Dangriga. The Riverside Restaurant serves delicious Creole food and ice cold Belikins, and The King Burger serves great burgers, fresh fish and the Belizean staples of rice, beans and chicken.