A Trip to Hopkins and Jungle Jeanie's
in the Stan Creek District of Belize

When our daughter Jesse, granddaughter Jade and their friends Victoria and Hailey came to Consejo, Belize during the last two weeks of August 2009, we thought we should spend a few days showing them other parts of Belize. The first part of the road trip was to the Cayo District and Jaguar Paw Jungle Lodge From there we drove south on the beautiful Hummingbird Highway to Hopkins to spend a couple of days with John and Jeanie at Jungle Jeanie's By The Sea in Hopkins.

We were welcomed by Jeanie as soon as we walked in. After a brief conversation about the last time we were in Hopkins, she remembered us. I'm the guy that found Buddha on the Beach, but that is a whole other story. She showed us to our rooms, a little embarrassed that they weren't yet made up. The previous guest had just left and it was only 10:30. We left or bags and headed into Hopkins in search of lunch. When we returned, we all hit the beach!

After a long day on the beach Joyce and I retired to our room, but the younger group headed into Hopkins to find the "Drum Circle". They had a wonderful time soaking up Belize/Garifuna culture and dancing the night away.

The next day started late for most of the revelers. After a delicious Jungle Jeanie's breakfast we drove into Hopkins to buy souvenirs for the tourist to take back to San Francisco. There are several interesting shops in town, but somehow we failed to take any picture. The last stop was David's Wood Carving. If you go to Hopkins, don't miss it. Stunning work in native woods. Then it was back to the Beach.

John and Jeanie have three German Sheppards. The dogs seemed to really enjoy riding the wind boards and were quite reluctant to stop.

We had a delicious Lobster and Tilapia dinner in the Jungle Jeanie Restaurant. Jeanie helped us and a couple of other guests to arrange a snorkeling trip for 9AM. The younger ones decided to go again the the "Drum Circle". In the morning it was raining and threatening to rain all day. We decided it was time to pack it in and head back to Consejo.

I would rate Jungle Jeanie's By The Sea an A+. Reasonably priced accommodations, food and drinks. Coffee ready at 7AM. (There are coffee makers in most of the cabins. I never seem to remember to bring the coffee and filters.) There is just nothing bad I can say about the place. This is our second visit and can guarantee there will be more.

We left the rain on the coast. By the time we reached Belmopan, the sun was shining brightly. A few miles down the Western Highway things changed. The sky ahead was dark as night. We had planned on stopping for lunch at either Amigos or Cheers. Amigos comes first, and the sky was getting darker. We just made it inside the restaurant when the sky opened up with a torrential rain. The downpour lasted through lunch but the rain stopped and the skies cleared just as the check came!

After lunch we climbed back in the old truck and headed home to Consejo.