At-home comfort in the Belizean jungle

For nine nights straight we had ice cream for dessert. Sometimes with a piece of cake or brownie. I felt not the least guilty for the indulgence because each dessert capped an adventurous day’s activities, like hiking or riding horseback through the jungle, snorkeling, rappelling from a cliff, advancing through a cave in chest-high water or climbing ancient Mayan temples.

We were in Central America at the Belize Jungle Dome, a perfect, inland, rural location within driving or walking distance of all our activities. The Dome (an actual geodome) is intimate with five rooms, most of which are set for as many as four guests. Most do not stay as long as Mark and I. In our nine nights, guests stayed for two, three, four and even one night, though the proprietor told me that ordinarily the Dome does not accommodate one-night bookings. An exception was made in that case because it was a family of six reserving two rooms.

The proprietors of Jungle Dome, Simone and Andy Hunt, live next door, and one or the other ate dinner with us most nights, asking about our daily adventures and sharing theirs. They have two boys, 8 and 5. Three or four nights of our stay, the whole family joined us for pizza, barbeque chicken, stir fry, fish, whatever was served. They’ve flown a chef in a couple times to work with the Jungle Dome Latina cooks, and it’s obvious. All the freshly made dishes have a local taste with European flair.

Before guests retire for the evening, Simone or Andy confirms the following day’s activities: what time they are getting picked up, by which driver, what time they would like breakfast. For our free day, which I’d scheduled between all the action, I confirmed with Simone a relatively late breakfast and mentioned that I’d let it settle before doing yoga at 9 a.m. She asked if she could join me. We practiced on the large porch that fronted Mark’s and my room. It was like having a friend over, which made me feel even more at home.

Our free day was a Saturday so the whole family was about. Mark and I took to passing our ring in the front field. (I’ve mentioned our ring in previous stories. It’s like a Frisbee but is a ring, not a disc, and can be thrown accurately for greater distance.) Soon eight-year old Lucas joined us and quickly perfected the throwing technique. Lucas liked the ring so much, we left it for him.

One later morning Mark and Lucas passed the ring for 20 minutes, and little Aidan joined too, before Andy drove them to school. When the boys returned from school, we all walked down to the river than runs behind the Dome.

We’d earlier heard stories of Lucas pulling in loads of catfish. Lucas and David, a pleasant El Salvadorian staffer, cut pieces off a small fish for bait and then cast their lines. Aidan chanted in his made-up language and danced, or trekked around the corner in grass up to his shoulders and came back to tell us of his adventures with the werewolf and vampire he’d encountered. Or, he’d climb a tree or get dangerously close to the river’s edge before his dad would call him back.

Later Simone came to hang out. It was a perfect scene that I think we all wanted to prolong. But the bugs pushed our tolerance beyond the limit. Back to the Dome after an hour. We had to clean up before dinner anyway.

Belize Jungle Dome is a comfortable place made more so by owners Simone and Andy Hunt. The hired helpers made our experience tops too. I’ve mentioned David. He was so accommodating, making sure we were comfortable and safe. Once, he drove us and his wife to a local market. After perusing the offerings, we couples, like long-time friends, had a double-date lunch at a sit-down restaurant near.

We spent hours in the van with Albert, a friendly, freelance tour guide who took us to and from the airport and many of our adventures. Through him, we learned about Belize’s history, flora and fauna.

Also making us feel welcome our entire stay were Rocky and Dinero, the two dogs who hung out on our porch or laid nearby as we read by the pool.

Staying at the Belize Jungle Dome is like vacationing with friends. For a trip customized to your interests, e-mail the Hunts at info@belizejungledome.com. If your cruise ship is visiting, arrange a personalized day of fun at Albert_Garbutt@yahoo.com.