Things to do in Dangriga
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Elizabeth Bernadez
Granddaughter of Austin Rodriguez, Elizabeth sells handmade crafts from her home (next door to the Bonefish Hotel), including beautiful dolls dressed in traditional Garifuna outfits, and acrylic paintings featuring various cultural scenes of traditional Garifuna life. Elizabeth also makes jewelry from jadeite, tiger eye and other local materials. A native of Dangriga (‘born here, grown here’), Elizabeth has been doing artwork locally for over 15 years, and is happy to introduce visitors to Garifuna life and culture through the art of its people.
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Gulisi Garifuna Museum
This museum, operated by the National Garifuna Council (NGC), is a must for anyone interested in the vibrant Garifuna people. The museum is 2 miles out of town, but is easily reached by bicycle. It brings together artifacts, pictures and documents on Garifuna history and culture, including film of the original punta rockers, Pen Cayetano and the Turtle Shell Band, in Dangriga back in 1983. The museum hosts exhibitions, workshops and Garifuna language courses, schedules for which can be obtained at its musical website.
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Garinagu Crafts
With the mission statement of ‘keeping the black diaspora alive,’ Dangriga native Francis M Swaso’s shop is part crafts store, part museum. The shop sells a wide range of arts and handicrafts made by Garifuna artists, including drums, maracas, paintings and dolls, and displays a number of historical Garifuna artifacts as well. Garinagu Crafts also carries postcards made from prints by local artist Pen Cayetano.
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Austin Rodriguez
This master artisan carves Garifuna drums from mahogany, cedar and the mayflower tree in his thatched-roof workshop by the water’s edge, southeast of Dangriga Central Market. Though Austin’s drums are sold all over Belize, you can cut out the middleman by going straight to the maker himself. Mr Rodriguez will be happy to answer any questions you might have on the drum-making process.
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Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods
Habanero peppers, purchased from local farmers, are turned into the super-hot bottled sauces that adorn tables all over Belize and beyond at Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods, 8 miles northwest of town on Melinda Rd. Casual tours, often led by Marie herself, are offered during business hours, and the factory shop sells hot sauces and jams at outlet prices
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Tobacco Caye
Tiny Tobacco Caye is 183m (600ft) long and 91m (300ft) wide, and sits right on the barrier reef. With half a dozen places to stay, you can enjoy snorkeling, diving, fishing or snoring in a hammock. Just west is Man-O'-War Caye, an important nesting site for the brown booby and magnificent frigate bird. Both islands are World Heritage listed.
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Benjamin Nicholas' Studio
Nicholas' bright, primitivist scenes of wildlife, landscapes and Garifuna history and folklore have made him one of Belize's best-known painters - his art hangs in banks, hotels and public buildings throughout the country. He also lives and works in Dangriga. Stop by the studio to witness his work in progress - visitors are usually welcome.
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Roots Kitchen
The place in Dangriga to eat like the locals do. In addition to the usual Belizean standards, such as beans and rice with stew beef or chicken, Roots is also known for its Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Garifuna feasts, when chef Delone cooks up fish stewed in coconut milk, served with hudut, a paste made from plantain.
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Roxy Club
To quote a pair of Dangriga-based Peace Corps volunteers: ‘The Roxy is a good place. Stumpy and Penny are very friendly, and Penny makes great panatas (small fish-filled fried tortillas), three for a dollar.’ It’s at the north end of the city, about three blocks north of the police station in Harlem Sq.
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Cedar Street Deli
This is a sight for sore eyes in a country where heart-healthy food is hard to come by. Open for lunch only, it serves salads, homemade lasagna and other distinctly non-Belizean dishes. There wasn’t a sign on the restaurant the last time we went, so look for the red and green doorway on the lower corner of a yellow house.
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Riverside Café
Just east of the Stann Creek bridge, this cafe is the place to meet fishers and the folks who do boat tours to the outlying cayes. Food is good and the fish is always fresh. Don’t expect a full lobster for BZ$25 (the costliest item on the menu); it’s only a Mars Bar–sized tail, tasty but expensive.
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Starlight Restaurant
The best Chinese restaurant in Dangriga, and probably one of the better ones in Belize. Starlight has been in operation for decades, and serves a good variety of traditional Chinese dishes using local ingredients. For some real Sino-Belizean fusion, try the conch chow mein. Lobster noodles are a surprising bargain.
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Rosalie’s Tortilla Factory
Though there’s no indoor seating, you can come to Rosalie’s Tortilla Factory, on the outskirts of Dangriga, to watch corn and flour tortillas being made and take a dozen of them to eat on the fly. The best time to get the freshest tortillas is between 9am and noon.
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Dangriga Central Market
An old-school semi-enclosed market. You’ll find traders selling shoes, clothing and crockery on the outskirts, while farmers and fishers sell their wares inside and around the main building. Naturally the market is busiest in the morning. You can also get cheap breakfasts here.
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Cella’s Pizza House
A cool-looking pizza joint in a private home at the north end of town, Cella’s serves good pizza and bottled beer in a fairly untrodden section of Dangriga. A bit pricey, but understandable as all ingredients are imported. (Pizza is definitely not native to Belize!)
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Titiman’s Culture House
Poots ‘Titiman’ Flores is a local Dangriga legend. His laid-back club – located on an unmarked country road two blocks southwest of the Drums of Our Fathers Monument – is a great place to chill out and get down with serious Garifuna culture.
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Club Rivera
Formerly called Club Griga, Club Rivera usually has live bands on Friday and Saturday night, featuring punta rock and other types of music. It gets a bit of a crowd for midweek karaoke sessions, but things really start jumping at the Friday and Saturday dances.
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King Burger
No relation to the chain restaurant of the reversed name, King Burger serves reliably fresh though somewhat mediocre breakfasts of eggs, beans and fryjacks for BZ$6.50, as well as hamburgers and plates of fried shrimp. Coffee is instant, but juices are fresh.
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Salty Dog Saloon
This very chilled bar, connected to the Spirit Wind cabanas, has the most Jimmy Buffet vibe in Dangriga, though it is a bit out of town. To find it, call or follow the signs for the Salty Dog Saloon beginning on Ecumenical Dr around North Stann Creek.
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Karen’s Delight
Another unassuming, small shack restaurant serving wonderfully prepared local dishes, such as fry fish (caught daily) and stew chicken and beef. Karen makes some of the meanest pickled peppers you’ll find in town.
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Recreation Center
This piece of earth with a thatched roof, no walls and a mainly local clientele can be a lot of fun.
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