Blancaneaux Lodge

Blancaneaux Lodge is a Francis Ford Coppola resort in the Mayan Mountains of the Cayo District in Belize.  And what a beautiful place!

Dave had to "work" so we were "forced" to take a couple of days off and go to the remote lodge for a little R & R!  (Thank you, Yvette!)  We flew the BERT plane to Blancaneaux's dirt airstrip so that Dave could test the runway, see the lay of the land and meet with the Dutch Army, who are doing maneuvers in the area.

Dave and I took off from Municipal Airport and climbed through puffy clouds, darting here and there!  As this trip took us south, I was able to take some pictures overlooking Belize City, including one that captured the Child Care Centre and my office building.  (No one would know that, but me, and that is not the picture shown below, which is of downtown.)  The day was beautiful, and the countryside showed off all the shades of green!  We were able to find the airstrip (great to have a GPS), and landed safely!  Beside the runway was our horse-drawn carriage, ready to take us down the beautiful lane to the Lodge.

Immediately after arrival, representatives of the Dutch Army, including the doctor, arrived to consult with Dave.  We walked up to the runway to study how feasible it might be to land the plane at night without lights!  The Army would set up light cans along the sides of the runway so that Dave could get in for night evacuations,  Besides the challenge of finding a thin strip of dirt in the jungle at night, Municipal Airport, where the plane is based, has no lights.  International Airport does have lights, but the facility is closed after 6:00 PM, so special arrangements would need to be made.  The Aviation Board of Belize would need to approve this challenge, and then BERT's board would have to approve it!  Needless to say, approval was not granted, so Dave is not on call 24/7 for 3 weeks!  The Army will have to evacuate over a BAD road to the nearest clinic.  A helicopter company is providing daytime evacuations.

A prime reason for staying at a Francis Ford Coppola resort is the wine!  Since Dave did not have to fly again until the next day (thank you to Yvette, again!!), we had wine for lunch!  Dave had their fabulous pizza while I had a phenomenal fish salad!  The resort runs an organic farm, providing the most wonderful fruits and vegetables--the best we've had in Belize!

Dave and I walked up to the organic farm after lunch and were given a tour of the beds.  Torrential rains had fallen in the few days prior to our arrival, and the beds were being rebuilt in some cases.  They bring in good black soil.  We walked on up the road to the stables and pet the horses.  I'm pretty sure that Candace will want to stay at Blancaneaux to go on a trail ride in the jungle!  On the road, Dave nearly stepped on a fast moving, thankfully shy coral snake.  If bitten, Dave would have been in serious trouble, given that he is the pilot for medical evacuations!  It was a pretty snake, though!

After our walk, I enjoyed pool time!  This resort really takes care of its guests!  (Of course, I had to have a rum drink, too!)  All of the staff quickly learned our names, and we were "hailed" (Creole word) by our first names.

Our cabana overlooked the falls on Privassion Creek.  The roar of the falls was deafening!  This creek looked more like a river, and the flooding that had occurred a couple of days before was obvious along the banks.  The resort has its own hydroelectric plant, but the flood really destroyed it.  On Sunday, when we attempted a hike to 1000-foot Falls, we talked to the maintenance manager who said that they had to order parts from Canada.  Meanwhile, power was sufficiently provided by generators.

Dave and I went to dinner, walking to the restaurant after dark.  And the jungle is a very dark place!  We again had a fabulous meal with dessert and a bottle of wine!  We took a night hike up the road to the runway, just to experience the jungle night!  Beautiful!

When we arrived back in our room, turn-down service had prepared the bed, and candles were lit on the table.  The cabana, a large thatched building, had beautiful wood and colorful wall hangings.  The open windows let in the sound of the falls.  And if we wanted to call the lobby, we used the "shell phone!"  The shell phone was a shell on a wooden box, and one pushed a button to alert the lobby of a call!

Our Sunday morning walk didn't turn out to be the adventure we'd hoped.  The path to the Falls was so wet from the rains that we knew our shoes would be soaked before getting very far.  So we walked around the grounds, saw the Francis Coppola Villa and the Enchanted Cottage, and looked at the garden and stables again.




On our flight home under cloudy skies (so the colors were not so vibrant along the way), we caught a glimpse of Hidden Valley Lodge Airport.  I'm pretty sure we will need to visit that lodge, too!  It is not far from Blancaneaux!

I believe we flew over mango fields!

Mango season has passed, and I miss them!









Then we returned to Municipal Airport at the end of a wonderful weekend!

Blancaneaux Lodge is definitely a luxury resort and worth every penny!   Heavenly!