An Exquisite Insight into the Garifuna Culture

On Monday, Palmento Grove Cultural and Fishing Lodge courteously invited us to our very first Garifuna Culture Culinary Tour. We were all very excited to get an exquisite insight into the Garifuna culture, especially the food. We quickly planned the schedule on how we were getting to Hopkins the next day. We settled on taking the bus from San Ignacio Town to Belmopan City at 5:00 a.m., hop on another bus to southern Belize, then jump off at the Hopkins junction.

As planned, we woke up early in the morning and met in San Ignacio. On our way to Belmopan, we tried to catch up on our sleep. Unfortunately for me, that was not the case. As with all of our other bus journeys, it was packed and excruciating. When we made it to Belmopan, we switched buses to go to southern Belize. I once again tried to find comfort in the seats to get some sleep. A few minutes in this bus ride, I realized that the comfort I was looking for was never going to happen on a 90 degree sitting position due to the shape of the seat. A few minutes later as we went further, I was reminded that the southern Belize roads were one of my favorites. Views after views and cloud forests after cloud forests kept me in a state of trance; and, it is what finally got me feeling comfortable. Why go sleep when you can enjoy these amazing views?

The bus made a detour to Dangriga to drop and pick up people in that area. From there we quickly got back on the road towards Hopkins. I managed to switch to a better seat, one that was adjustable. This seat was so comfortable that it only took a few minutes for me to fall asleep. Soon, we made it to the Hopkins junction where someone was waiting to give us a ride into Hopkins. After following signs and asking for directions, we finally made it to Palmento Grove Cultural and Fishing Lodge.

Surrounded by beautiful mangroves and coconut trees, we walked towards the buildings that were visible to us. On our way, Mrs. Martinez, who is the manager, greeted us and led us towards the dining room where we discussed our tour for the day. Meanwhile, as we waited for the tour, we walked around the compound taking pictures of the unique murals and artifacts.

Joining us was a couple from England. They, too, were ecstatic to learn more about the Garifuna culture. We were told that the best way to experience this tour was to put Garifuna outfits; so, we did not hesitate to grab some of the outfits that were on display and tried them on. As we did, Mrs. Martinez started to tell us the names of each piece in Garifuna. I ended up putting a Dashiki – a male shirt – and remained with the rest of the clothes that I had on that day. I immediately felt so much cooler and refreshed with my Dashiki. I waited for the rest to finish getting dressed. Once we were fully dressed and comfortable, Mr. Martinez initiated the tour with a quick introduction of himself and the cultural tour.

We started under a shed that displayed paintings about the history of the Garifuna and their origins. These paintings and knowledge shared from Mr. Martinez seemingly depicted the arrival and tribulations of the Journey of the Garifuna through the Caribbean and Belize. I have always enjoyed learning about the history of different cultures and how they interacted with others, so this was one that closed many gaps and questions that I had before about the Garifuna. Not only did we learn about the journey of the Garifuna, but also about the way the Garifuna lived from their initial arrival to Belize. Mr. Martinez was so descriptive with his explanations and stories that as I soon as I had a question in mind, he was already answering it without me asking.

We then moved to another shed, where we learned about the Garifuna’s spiritual practices and beliefs. There, Mr. Martinez shared with us about the “Dugu,” which is a sacred place built out of palmettos, mud, clay, and thatch by the community to worship the “master of the universe” in times of hardship. When there is a gathering and a Dugu is used, you can expect intense live drumming and dancing. This is all done for the sole purpose to seek answers and closure from their ancestors who they admired, praised, or missed. We were told that after we had lunch, we were going to also get a taste of drumming lessons about the different drum beats that are used within the culture for different purposes.

After learning about the history and spiritual beliefs of the Garifuna, it was now time to learn how to cook one of their signature dishes. First, we had to get the ingredients which were all found in the vicinity. One of those ingredients and one that is used is almost every Belizean dish is coconut. Mr. Martinez made it clear that in their culture, the men would get the green coconuts for drinking and women would get the dry coconuts for cooking. This had all the guys on the tour climbing a coconut tree. Thankfully, a ladder was provided which made it so much easier. We then were shown a much easier way to get the coconuts without having to climb the trees, which only required a bamboo stick with a metal hook to pull the remainder of the coconuts. We managed to get a few dry coconuts and proceeded to get them prepared for cooking.

Before we used the coconuts, we had to remove the husk of the coconut’s shell with a pointed stick in the ground. I struggled with this one I must say, considering I had done this before as a kid. Mr. Martinez was patient and shared with us the proper technique for this procedure. Soon, we had more than enough coconuts pealed to prepare our lunch, so we decided to drink from the green coconuts for a quick hydration. I must say, we were struggling a bit with the heat of the sun, but the coconut water was so refreshing!

We then moved to the kitchen to finish drinking our coconut water, and oh, was it significantly cooler inside! Made out of only wood and thatch, this kitchen would be the place where we would spend cooking for about an hour or so. Mr. Martinez was also the chef instructing us to do this signature dish, which is called “Hudut”. Mr. Martinez first showed us how to split a coconut in half and showed us the tools we would use to separate the insides of the coconut. In the kitchen, we saw the tools used by the Garifuna in the early days from their arrival and the ones they currently use as a result of influences like the Mennonite. We then gathered the husks and other parts of the coconuts to start a fire. Mr. Martinez then threw pieces of plantain into the boiling water and moved on to prepare the other ingredients. Of course, we were all involved in the making of this dish. Eliza, who we joined with on this tour, easily surpassed all of our cooking skills, slicing her way from ingredient to ingredient, and soon after, we had a pot full of ingredients called “Chowda”, to be put over the fire.


Once the plantains and other ingredients slowly boiled and cooked on the fire, we sat down to chat a bit while Mr. Martinez shared with us snacks, drinks, and showed us some of the other tools used for cooking. Perhaps one of the most interesting of these was the cassava bread, which according to Mr. Martinez can be preserved for years. Though, to preserve the cassava bread much longer, they would use a basket called the “Yamid”, which is probably one of the most intricate, long lasting, and useful baskets that the Garifuna built and used. We then had a taste of a signature drink the Garifuna make called the “Huie”, which is made out of the remaining cassava that does not make it through the sieve. This was a delight!


Soon after, we found ourselves pounding on plantains to complete the Hudut. This was the hardest part while preparing lunch. Everyone took turns until Mr. Martinez took over to help. He gave the final poundings to complete the Hudut.

We served, ate, and were happy humans thereafter! This meal was DELICIOUS!

We then took a few minutes to converse and do a quick recap of lunch and our plans for the rest of the afternoon.


While we did this, the drums were being lined up for a quick lesson on Garifuna drumming. Soon, we were introduced to our instructor, who was friendly and enthusiastic to share his skills and musical background.

I love music, and being a musician myself, I was excited to learn a new instrument. As fun and easy it looks to play drums, we soon realized that we would need to be meticulous with instructions and have tough hands. Slowly, we all synchronized, playing on the “segundo” drums to provide the main rhythm, while our instructor played on the “primero” drum to provide sensational groove beats to our drumming, which only intensified by the second. This was truly an experience and totally worth our sore hands thereafter!


Once the drumming was over, we prepared to go kayaking but first, we were surprised with dessert! We were given cassava pudding and a cocktail made out mango and pineapple. Another delight for the day!

We initially had no plans to go kayaking, so we did not take extra clothes or sunscreen, but Mrs. Martinez helped us out by giving us sunscreen, clothing, and even providing us with bottled water. We soon found ourselves racing and enjoying the mangrove scenery on our Kayaks. We eventually made it to a passageway under the mangrove canopy which was once used by the locals to travel to their farmlands decades ago. We ended up struggling a bit here, but we managed to make it on the other side of the mangrove forest, where once again, we paddled as if we were in a race.


We eventually made it to the seaside, where some of us went to cool off and swim for a bit. I stayed under some shade and pondered on what an amazing day it had been at Palmento Grove Cultural and Fishing Lodge! We then paddle back to where we initially started, exhausted, and sore from our kayaking trip. We could not believe we had done so much in just one day. The hospitality at Palmento Grove Cultural and Fishing Lodge was amazing that we truly did not want to leave. We then remembered that we needed to take the bus back to San Ignacio, so we made our way to the bus stop and went back home.

Our trip to Palmento Grove Cultural and Fishing Lodge was one for the books, and we encourage anyone that wants to experience the Garifuna culture to go on this tour. Belizing would like to give a massive thank you to Palmento Grove Cultural and Fishing Lodge for such a great time. Let’s go Belizing today and expand our learning minds!