Lana's on the Reef

"Tobacco Caye is tiny (5 acres at the most); walking around the shore takes all of 10 minutes if you stop to chat with passersby or gaze at the nesting ospreys. Although the island is covered with sand, the shoreline is rocky. There are no beaches here. But there is a wonderful laid-back atmosphere. The island has six lodging places on it as well as various houses of full- or part-time residents. None are opulent. There're nothing showy here --- just well tended or less well tended. It's kind of the opposite of a resort island; it's not pretentious for foreigners. People go about their business here: fishing, cooking, cleaning, looking after visitors, taking people on boat trips to the nearby cayes. It's quiet (except for some noisy generators and the occasional crowd at the beachside bar or the snack shop).
During our four days on Tobacco, there were maybe 50 or 60 people on the island. Although you can see most of the other buildings from any one building, it doesn't feel crowded. The open sandy spaces with palm tress in the middle of the island and the endless expanse of sea all around it probably account for that. And though there are some trash piles around, and old conch shells and other fishing detritus littering the shoreline, the island is much less dirty than we'd expected on the basis of other travellers' blogs. We really like it here.

Lana, our hostess, and her husband, Pops, are island institutions. Pops is from an old island family and has been living here on and off his whole life. He and Lana (from the local mainland) have been running this little guesthouse since they retired from working in the United States. Lana is a good cook who fed us well on traditional Belizean dishes and local seafood, which she bought from the island guys who go out fishing each day. "         

Chris Howlett and Melissa Kuhnell (www.theslowroad.org)