A Trip to Beautiful Sarteneja, Belize to See About A Canoe

Sarteneja, Belize is a village about 30 miles NW of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. Sarteneja is well-known in the country for a few things: 1. traditionally, it is where many of the wooden fishing boats in Belize were made (and I believe some still are) and 2. it is known as the only seaside spot on the mainland where you can watch the sun set over the water.

It is a lovely village. A village that I suggest to folks when they tell me that they want a “non-touristy” seafront spot. But non-touristy can also mean quiet…very quiet. For example, yesterday, I walked down the center of Main Street for blocks, and I wasn’t interrupted by one vehicle. Not one – at about 1:30pm.

There are a few restaurants—that may or may not be open. The supermarkets are tiny and have a very limited selection. (I brought 30lbs of cat food over for a friend who lives there)

Quiet means that there is one finicky ATM machine—that, from what I gather, may or may not be working right now. AND…until the new roads and bridges are completed, you are still taking the 4-car ferry-barges to get to the next good-sized town, the town of Corozal—a drive that can take up to 3 hours. (Here is the announcement of the project/groundbreaking in 2019)

That could be 100% your cup of tea—or it might not. I leave it to you to visit. But yesterday, we (Captain Carlos and I) took Jeff’s boat over to Sarteneja to pick up a canoe. The water was glowing, the mango trees were just starting to mango, and I took a bunch of photos.

For more/longer trips to Sarteneja that I’ve taken see:

2014: My First Visit to Help with a Vet Clinic

2017: Sarteneja: A Charming Quiet Village on The Sea

2019: Sleepy Sarteneja: Glowing Water and ART on my Quick Visit

Here are yesterday’s pics.

Real quick first…some quick details. There are currently two boats that go back and forth from San Pedro to Sarteneja to Corozal and back. They are the Thunderbolt Water Taxi and Belize Sea Shuttle. (Always check ahead on the boats – and make sure they will be stopping at Sarteneja)

You pass a few islands – like beautiful Blackadore Caye. But mostly it’s shallow (10-20 feet?) but not still water – the Bay of Chetumal is coming in…and it can be a bit choppy at times. But the water goes from crystal clear closer to Ambergris Caye to glowing chalky aquamarine.

The ride in the skiff was about 1 hour 40 mins on the way there and about 2 hours, 15 minutes on the (choppier) ride back.

As we reach the shore at Sarteneja…

Making sure the canoe fits…(Jeff bought it a few months ago on Belize Buy/Sell from someone in Orange Walk)

Now let’s walk around a bit…

Sarteneja is from Maya — Tzaten-A-Ha which means water from stone. Apparently it is a good place to dig a well.

These guys were getting ready for lobster season (July 1st)

I had a tasty burger at Izadora’s Restaurant – and enjoyed the killer view from their outside seating.

And we headed back…bumping along with the canoe secured tightly. And…I’m pretty sunburnt despite what I thought was some pretty impressive sunblock application. (Mostly just my nose and lip…it’s ALWAYS THE LIPS!)

Sigh…

I’ll be back. SOON! Mangos will be coming into full season in the next month or so and I’ve always wanted to eat fresh, warm mangos straight from the tree…

2024 will be my year!