Our Magical Myster Tour To Kismet

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  Hopkins, Belize
Monday, June 8, 2009

Driving our rented golf cart all over Hopkins we followed these signs to Kismet, (great name meaning destiny, meant to be ) It was our magical mystery tour. We were opened for anything . Were on vacation to enjoy this wonderful country of Belize and Hopkins was our choice. The signs took us as far north into Hopkins as we could go. The grave yard was on the left and this huge Welcome sign pointed us right into a long drive way. The music that came from the big opened window was John Lennon, Imagine, my favorite. We were hooked, Kismet has magnetism! We never laughed so hard at the funny stories of her days of owning her jazz clubs & restaurants. I own a Italian Restaurant on the lower east side. She was Upper West side. I remember the place, it was the hottest Jazz club and one classy place. Trish is still in a New York State of mind with her Joan River's sense of quick humor. Her stories made us stay for our whole vacation, we came back every day until we left for home.


The lobsters where bought that afternoon while we where hanging on the porch from this wild sun bleached dread she called Ras Haruga which means tomorrow in Garifuna. She gave him this nick named him because he always says he will pay her tomorrow. He paddled a small green dory filled with these fresh lobster she bought them all. It was so cool seeing how one buys these huge lobsters without claws straight from his little boat he dived for. We're lobster lovers', we had lobsters for lunch with a die for garlic, ginger, lime, cilantro, and pepper butter. She sliced up some cucumbers with onion and carrot and added ginger, lime, hot sesame oil, honey, & black sesame seeds so colorful and very tasty. All is prepared right in front of us. We were amazed at what she did for us in her small well designed kitchen restaurant. We stayed so long chilling on her porch we saw our first manatee just before sunset. We stayed and had lobster again for dinner. Owning a restaurant I wanting to explore new tastes and to see what she could do and how good she really was. This time she made it with a hollandaise, garlic pepper sauce, a papaya salsa that was so colorful and full of tastes, orange, lime, hot pepper, cilantro, red onion, she is a great cook. We had 5 different homemade breads with each meal she prepared. She hasn't lost her NY style at all, this was 5 star eatery in a laid back beach setting charging peanuts.


We stayed in the Tree Houses at Hamanasi we loved the place, but Kismet is where we hung out. We bought a bottles of the local rums and made our own drinks, & shared with the locals while we had lobster again each night until we left Hopkins. Every time it was better than the last lobster dinner, endless combinations of flavors. The Thai sauce was loaded with explosive tastes, ginger, cinnamon, clove, lemon grass, basil, aniseed, cilantro and hot pepper with a sweetness of honey in a soy sauce base, absolutely magnificent! Then she shredded these root foods, yam, potato, cassava, some purple yam, loaded with sesame seeds and fried it like a potato pan cake and served it with a sweet hot mango sauce, again fabulous!


Every night the local drummers came by, played the drums, Patrick had his guitar singing to us so a bit off tune. Trish provided shakers enough for all of us to join in. We learned from Trish & Elvis the Punta dance, the difference styles of drumming from Paranda with guitar added, old folk style Garifuna songs with Elvis translating, to the faster beat of Honduras style of drumming. Trish played all the music of the different groups of famous musicians, she knows music, all was very educational. Between us all we made our own music and had fun dancing until the sun rose. Tricia insisted we stay the night since we drank so much and at no charge. That true NY hospitality coming out. Fate took us to her.


Coming from NY we weren't looking to be with more New Yorker's but I wouldn't trade one minute of the good times with the locals and my New York sister Trish.

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