from a friend....
Instead of using our long-range bomber to research the latest night spots, we decided to review a couple of the local hangouts.
The leader La Cabana is under intense competition from upstarts and is
hanging on - just barely as leader.
The owner has regretfully ditched police officers on special duty as his
security saying they are too expensive and bad mouthing them in the process-
but maybe he has a point see my comments on E & L below. The in-house
civilian security they use are uncouth and unprofessional in my opinion and
this gets a downgrade in my books. So we stayed away.
Barrio Fino behind the Habet hardware in a spooky area mostly inhabited by
mechanic shops and junkyards was a fresh breeze when it opened.
Now its name is a misnomer and should be renamed Pinks Alley Disco in my
opinion. Latinos and regular middle class Belizeans hardly patronise the
establishment.
The music is mostly hip hop and the lady at the door refused us the courtesy
to have one of our party enter the premises for a look see - you have to pay
to have a look see. Well we looked through a glass side door and the place
was dead. Cabbies relate stories of shootouts and holdups in the area as it
is kind of back a bush but popular with a certain sub set of our culture.
Not for I man. They do have police officers on special duty as security.
La Choza is another back a bush estab under new management.
At one time it had a gamy reputation as a semi-whorehouse. Allegedly you
could rent one of three dirty thatched cabanas by the hour for you and your
partner or a "waitress".
The entrance is located almost direct across from La Cabana on a dirt road
that is either a dust bowl or a treacherous mud competition road depending
on the season. I've pulled out a couple of hapless drivers in times past who
dared to run this road in the rain.
Now la Choza is under new management and more decent. Still, no place to eat
as menu is like either fry chicken or a burger when available. Mostly for
drinking, cool breeze and a good view of the nearby hills. Mainly patronised
by manual labourers or the occasional chubby professional with fantasies of
enticing a waitress. We were there today and incredibly for the first time
in my life had to order food to be delivered from my local Chinese
restaurant a couple miles away. Not recommended unless you are very bored.
Evenings the mosquitoes or sand flies will suck you dry. If you are drunk I
guess it does not matter. Restrooms not fit for human use.
Which brings us to the new kid on the block - E & L Sports Bar, located just
below La Cabana. Started off without a name but was baptised by locals as
Baby Cabana. I kind of shunned this spot before and it has some rough edges
but I will return to a special feature I like.
The joint has an open air palapa for socialising, drinks and food. Ceviche
is passable. Fast food is O.K. by bar standards. Service eager to please.
Cops on special duty a reassurance for security.
The disco is a separate, very well sound proofed area. It is a little small
for my taste. Worse the dance floor is concrete and this is murder on your
feet and legs especially for those of us can dance until the D.J. is
exhausted.
We arrived at 10pm and the disco was empty, so after half an hour my dance
partner and I bruk open dance floor as usual and were there jamming for
another half an hour before another couple decided to join us - no it was
not G. Mike and crew. I have a demanding dance partner but I did not flinch
and danced EVERYTHING the D.J. threw at us, even the dreaded (for me) Punta
and some Mexican doble-paso.
The special feature I like is that NO SMOKING is allowed which is relief.
All the discos I've been to in Belize are so full of cigarette smoke the
next morning you feel and smell like you've smoked a whole pack of fags.
Memo to Bart: The cops on special duty tend to abandon the outside area and
congregate inside the disco openly ogling the girls on the dance floor - one
was actually sitting and reclining on the D.J. platform like a tourist on
exhibit. A little unbecoming an officer......
Ambergris Caye 
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