DService is unfailingly polite and everyone we met at hotels and restaurants introduced themselves, extended a hand in friendship, and asked and remembered our names. Water is either treated or comes from wells, so it is generally unnecessary to use bottled water in Belize. The beer lover amongst us declared the local brew — a Pilsner — as very good, particularly on tap. The fish lover feasted on shrimp, lobster, grouper, and snapper. From beginning to end, Belize provided a sense of comfort and ease. Although the temperature reached 100 degrees on two days, the breezes, swims in rivers, pools and oceans, fans and the occasional air-conditioner tamed even the most torrid honeymoon heat. The Jungle in Belize We began our stay in Belize at Five Sisters Lodge, a 2 1/2-hour ride from Belize City’s international airport. This resort sits along a river’s edge in Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve, the nation’s largest protected area. On one side of Privassion Creek is a forest of Caribbean evergreens. On the other, a subtropical rain forest. The southern pine bark beetle had devastated much of the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, so we were afraid our lodge would be on barren land. However, great diligence on the part of the land owner has kept the beetle from the hotel grounds and the area surrounding it. On the property, it is lush and green. We lodged in the new riverside villa — two buildings, connected by a deck. One is sleeping quarters, the other the kitchen and living room, perfect for a honeymoon couple. Both buildings have hammocks, spacious wraparound screened porches, roofs thatched in the traditional Mayan manner with a bay leaf roof, and walls made of pimento sticks. Hardwood floors shine and furniture is carved from locally harvested mahogany. The villa is completely private, around the bend of the river from where guests swim in the natural pools formed by the five waterfalls, hence the name Five Sisters. At the foot of the falls is a small island with a gazebo, a popular spot for wedding ceremonies and pre-honeymoon receptions. We bathed in our own section of the river and slept with windows open and the ceiling fan slowly twirling. We enjoyed reading remarks of previous honeymoon couples in the comment book in our living room. A Kansas City, Missouri, groom wrote: “I could spend weeks here. Parrots and toucans and my beautiful wife!” Another honeymoon couple from Alexandria, Virginia, had two entries, one week apart. On November 22, they wrote: “Yes, we are the same couple of the previous page. This is such a beautiful place that after a few days at the beach, we decided to come back and enjoy the rest of our honeymoon at Five Sisters.” An eco-lodge, Five Sisters uses hydropower for electricity and to run a funicular from the hilltop to valley bottom. There is no generator hum. The loudest sound we heard was that of small cascading waterfalls a few feet from our doorstep. In the morning it was the call of tropical birds that announced dawn break. We, too, wanted to spot Belize’s national bird, the toucan, but not yet. That would have to wait until our last day in Belize, when we returned to the jungle. Now we were content to listen to their calls from the green trees and delight in flitting hummingbirds. This we did at breakfast, on the deck of the hilltop restaurant, at the outdoor table where we had savored a candle-lit dinner the night before. Honeymoon couples and other guests may have meals brought to their villa, which Five Sisters is happy to do. We were just as happy to soak in the beauty with guests from the other 14 units in the lodge. We had dinner two miles down the road from Five Sisters, at Blancaneaux Lodge, one of three Francis Ford Coppola resorts in Central America. Coppola built up Mr. Blancaneaux ‘s original jungle hunting lodge, bringing in splashes of Polynesian and local decor spiced with Italian cuisine. Freshness and quality food is assured, since Blancaneaux runs its own organic farm. We ate on the terrace, overlooking the creek below and just above a natural hot pool. For those who aren’t sufficiently relaxed, a garden spa offers a Thai massage.