And while that is the farm visit they never got to make, the royal couple did stop in at another cacao farm. Cherisse Halsall was there every step of the way, and she has a recap of the Royals' weekend in Belize that all started on Saturday with their arrival at the P.G.I.A.
We all know what happened in the days before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Belize.
It's a localized Belizean issue that went global.
But on Saturday when the RAF VIP Voyager jet touched down on the tarmac of the Philip Goldson International Airport, the mood began to shift ever so slightly.
As Will and Kate's first tour since the Pandemic kicked off in Belize.
They were welcomed at the P.G.I.A with a gun salute, and the BDF band's rendition of both the Belizean and UK anthems.
Via motorcade, they went directly to the Laing Building where they met with with Prime Minister John Briceno and Special Envoy Rossana Briceno.
We're told that upon meeting the couple PM Briceno said "We're so happy that you're here."
Here he is telling them which way their helicopter would fly to take them to the southern village of Hopkins, where the royal couple spent the night at Jaguar Reef Lodge.
And the next morning they were off again, this time to their "contingency plan" Cacao farm after the original destination got scrapped due to what the royal palace called "sensitive issues."
But that twist in circumstances became a lucky one for Maya Center chocolatier Julio Saqui and his wife the owners of Che'il Mayan Products.
They and their staff ended up as Belize's answer to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory for Will and Kate's Belizean adventure. Saqui says he was up to it - even with very limited notice.
Cherisse Halsall:
"We know that it was a quick turn around because they decided to come here at the last minute, how much time did you have to prepare for their arrival."
Eliadora Saqui
"All of yesterday and last night and this morning that's it."
Julio Saqui, Chocolatier
"When we learned that they were going to be coming here we just had to tweak a little thing here, take out a little thing there, fix a little thing there. So it was not that difficult for us."
The couple ate seeds from the cacao fruit, and ground cacao on the mayan grinding stone.
And as they left the Saqui's, the Cambridge's surprised a crowd of onlookers by walking right up to them for a quick chat.
From there it was on to Hopkins.
Families came out in several generations to see William and Kate join the villagers in a dance to the Garifuna Rhythms. That's where they met Duke of Edinburgh award recipient Cynthia Ellis Topsey. And while she seemed quite welcoming to the couple we asked the Garifuna champion whether her hospitality was a contradiction to her life's work.
Cynthia Ellis Topsey, Ambassador for the Garifuna Nation
"Having dialogue with someone is not bowing down. I welcomed them to dialogue. I didn't welcome them and say guess what happened you all have done, you all can just take over. I said we are traumatized, I told him that. When he asked about the history of the Garifuna people I said to him it is a history of trauma and we need to face this trauma and we'd like you to be a part of the discussion about trauma because you have to be traumatized too."
Cherisse Halsall:
"And what did he say?"
Cynthia Ellis Topsey, Ambassador for the Garifuna Nation
"He said yes, he said yes. You know he agreed and I said let's dance because dance is part of our therapy. Dance is part of the healing."
And dance they did to the delight of all the bystanders and these young dancers who were fighting nerves.
Cherisse Halsall:
"How nervous were you this morning?"
Garifuna Dancer
"Hesus, I nearly dropped down. I thought that they wouldn't dance with us. I say Hesus, they're gonna dance with us, I couldn't believe it."
Cherisse Halsall:
"What was it like participating in this dance?"
Garifuna Dancer
"Good, Amazing. It was very good and exciting. Some people say that they are they were very bad and disrespectful but you should never judge a book by it's cover and he was very sweet and polite so. To me he's very nice."
Certainly the Duke and Duchess pleased the crowds at the cultural center but then they were off on a walk down the beach.
To meet up with a largely female group of marine conservationists, the only man among them was the Manatee, man Jamal Galvez, today he told 7News how that meeting went.
Jamal Galvez, Manatee Man
"It was an honor to have been able to be selected to discuss this with them. The honor is also those powerful women in consideration that I got to among. So we basically reminded them and let them know how much Belizeans love their environment and we protect what we love and we pride ourselves as Belizeans to be able to have what we have."
"Of course I can't talk with them and not talk about manatees and definitely that stirred up a lot of conversation, a lot of questions as they were raised to that and they have definitely committed to sort of now being an ambassador for the species so you know being an advocate for manatees and to me one of the most important things in conservation is the message and they have a vast majority of people that they talk to and for you to have shared that knowledge with them to now be able to share that information globally will definitely bring some change to Belize and Manatee conservation in Belize as well, so I'm hopeful that that can help to safeguard the species that we have been trying to protect."
And that was the end of Sunday's itinerary for William and Kate, today they've headed west for a BATSUB guided tour of Caracol, and later a reception in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.
Tonight - after that whirlwind tour, Cherisse is still embedded with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they are attending a special reception at the Cahal Pech Mayan Site. It's said to be the hottest ticket in town for the cocktail circuit types. The official writeup says it will showcase what is called, quote, "the very best of Belizean culture and give the Cambridge's the opportunity to meet with community leaders, well-known Belizeans, and members of Government in the presence of the Prime Minister." End quote. And the sendoff had better be good - because the Cambridge's are heading into another headwind. When they arrive in Jamaica tomorrow - activists will be taking a stand outside the British High Commission. They have circulated an open letter calling for the British monarchy to apologise for colonialism and pay slavery reparations.
