Well, I’ve never had it happen before, but all of us got messages that that the satellite signal was out, so none of us could effectively get on the Internet. This, I am afraid, did strange things to the last blog. I have deleted it and replaced it with it as it should have appeared…

This will be a very short blog, as we are taking off for another chocolate-making operation. You can’t beat the wonderful, dark, Belizian chocolate!

There are several different cultures in this area of southern Belize. The Mayans, of course, but there are also the Garifuna (Ga-RI-foo-nah) people who were essentially deported from St. Vincent (in the Grenadines) and eventually found their way to southern Belize. Descended from Carib and Arawak Indians, mixed with slaves from Africa, they have an interesting culture, one we wanted to learn more about.

Alvin and Clifford met us and showed us around part of their town. We warned them that we photographers tend to get waylaid.

They got their first taste of that when we stopped to photograph this simple, charming thatched houses.

We walked down to the water, and looked across the Gulf of Honduras to Guatemala. Some of us were taken by the stark graphics of this pier.

The people, as always, are so photogenic. We always ask permission before photographing them, and often, they shake their heads or say, “No thank you.” We respect that. There are many who love to be photographed, so we have plenty of people shots.

This little girl fit right in with the modern era with her toy cell phone. Cell phones are very prevalent here, as there aren’t phone lines in most of the villages.

This must be one of the smallest post offices anywhere, thatched, of course. We were enchanted by it.

We were shown through the little museum and got a very detailed account of how cassava is made. The cassava plant is an integral part of the Garifuna culture and is used in all their ceremonies. We were also shown into the thatched communal building where all the sacred events take place. We were allowed in, as Clifford and Alvin had gotten permission from the ancestors. We were told that when people photographed inside without permission, their pictures came out blank!

At one of the locations, we met Mr. Paul. Alas, I can neither pronounce nor spell his last name, but he was a lovely man, as you can see from his expression.

Same time, maybe, tomorrow, with tales of more chocolate …

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