Today was another full day, starting with the market in Punta Gorda — “PG” as some of the locals call it — and ending with Abelina and Juan’s chocolate around the corner from the Lodge. In between, we had lunch with Gomier at his wonderful veggie-and-fish restaurant in PG, dropped off two of our participants who had to leave a half a day early at the airport, and watched Andrea make pottery the way her grandmother taught her last year shortly before she died.

It was the birthday of one of our participants today, so dinner was a little more leisurely than normal, not that we ever rush through dinner. Then, there was imaging, the daily critique, and exporting the daily picks and what we call the Purple People Eaters onto a stick for our Students’ Gallery that will go up in another week or so.

We have to finish packing for an early-ish departure for Caye Caulker, so this will be …

We weren’t sure if we would go out, as the skies were dark. It had rained torrents last night. But the weather broke, and we piled into The Jungle Bus to head for Blue Creek.

There was a cultural center there and what we would call a boarding school. High school students from all over Toledo, and some beyond, come to learn traditional Mayan ways, both Kekchi and Mopan who speak different languages. We were told that Kekchi usually cannot understand Mopan, but Mopan can sometimes understand Kekchi.

The students also learn entrepreneurial skills, computer programs, and other elements of our so-called modern life.

Alas, the students were on break, but two from Blue Creek came in traditional Mopan dress to

It is hard not to come to Belize and not see some Mayan ruins. Some have been restored to the point that they don’t look real. Lubaantun, where we went, is an excellent example of ruins. No, there aren’t any tidy pyramids, but there are superb examples of stone work.

Antonio, our guide for those of you new to the blog, related the history of this amazing site to our group. They were fascinated,

As Arnie and I worked with people, some asked where we had done this or that shot last year, but we always encourage them to make their own photographs

I did another image for our exhibition next summer, Tropical Impressions from Belize. I can’t wait to see it printed!