We had a leisurely morning, some people sleeping in, others getting up early to do a bird walk with Antonio. Some wanted help with Lightroom, and others just chilled out on their hammocks at their cabanas.

After lunch, we headed off to Barranco, a Garifuna (ga-RI-fue-NAH) village down the coast a mere 12 miles from the Guatemalan border. We could look across at that country’s mountain layers, but it was the village we came to see, its culture, and the drummers who won the drumming competition in Belize three times in a row.

Alvin greeted us at his house. He was our host last year in the village, and we were glad to see him again. He is so interesting and has so many stories to tell about his people.

The Garinagu (plural of Garifuna and pronounced in a similar manner) trace their ancestry to African slaves and Amerindians,

Antonio, as many of you know by now, is the same guide we had last year. He is used to working with our group. If we head somewhere, and it is a half-hour ride, it is likely to take us at least an hour for all the stops we make for photographs.

In fact, I don’t think we had gotten more than ten minutes from the lodge, when someone cried out, “STOP!”

The mists were on the mountains, and the lovely magentas and yellows contrasted beautifully with the greens and mountain layers.

As some scrambled out of The Jungle Bus, others soon followed, afraid they might miss a shot. We walked up and down the road and into the field to …

This morning, we woke up to no rain. Hurray! Yes, it was cloudy, but cloudy is good for photographs, especially when you are going to visit an organic cacao farm.

“Stop,” we all cried to Antonio, our wonderful guide from last year, as we saw a group of small school children gathered along the road. Antonio asked if we could photograph them. They were adorable, and as soon as we showed them the photos, they crowded around, all wanting to see at once. One has to be careful of one’s camera, because they all want to press buttons.

As we piled into The Jungle Bus, a young man came by carrying a load of wood on his very muddy bike.

We jounced along on the dirt roads, enjoying good conversation, telling jokes, and generally having a good time. After heading up a narrow track, we arrived at our host Eladio’s Agouti Cacao Farm. Eladio is one of those amazing people knows so much about the symbiotic relationship of creatures and plants. He is considered a local legend for the way he does …