Dangriga and Mayflower Bocawina National Park

Overnight we headed south and docked at Dangriga. The day was warm and humid. The group split into several parts -- those headed first to the park for a long and difficult hike to Three Sisters Waterfall (conditions were advertised as slick and treacherous), and those headed first to town. Given my knee, I opted for the medium hike in the afternoon. So off to town we went. Do you like cashews? Then be thankful for Dangriga.

First, however, we needed a bus. There is a very narrow causeway from the land to the dock.

Photos from the bus of a range of housing. Belize is a developing country, which you can see in the variety of dwellings. This region floods, hence the stilts.

We reached our first destination -- the Rodriguez sisters' drum workshop. These two sisters are taking over the business from their father, making traditional Garífuna drums.

We were greeted by drums and a song. Much of the music is traditional punta, also some punta rock. Some of the group did join the dance at the end.

Carving new drums. New technologies (here, chainsaws), mean that the process is faster and more drums can be made from a single log. Earlier techniques meant burning away the inside of the log. They use mahogany, mayflower, and cedar, mostly, then skins from goat, deer, and sheep for the tops. This one is cedar. Oh did the shavings smell good!

Yes, it's really this beautiful.

Then our group headed to the Gulisi Garífuna Museum to learn about Garífuna culture. This was completely new to everyone in the group but me and the guides. The Garífuna are a culture sometimes called Black Indians: they are descendants of the Arawak and Carib Indians and Africans. Like many cultures, theirs is a rich history and one that they are working to preserve and maintain. Next to the museum is a new immersion school. Excellent!

The statue out front notes the drumming heritage. Inside we met Audrey, a true treasure. We had a lovely conversation, and I hope will get the chance to work together someday.

Cassava is a staple food of the Garífuna, but seldom made today by the traditional process, which is long and involved and takes two to three days. Cassava is a starchy root, similar to yuca and manioc. It's used for bread, drink, etc.

I really loved this painting. It shows the woman of a village gathered to process cassava the traditional way. It's quite lovely.

Also, some traditional dress --fabrics and cuts suited for a warm and humid climate.

After a great local lunch, we proceeded to Mayflower Bocawina National Park. Here the rest of the group split into two parts: one doing a moderate hike and one doing a gentle hike to birdwatch. Those who hiked first overlapped with us at lunch and headed to Dangriga Town.

Stunning heliconia, bird of paradise, and ginger plants lined the way.

We also found these peppercorn-type plants, a type of inflorescence. They did smell good.

Ooh, a malachite butterfly! It's a relative of the monarch. How nicely it posed for us. Sadly, looks like this one had met with some misfortune along the way.

Yup. Bananas. We also saw some birds, in particular, a white collared puffbird, an olive-backed euphonia, a golden-hooded tanager, and a bat falcon.

The tropical rain forests are really picturesque -- so green and vibrant. When you're surrounded by this vibrancy, it's easy to believe that most of the world's biodiversity is indeed found in these tropical hotspots.