Belize's slogan is one land many cultures. Since arriving in Belize we've been immersed in the Mayan Culture and today was about being exposed to the Garifuna Culture. The Garifuna are descendants of Carib Indians and West Africans who escaped Spanish slave ships wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent in 1635. In 1763, when the British invaded, the Garífuna were exiled to Roatán in 1798. From there, they migrated to mainland Honduras, and continued along the coast -- to Guatemala, Nicaragua and arriving in Belize by dugout canoe in 1802. The oldest Garifuna community in Belize is in the coastal town of Barranco which sounds like a pretty awesome place to chill out on a Sunday afternoon.
After an amazing morning breakfast at Driftwood Cafe - callaloo omelette, cassava fries and homemade raisin bun - and a charming conversation with a volunteer from Guatemala, we finally connected up with Nicole. She offered to take us to Barranco for lunch and meet up with some friends. The road getting there was a real life version of Splash Mountain. Nicole is obviously an old pro at driving these roads. A heavy rain had fallen most of the night and on and off all morning. Nicole bopped along at a good clip driving in and thru huge water puddles on a rough dirt road sending sprays of muddy water flying in the air. I was riding shotgun and kept expecting to be drenched. Nicole seemed pretty happy to be driving at 30 MPH and not 10, expertly handling the huge potholes and jet ski like sprays. Ah, locals, takes a lot to faze them.
After what seemed a good 45 minutes of teeth rattling we finally reached the end of the road, the village of Barranco. Well at this point, we weren't exactly in the village more like a really interesting home on stilts sitting above a creek. Dawn greeted us on the road and took us through a circuitous path over a boardwalk to her one room kitchen. Well this was certainly fun and different! There was an open fire glowing and lots of great smelling pots were simmering. We met Dawn's daughters, Esperanza and Zephyr, and her friend Kronik who was cooking up some fresh fish (literally just caught). Over freshly squeezed lime juice we got acquainted and by the time lunch was served it felt as if we were old friends. Hard to believe I could be hungry after Jill's breakfast, but how can you turn down rice, beans, fried fish and cooked pumpkin. Dawn even made a homemade cacao cake washed down with a home brew berry wine. What made this whole experience so amazing is that Dawn did this without any running water, electricity, propane or solar. She also pretty much single handedly built her home. You go girl!
Dawn has lived in Barranco for about 5 years and has really embraced the vibe of this Afro-Carribean community. She makes her own soap using local ingredients such as cacao and copal. Her company is called Barranco Botanicals. After this amazing lunch a stroll through town was in order. We walked to the pier, along the shoreline and finally arrived at a little thatched home on the sea. The person who owned it wasn't home, but no worries, everyone made themselves at home anyway. Several other people soon joined us and we spent quite a while chilling on the deck, listening to some good music, and enjoying the lazy sun drenched afternoon. Eventually it was suggested that we should get a proper tour of this village of 150 or so people. Kronik showed us around pointing out the temple, post office and community center until we finally came upon the local store/bar. Seemed like a good time to make some more new friends and share a Belizian stout. Everyone was so incredibly laid back and friendly. Barranco seems to be one of those places where you could come for a visit on a Sunday afternoon and find yourself staying for 5 years wondering where the time went. In many ways it's like Big Sur. Not in environment, but in spirit. Barranco is a state of mind.
Since coming to Belize I've been welcomed in several Mayan homes and now into the homes and hearts of the Garifuna community. Perhaps I need to extend my stay. I understand there's still the Creole and Mestizo people I need to learn about. Ya mon'.
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