A Most Dangerous People

We heard the howler monkeys for the first time this morning at 3:18 a.m. If I hadn’t watched a video clip with the sound of a howler monkey two days before, I would have been scared out of my mind. The sound they make to protect their territory is disturbing. It sounds nothing like a monkey, but more like a sound from the X Files or the sound a T Rex might make (thanks Nichole Parker for the reference). Actually, they are getting an early start tonight as they are going crazy right now at about 9:25 p.m. Just hearing them is worth the trip.

We spent the day today visiting Dangriga and the Gulisi Garifuna Museum (www.ngcbelize.org). We had the pleasure of talking with the Museum Director Peter Ciego. Mr. Ciego was so informative and shared the history of how the Garinagu, (plural of Garifuna), came to Belize and withstood efforts of genocide by the British and have managed to sustain and preserve their culture to this day. He presented a section of text from a British document stating that they were “a most dangerous people”. Yes, I think you will find that people who fight back when you try to take their land from them can and, perhaps, should be dangerous. The museum is just one of a number of steps that community leaders in Belize have created to sustain the Garifuna culture, in addition to a national holiday that is now celebrated by all Belizeans, whether they have Garifuna heritage or not. It was an important part of the course to see how culture can be sustained within a developing country.

We took the opportunity of being close to the Caribbean to jump in for the first time. Thank you so much to our gracious hosts at Jungle Jeanie’s by the Sea (www.junglebythesea.com). Then we returned to Jaguar Creek on the Hummingbird Highway. It is really hard to describe the beauty of the Hummingbird Highway. Surrounded by mountains and dense, lush rainforest, it was impossible to pay attention to all of the speed bumps on the road (there are many), so I’d like to make a public apology to all of the passengers in my van for the few times that we may have hit a bump a bit too fast.

That’s it for tonight. Tomorrow, we go to Belize Natural Energy and the Belize Zoo. More to come tomorrow night.