I find myself wanting to linger here in Placencia, yet the road calls us to move on to Punta Gorda, in the south. we spent yesterday and the day before exploring the village and venturing out to George's crawl Caye. Lisa arranged for George's cousin to take us out to their island for the day where we snorkeled and explored for much of the day. the island is about 15 miles from the beach here and is about 14 acres. George has cleared about half of the island and built it up since buying it in the early 90's. He and his help have worked to build a caretaker home as well as a couple of other buildings for them and one for those who want to visit. The snorkeling off of this island is phenomenal and much of the coral reef is living and thriving with sea life. We were able to see tarpon (5-7) large large fish that were cruising in and out of the coral valleys. Andrew, tried to catch a lobster for lunch but the water was a little chilly. The day was perfect, with a slight breeze which we enjoyed from our hammocks in the Palapa. The boat ride back was enjoyed a bit more as we savored our fresh caught conch. Later that night we visited all of the Mayan vendors that were scattered along the sidewalk selling their goods. Since being here we have learned that many of these folks do not make the goods they are selling but rather obtain them en mass from the Guatemala border. Unfortunately i didn't pick up on this until i had made a couple of "authentic handmade baskets!" We did meet George's nephew who was carving the native wood into various figures, these were definitely authentic and of great quality. The day yesterday was spent lounging and tasting the local fare, fish empenadas and creole chicken sold on the street Brenda makes a great grilled creole flavored rib rack! I finished the day with fresh bread from John the baker, a local fixture in the community.
Today we will take the Hokey Pokey and pick up a bus in Independence headed for PG. Tomorrow we will meet up with demdats doinit and set up the two day Mayan village visit. While in the village we will sleep in hammocks, learn to make corn tortillas, and possibly work some on local crafts or helping in the village with the children. we have brought a few books for the children and I will be very happy to leave them as I have carted them around for the past two weeks all over BZ! take care and stay warm!
