Dandriga...

As I understand it, the town of Dangriga is one of a half dozen Garifuna settlements in Belize.  The Garifuna are descendants of Carib and Arawak tribes, found principally in the Caribbean islands, and West African slaves.  Although they fought the British for years, they were finally forcibly removed from the island of St. Vincent in 1797 and deposited on the bay islands of Honduras.  They later migrated to Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua.  Dance, drumming and remnants of African religious beliefs are combined with traditional Catholicism into the Garifuna religious culture.  This is obviously a much abbreviated description of the Garifuna people, but you can read more about this interesting people and their history at the National Garifuna Council of Belize website.


My photography buddy

I arrived in Dangriga fairly early in the morning and not wanting to leave my belongings in an unattended car, I checked into the Pelican Beach Resort and then promptly drove back into town to walk around.  The resort is nice and although the main building is fairly old, the building and grounds are very well maintained.  The staff is very friendly and gave the impression that there is nothing they would not do to make sure you are happy.

There is a small river that runs through the middle of town and a fishing pier on the north side.  Near the pier is a community market similar to the one I saw in Punta Gorda.  Since it was nearing lunch time I walked over to the central street where I had seen a small taco stand, stopping at the Belize Bank ATM on the way.

I bought three tacos for $1.50 BZ from to the lady who very carefully wrapped them in foil so as to avoid having them drip on me as I ate.  Her son was playing with the camera feature of his phone and took a picture of me, so I naturally insisted that I be allowed to take a picture of him.  I ate my tacos as I wandered the back streets of town.  Back on the main street was a hardware store named Habet's.  I had heard that a number of hardware stores throughout Belize are owned by immigrant Lebanese.  Sure enough, the gentleman sitting outside the store was wearing a kufi; he gave a cheery “hello” as I passed and waved towards the entrance, inviting me inside.

I found some influence of the Garifuna culture in the signs of the stores.  Combined with the Kriol spoken widely within Belize, I suspect (I’m guessing here) that a sort of shorthand was developed that could be understood by all.  After wandering around on foot, I drove south of town and found a few nicer homes but nothing to indicate an expat community.  The same was true north of town; the resort and airstrip were the last places I could find.  So -- Dangriga does not look promising and I didn’t even find a real estate office in town (I suspect there is at least one, but I did not see it).  I decided to just enjoy the town and see what I could see.  I had asked the lady at the Pelican Beach front desk about any museums or galleries.

I found one of the galleries a street or two towards the ocean from the main road.  The Garinagu Crafts and Art Gallery is not large, but it has one room full of antiques that show a bit of the life of early Garifuna settlers.  Owner Francis Swaso warmly greeted me with a big smile and explained the items displayed in the museum room including the implements for grating and preparing cassava.

The mask and its owner

One of the items immediately grabbed my attention; a pink, wire mesh mask worn in the traditional Jankunu dance.  The dance is a satire of the white foreigners where the dancers dress as colonial slave masters, hence the pink mask to mimic the skin of the Brits, French and Spanish.  I promptly picked out an excellent replica mask for $70.00 BZ.  I have a collection of masks from South Africa, Burma, Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand and other places I have traveled, so this was a real find!

I also went to the Garifuna museum just outside of town that I had passed on the way in.  Although not particularly impressive, there was a lot of information presented and I was the only one there.  I got a personal tour by one of the distant relatives of the matriarchal founder of the first Garifuna settlements in Honduras.  She was quite gracious and didn’t display a hint of impatience even when I asked what must have seemed the stupidest of questions.  After my tour I started at the beginning and read through most of the displays.  Outside I could hear a drumming lesson being conducted for the children of the attached Garifuna school.


Bad picture of an iguana in a tree

After returning to the resort I spent some time on the dock and spied a fairly large iguana (around three to four feet) that is kind of hard to see in this picture, but it was fun watching him climb the tree like it was his own personal territory.  I had a great dinner at the beach-side restaurant followed by a couple of Belikins (this time I stuck with the stout).  I went to bed early with the windows wide open and the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep; I slept like a baby.