Punta Gorda

How do I put into words and select pictures that would give you, the reader, an idea of what my life here is like?  As much as I try, I don’t know how successful I will be in sharing the wealth of information I have learned in my (almost) one month here in Belize.  As many of you know, the youth group here traveled to the daughter work located in Punta Gorda, or locally known as PG.  This beautiful region is about a four hour drive from my home here in Guinea Grass; longer if you are taking a slower vehicle like the church bus.  Belize is sectioned off into “districts”, with each district having a capital “city.”   Unlike the United States, we don’t have “cities” but “villages”  most simply a small collection of homes with a few local stores run out of the front of someones home.  

PG is the capital of the Toledo District and is the most southernmost town in Belize. The land is beautiful and mostly rain forrest but extremely poor economy wise.  Right on the water you can see the border of Guatemala from the shore.  The town is populated mostly with Mayan Indians, Guatemalan and Honduras immigrants. There is also a large population from the nearby Caribbean islands. 

The church we visited was comprised of Kekchi Indians from the local town and neighboring villages. These people are very poor, living out of dirt floor shacks and walking to church since they don’t own vehicles.  I got the pleasure of visiting these people a few days after I arrived here in Belize. This last trip I stayed three days, staying at a “resort” that was located on some land owned and run by a group of Mayan Indians. 

Waiting to take our stuff to the “girls dorm” room. Needless to say it wasn’t your normal “five star” hotel. 

One of the Mayan homes on the “resort” land where we stayed. This is actually a nicer home then most in the area. Many are simply made out of dirt floors, tin roofs and bamboo like walls.  For those living in Southern California and have seen the shacks of TJ, Mexico, those homes would be weather then many in the PG area. 

While not luxurious by any standards, it was a pool with clean water and cold. We spent most of the day on Friday swimming and “laying out by the pool.” For those of you that are wondering, no we didn’t have bathing suits so we just went in our street clothes. And no we didn't swim together...the guys and girls took turns using the pool.

Friday evening’s service at the church in PG.  The men sit on one side of the church while the women sit on the other. The “church” is simply a concrete garage with wooden benches that are low to the ground for seats.  

On the way home we took a short cut which included us traveling over this “bridge.” It was held up by wooden posts and the tracks looked like they were coming apart.  Most of us got out of the bus and walked over the bridge in case the bridge couldn’t hold the weight. 

One of two rivers we have to cross on our way to PG. Due to recent floods and storms the older bridge was destroyed (the remains you can see sticking out of the water).  This bridge is even smaller and more rickety then the one pictured above. There is always people bathing and washing in the water when we drive by. 

A typical home on the way to PG and even around Belize in general. Most homes are small or constantly in the process of construction. Most people build as they have the money so homes may not be done for years.  

It was a long journey there and back. The bus blew a tire on the way home which left us stranded on the side of the road for about two hours. Lorraine Joiner decided to simply take a nap....