One Love

The Great PunkyDunky was right when he told his parents about Corn Island and the Caribbean Islands of Central America. Livingston, Guatemala, isn't an island, but it's on the sea, and the Garifuna culture is alive and well, mon, One Love. In the first place, it is beautiful and tropical, on the Caribbean, blue skies, blue water, swooping sea birds, and great food, One Love; in the second place the fish is fresh -- last night a big bowl of tapado, a coconut broth with crabs and shrimps and fish and bananas, and tonight plans for another bowl of the same, OK, OK, Mon; in the third place there are the Garifuna people, black Spanish speakers whose culture descends from slaves kicked off the island of St. Vincent a few hundred years ago. Alex, a young Garifuna rapper and beautiful kid, was our guide today on a daylong hike through Garifuna villages and down to the sea in a canoe and hiking up to waterfalls and back around again. We paused in his friends' hut to listen to Alex's and his friends' music as spliffs the size of burritos got passed around (we weren't offered any). We met his grandfather, the master drummer. We ate lunch sitting on a chair facing the ocean. We walked through waterfalls and jumped in and swam. We heard Alex's amazing story and tonight we'll hear more when we go hear his band which starts at 9:30, IF we can stay awake. It was a lot of walking, One Love.

Of course, the hotel's hot water isn't working. Of course, the one ATM machine in the town broke down this morning. Of course, there is the usual beachtown craziness going on, with the occasional robbery, like yesterday on the canoe that we took today. None of this matters. The sun is about to go down. The first band starts at 7. We'll eat at 8. Go see Alex at 9. Then, it's onto the river tomorrow for the ride in a launch back to the real world, to Rio Dulce to catch another bus for the ruins of Tikal. One Love.

The Great Plotnik and The Great Ducknik officially put into the world the hope that they and their children can some day come back to Livingston, Guatemala. If Corn Island is this cool, it must be truly One Love.