Honduras Culture

Politilly Bight is a village toward the east end of Roatan. Roatan is one of the Bay Islands of Honduras. Politilly is primarily an English speaking community.

The school took a field trip to the iguana farm. Iguana live on the Bay Islands in the wild, or "bush" as the natives call it. Monkeys live on the island too. This pet is kept in a tourist area, where he enjoys picking peoples' pockets. He knows right where to look to find the pockets and fishes around until he retrieves the contents.

The people are friendly and appreciative of the mission effort. The children enjoy a popcorn feast in the mission house. Clay ovens and outdoor cooking are still in use, but the majority of cooking is done on butane stoves. Things we took for granted in the States are not so easy here, such as getting drinking water and cooking fuel. One of the frequent chores is to bring butane from town. Bottled water for drinking is delivered to the house.

Brother Dennis is plowing a hillside to plant his crop of casavas. This is one of the ways that he makes a living.

Brother Dennis and I used to go out on the sea at night sometimes. We would travel to the spot where he docks the boat and we would go ashore to hunt land crabs with flashlights. Selling crab meat is another significant part of his income. The sea may be a source of recreation for tourists, but it is a source of income and a way of transportation for some islanders. Food from the sea comes in a variety of forms- red snapper, barracuda, jack, goggle eye, shark, conch, lobster, and shrimp.

We raised a pig to eat. I had wanted a pig for years. I had a hard time getting her to eat pig food and corn when she was small. She preferred sugar cane, bananas, banana leaves, and table scraps. She loved boiled crab bodies. We had fresh meat delivered right to our kitchen table. This pork was from a hog that was butchered next door. The meat was cut into pieces with a machete. Notice the banana leaves used to keep the meat off the bottom of the wheel barrow.

Some people choose to make their livings in less honorable ways. The US coast guard patrols, chases, and captures drug runners.

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