White-sand Beach, Turquoise Waters, and a Bottle of Rum...

On the island of Chachauati, the indigenous Garífuna live off the sea using simple dugout canoes and hand lines, as they have for centuries.

Bobby "The Pirate" cut power to the 200-horse Yamaha outboard and raised the prop out of the water, allowing his speedboat--today carrying nothing more ominous than your roving Latin America editor and friends--to drift closer to the island. As usual among these cays offshore from the Honduran mainland, the warm water is crystal clear to an amazing depth, resulting in a brilliant turquoise color as the bright sunlight hits the white-sand bottom.

On shore, we could see people emerging from a small cluster of thatched huts as we approached the white beach, and a few small boys splashed into the water to help pull the boat up onto the sand.

This is the island of Chachauati (formerly called Lower Monitor by the British), and its inhabitants, the indigenous Garífuna. You’ll see Garífuna villages all along the mainland coast of Honduras, with people living off the sea using simple dugout canoes and hand lines, as they have for centuries.

We were greeted by Fausto, the senior craftsman specializing in found jewelry, fashioned from articles collected in the sea. Always prepared for the occasional visitor, his selection was neatly displayed for potential buyers. After I bought a few items, the village leader kindly took me on a walking tour of the small, busy settlement. It was almost lunch time, and the women of the village prepared the noon meal of beans and rice along with grilled fish. If you’d like to spend a little time here, visitors can rent a hut for $25 per night, meals included...certainly a cultural experience you won’t forget.

Believe it or not, we actually found some real estate for sale out here among the cays.

Not far from Chachauati sits Upper Long Cay, a 4-acre island ringed with sparkling narrow, white-sand beaches and clear turquoise waters. Of an original 10 lots for sale, five are still available (a quarter-acre each) for $94,000 each. Except for working cell phones, this island is completely "off the grid," as evidenced by the solar panels and water collection systems on the two homes already built here. If you truly want to get away from it all (it’s 30 minutes by boat to La Ceiba), contact Ron Goben or his wife, Janine, from the IL local office in Honduras at: Honduras@internationalliving.com. Ron and Janine will locate the owners and have them get in touch with you, as these island properties are not being offered publicly or listed with anyone.

As Bobby roared away from the cays and back to La Ceiba, a rum bottle magically appeared and began making the rounds. Noon was a few hours away, but things are, well, different here on the islands.

Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living

P.S. For all of you anthropologists out there who are about to fire off a letter to the editor, I should mention that the Garífuna are not technically "indigenous" to Honduras, as their original roots are in West Africa. Nevertheless, they’ve been accorded the status of indigenous people by the Honduran culture and, in many cases, the Honduran government.