while providing a sustainable lifestyle for locals, to provide income through jobs in tourism, to garner funds for a Homesite Farmer's Fund which will be used for developing permaculture farming techniques which will replace slash-and-burn and will be intended to serve as an ecological model for others. The trail will begin at the end of Main Street on the town's outskirts and will then head inland through mangrove swamps and along a creek to a Maya home, where local customs and slash-and-burn will be discussed, and then on to a new permaculture site. Next will be a mini-zoo and then a stop at an East Indian farm where locals will discuss their history and lifestyle. At St. Vincent Block - a tract of land deeded by Garifuna forefathers for farming use - there will be a replica of a traditional Garifuna village (circa 1920) where such activities as cassava bread making will be demonstrated. Next will be a visit to Toledo Community College; the trail will culminate with a canoe trip down a quarter-mile strip of river to the coast. Campgrounds will be located at both ends of the trail and guesthouses are to be constructed at St. Vincent Block which will also be known at Habiabara Garinagu Cerro, meaning 'Garinagu Village' in Garifuna.

Entertainment, geared towards cruise ship passengers and individual travelers, will feature music, dance, food, and drink for US$20 per person. For information on the trail's current status contact the Garinagu Village at Nature's Way Guest House (tel. 501-7-22119; P.O. Box 75, Punta Gorda.)

ACCOMMODATION:
Located on the seaside far past the town center, one of the best places to stay is low- budget-priced Nature's Way Guest House (tel. 501-7- 22119) which charges around US$8 single and US$17 double. Equipped with bunk beds, many of its attractive rooms face the sea. A large selection of charters is offered. One of the best places to stay smack dab in the middle of town is the attractive, 12- room St. Charles Inn (tel. 501-7-22197), 21 King Street. The 10-room inexpensively-priced Charlton's Inn (tel. 501-7-22197) is at 9 Main Street. Tate's Guest House (tel. 501-7-22196), run by postmaster William Tate, has rooms with A/C and cable TV for around US$20 double. It's around the corner from the St. Charles. The Punta Caliente Hotel & Restaurant (tel. 501-7-22561), 108 Jos é Nu ñ ez Street, is clean, very friendly, and has inexpensive rooms. Just one street over and run by a relative, the Circle "C" (tel. 501-7-22726), 117 West Street, charges around US$12.50 double for rooms with shared bath and US$17.50 to $25 for rooms with private bath. The most expensive hotel is The Travellers' Inn (tel. 501-7- 22568, fax 501-5-22814) which is next to the Punta Caliente. Its attractive A/C rooms have cable TV, and there's a restaurant. Rates are around US$52.50 single, US$67.50 double, including tax. Three good values for low budget travelers are Mahung's Hotel, 11 North Street corner of Main (tel. 501-7-22044, P.O. Box 21, Punta Gorda); 7-room Verdes Guest House (tel. 501-7-22069), 22 Main Street at Middle, and the 8-room Foster's Hotel (tel. 501-7-22117), 19 Main Street. For an unforgettable sojourn, Man Man, corner of King and Far West Streets, rents out the beds and hammocks in the hut in back of his house. Other hotels include the Wahima Hotel, 11 Front Street, and the Isabela Hotel, also on Front. You can also camp for a reasonable fee at Arvin's Landing just outside of town to the north. The Orange Point Marina Resort, near the VOA complex, should be open by now. FOOD: The best place to eat has the best atmosphere. A meal with Man Man is an unforgettable experience. Located at the corner of King and Far West Streets, it's marked by the 'Five Star Restaurant. Recipes by Duncan Hines' sign by the entrance. Serving whatever he can get fresh from the market and his garden, Man Man and his wife, both Garinagus, dish out hearty and healthy portions of food. If you're vegetarian, they will cater to your tastes. If not you may have the opportunity to sample such local delicacies as cow's foot soup. The second-best place to eat is the screened-windowed unmarked restaurant next to Verde's Guest House. Reina's is a greasy spoon popular for breakfast. Open only evenings, Bobby's Restaurant sometimes has conch soup. Serving overpriced Chinese food, the Mira Mar Restaurant is at 95 Front Street. Also try the Kowloon. Goyo is near the main plaza as is the Palma, a store which features snacks such as ganaches. Near the gas station at the beginning of town, Lucille's Kitchen has reasonable prices. Lucille herself works on her sewing machine behind the bar when she's not serving. Shaiba's is classier but comparatively expensive. Granny's Kitchen across from Shaiba's serves breakfast as well as rice and bean dishes for US$3.75. You can also try the small food stall set right next to Palavi's Hotel which sells Belizean food as well as flour tortillas every evening. The Morning Glory Restaurant, 59 Front St., also provides Belizean meals and opens for breakfast. For snacks try the Wahima and Punta Gorda Bakery. Just out of town near the soccer field, the Roundhouse is a popular bar and restaurant. A bakery is up the road from the Texaco station along the coast at the town's entrance. Just down from the Clock Tower, the Ice Cream Parlor serves ice cream and sandwiches.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Set across from Traveller's Inn, the Massive Rock Disco is the most active place in town; video movies are shown in the early evening. South Side Disco is the second-liveliest place in town. Bobby's sees a lot of action as does the neighboring Starlight. The Mira Mar is also a popular spot for imbibing.

SERVICES:
Dem Dats Doin has a tourist information office (tel. 501-7-22470) in the town's center next to the ferry pier. Extremely helpful, they're open daily (except Thursday and Sunday) from 7:30 a.m to 11:30 a.m. They also have cards and attractive and impressive boxed insects (butterflies and large beetles) on sale. Ask about "the indigenous experience" as well as their homestay. They also have a number of tours as does Nature's Way Guest House. Charter by Land/Sea is at 12 Front St. (tel. 501-7- 22070, P.O. Box 18, Punta Gorda). A newcomer on the scene is the Toledo Explorer's Club, 46 Jos é Mar’ a Street. It is not so much a club as a tour agency which offers tours and camping trips; customized trips are available. Jack and Janet Nightingale (P.O. Box 11, Punta Gorda) offer sailing trips aboard the Juanita; inquire at Arvin's Landing. Belize Hotel and Tourism Centre (tel. 501-7-22834) can make travel arrangements. Requena's Charter Service (P.O. Box 18, Punta Gorda), 12 Front Street, offers boat charters and trips. They also have runs to Puerto Barrios three times a week. A Toledo Tour Guide Association was formed in early 1995 and now has about 30 members.

SHOPPING:
A small branch of the National Handicraft Centre is at the corner of Jos é Mar’ a and Prince Streets. PG shops seem to sell the same items, mostly imported from Guatemala.

LEAVING PG: Z-Line buses (tel. 501-7-22165) depart daily at 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. arriving Belize City at around 2:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. The fare to Belize City is US$11; to Independence, US$4.50; and to Belmopan, US$9.50. James buses leave at noon on Tuesday and Friday and at 6.am. on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, from the terminal which is opposite the police station. The late departures allow passengers arriving from Guatemala to make connections. All stop in Belmopan, Dangriga, and Mango Creek. These buses have more leg room than their competitors, and their conductors are trained as tour guides. The San Antonio bus departs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 12:30 p.m. for the 1 hour, 20 minute trip; the San Jose bus leaves at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday. The San Pedro Columbia bus departs at 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Service to all these locations may have improved by the time you read this; times may have changed as well so be sure to inquire. Hitchhiking is a viable if slow option. Wait at the bakery along the coast road on the way out of town to the north. By air: Both Tropic and Maya fly. To reserve and purchase Tropic tickets contact Heston Wagner at his shop next to the St. Charles Inn at 23 King Street. In addition, for both Maya and Tropic tickets contact Penell & Sons at 50 Main Street. Also, both Maya and Tropic have offices at the airstrip.

By boat: The boat for Guatemala leaves on Tuesday and Friday at around 2 p.m., and it takes 2 hours. Fare is around US$6.50. It returns those same days in the morning and arrives around 10 a.m. The Tuesday boat tends to be faster as there is less demand. The ferry ticket agent (Indita Maya, tel. 501-7-22065) is at 24 Middle Street. Sales start at 9:30 a.m. Be sure to buy your ticket as soon as you arrive. If you need a Guatemalan visa, you're out of luck. Requena's Charter Service (P.O. Box 18, Punta Gorda), 12 Front Street, also has runs to Puerto Barrios three times a week. The immigration office is next to the post office and near the pier. Buy some quetzales from the female moneychanger or from passengers arriving from Guatemala and bring some food and water for the boat as none is available on board. Private water taxis can be hired to Honduras as well as to Guatemala.

Health note: Malaria is fairly common in Toledo. It is wise to take Larium or other prophylaxis. Dengue fever is also present here.

Harry Pariser is author of Adventure Guide to Belize (one of the most-comprehensive and most-current of all Belize guides, and from which this article is adapted and excerpted) and other guides to Central America and the Caribbean, all published by Hunter.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH IN SOUTHERN BELIZE

By HARRY PARISER

Many places in Toledo District surrounding PG have much to offer. Because of the paucity of public transport, getting around Toledo can be difficult unless you have your own vehicle. However, people will stop to give you a lift. As an area Toledo continues to grow and diversify. When it is finally resurfaced, the Southern Highway is likely to radically transform this area. Currently, dolomite is being mined in the district, and cacao is being exported to a British firm. Controversy ensued in 1994 when it was disclosed that Malaysian businessman Ting Jack Heng had been granted a concession to log some 200,000 acres near the Guatemalan border. After protest spearheaded by the Belize Alliance of Conservation Non-Government Organizations, the concession was revoked.

ATTRACTIONS:
Operating until 1978, the nearly-intact Saddle Back Sugar Mill is 1.5 miles from town past the airstrip. As it's on private land, permission should be obtained before entry. The remains of Seven Hills Sugar Mill can be reached by boat; contact Bobby Polonio at Bobbie's Restaurant for guided tours. The southern end of the barrier reef and the Sapodilla and Ranguana Cayes may be also reached by boat.

Trekking: One challenging hike is from San Miguel, north of Punta Gorda, through a chicle-gathering area to the Valley of Esperanza. Takes one or two days. Contact Alfredo Romero or his uncle in San Miguel for more information. It's also possible to hike from Santa Cruz to Blue Creek; check with the TEA for information.

Village Guesthouse Program: One way to explore the area is with the Village Guesthouse Program designed by the Toledo Ecotourism Association Village Guesthouse Ecotrail Program. Lodges have been built in Laguna, San Pedro Columbia, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Miguel. The basic lodges are generally thatched with cohune palm, and there are eight bunk beds in each; men and women are segregated, and the charge is US$8. Bathrooms are detached. Each meal - all with different Maya families - costs US$3. Tours of local attractions are US$2.50. Musical performances are also available. Access to the villages is either by local transportation or by charter. Many visitors to Belize maintain that a stay in the village was the highlight of their trip. For information and reservations contact TEA, P.O. Box 75, Punta Gorda, or call 501-7-22119. While in PG, stop by Nature's Way and chat with Chet. Be sure to give him (or mail him) the evaluation form so that the program may be monitored.

Sights and attractions: Laguna offers a cave with pictographs and another with bats, a swamp with great birding, and hiking. Santa Cruz has a park (the R’ o Blanco), waterfalls and pools, as well as nearby Uxbenka ruins. At San Pedro Columbia, you can visit Lubaantun, ride in a canoe, and visit old cacao groves. San Miguel offers visits to caves, hikes to Lubaantun, and river canoeing. The most remote of the Maya villages participating, San Jos é may only be reached by horse or on foot at times; it offers hiking.

The Indigenous Experience: This innovative project is the brainchild of Alfredo and Yvonne Villoria (see Dem Dats Doin below) and is an attempt to facilitate contact and cultural exchange between locals and outsiders. For a US$5 fee they connect you with a Maya family homestay. You can stay with a family, share a lunch or dinner of pumpkin stew and corn tortillas or a breakfast of eggs and tortillas. As there are no special facilities or tourist amenities offered, nor is there any privacy, it's not for everyone. You'll bathe by moonlight in the cool river, stoop on the outhouse and use a corncob to clean yourself (if you wish), watch tortillas being shaped by hand, sleep in a hammock in the same room with the kids, and generally experience life in a similar fashion to the way it's lived by billions all over the world. If you wish you can have a "hands on experience" such as picking corn in the fields, harvesting coffee and cacao beans, threshing rice stalks, or chopping firewood - all of the innumerable activities that make up a sustainable subsistence lifestyle.

Rates (of which all the money provides badly needed income for the family) are US$5 for a hammock and US$2 for each meal. For more information contact the Villorias (tel. 501-7-22470; P.O. Box 73, Punta Gorda) and enclose US$3 to help defray duplicating costs. If you're already in PG, visit their offices by the ferry pier (under 'services' above). Ask about their newly operative 'Hamaca & Tortilla' network which will enable you to stay with villagers in San Antonio, Santa Cruz, San Jose, National Luum Ca, San Pedro Columbia, Silver Creek, and Santa Elena simply by contacting the Village Council Chairman (Alcalde). Again, remember to fill out the evaluation forms. If you have complaints and/or suggestions, be sure to let them know. Note: Oh's Traveller's Farm has opened in Chano Creek in San Pedro Columbia village. It has five rooms.

Forest Home: The remains of this settlement are to the north of Punta Gorda. Founded in 1867 by defeated Confederate exiles, many of the original settlers at this site, discouraged by the extreme climactic differences and the rigors of existence, quickly returned. Mississippi Methodists bolstered their numbers, and the number of estates operating sugar mills had grown to 12 by 1870. Falling sugar prices sent production into a tailspin in 1890, and the Methodists refused to turn to producing moonshine, preferring to either dump the molasses or feed it to their cattle instead. The community finally faded in 1910, and only traces remain today.

Nim Li Punit: Lying to the northeast of PG, this Maya site's name (meaning Big Hat) comes from the carved figure wearing a large headdress on the site's tallest stela. Only partially cleared, this two-plaza ceremonial center features at least 25 stelae, eight of which are carved. One - apparently never raised owing to a fault - stretches 31 feet and is the largest yet unearthed. Of the several groups of buildings, only the southernmost can be visited. While one structure is 36 feet high, another is only 9 feet high but 215 feet long. The site's center consists of a ceremonial group and two civic and elite ones. Similar architecturally to Lubaantun, the site was discovered by oil workers in 1976. Although initially surveyed by Norman Hammond, in-depth excavation did not begin until Richard Leventhal worked here from 1983-1986. It's 25 minutes north of PG about half a mile off the west side of the Southern Highway at Mile 75. The only way to get here is by the bus running to Belize City, or by car. There are no facilities. There are usually guides/caretakers on site. Admission is free, although most visitors offer the guide a dollar or two. The Maya village of Indian Creek is nearby, and you may see women washing their clothes in the stream flowing along the site's border. Mayan kids (and adults) often sell handicrafts near the site. Whitney's store is just below the turnoff for the ruins. A sign on the highway points out the trail; if you're heading south, you'll know you've passed it if you see the Whitney Lumber mill on the east side of the highway. The beginning of the site is marked by a large ceiba. There's great birdwatching in the area, particularly from March to July when the fruit trees are producing.

Big Falls: Located just to the south of Nim Li Punit at the point where the Southern Highway crosses the Rio Grande. The nation's only readily accessible warm medicinal mineral springs are on the Alaman Farm nearby. Ask Mr. Alaman at the General Store for permission to camp. There's also a small hotel here.

Dem Dats Doin: One of the most unusual places you'll visit anywhere in the world is right here, just 1.25 mi. down the entrance road to San Pedro Columbia village - just look for the sign. In the course of the past 14 years, Alfredo and Yvonne Villoria have created their own appropriate technology farm which uses sustainable agricultural techniques. Both grew up in Hawaii but first met in L.A.; while Alfredo is of Filipino stock, Yvonne is German-Hawaiian. Dissatisfied with stifling, routine jobs, they traveled over much of the Caribbean and Mexico searching for a place to settle. They finally selected Belize because its British-based legal system offered them security. Giving themselves five years to make a go of it, they're still here and doing quite well. Between the biogas digester and the photovoltaics on the roof, they've reached 95% energy self-sufficiency. Conscious of the need to change agricultural practices among the Maya, they offer free tours to educators and children, exposing them to appropriate technology techniques.

The farm: For a US$5 donation, you'll get a personal tour of this inspirational place. During the course of the visit, Yvonne and Alfredo display flow charts and illustrations to help you digest what they're showing you. You begin in their house which theyÑlike everything else you'll see - built by studying books. Supported by rosewood posts, its design is nearly as remarkable as the methane-cooled refrigerator from which they pull the lemonade served to guests. Nearby is a homemade ferroconcrete wash basin, a fuel- conserving Lorena stove, and the insect dryer in which captured bugs are processed for sale. The first stop on this demonstration of a 'Self Sufficient Integrated Farm System' is the pig pen and methane vat. The giant hogs produce excrement which is fed into the biogas digester, which produces methane sent through a pipe to a 'floating drum' storage container. Filtered, the gas is used for cooking, refrigeration, and lights; the sludge/fertilizer goes to the fruit trees and the garden. The pigs are either slaughtered when still relatively small or when full grown are sold out of the area, so as to not compete with the local market.

Nearby are the ferroconcrete-reinforced fish ponds. The plan for these call for raising tilapia to feed the pigs. Since these fish have not yet been granted immigrant visas owing to governmental restrictions, the ponds are filled with ordinary fish for the present. The more than 70 trees are grown on the property include governor's plum, white custard apple, rambutan, acerola (Barbados cherry), macadamia, Ceylon gooseberry, Indian juju, three varieties of starfruit, soursop, Malay apple, anatto, passion fruit, guava, tropical almond, flying potatoes, and frangipani. Plants in the primarily ornamental garden include pineapple, bamboo, torch ginger, and sweet potatoes. The latter are grown in large tires; when it comes time to harvest them, they are flipped over. No chemicals or artificial fertilizers are used; jicama, a tuber which acts as a natural insecticide, is ground into a powder and sprinkled on the plants. There's also a small but attractive orchid grove as well as a plant nursery from which cuttings are sold to locals. Rice hulls from a rice mill a couple of miles away are brought in to use as mulch. The whole tour takes less than 2 hours. To book, either take a chance and drop in, write them at P.O. Box 73 in Punta Gorda, or visit them in their office at the ferry pier in PG. The Villorias also run a small and inexpensive bed and breakfast operation as well as supervising the

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