Leaving from the meeting point, your first stop will be at the local church, where you can see an exquisite statue showing representatives of all the different ethnic groups of the region offering up their prayers to the same god, and they really all do turn up on Sundays for morning worship. Outside is the local cemetery, where the gravestones have bright colours to bring good luck to the dead (note that none of them are black or red, as these colours represent sadness and blood).

The next stop is in front of a distinctly unimpressive wooden shelter that apparently comes alive when someone dies, when all of the deceased’s relatives gather together here to eat, drink, and be merry. These festivities continue for a week! Do you think that is a bit too much? Well, it is not enough for local Garifuna, as they gather again after 5 years and repeat the ceremony. Is this all? No, it is not. Anytime someone has a dream about the dead person after that period, they gather again and they keep celebrating, probably till someone else dies.

Leaving the dead to their destiny, you continue on your tour around the local Mayan village, where you will see how the locals make drums. Good guides will give you some exotic fruits to eat and point out flowers that close their leaves as you touch them. The tour also includes a ride on a canoe that may not look very stable, but will just about manage to get you to the final stop at Siete Altares (Seven Altars). Here, you can have a refreshing bath in the sweet water before heading along the coast back to the town.

You might be able to visit all these places on your own--the guide will tell you that it is dangerous, but you can make your own decision to pay up or take the risk. Either way, don’t miss it!