Orlando's land

Clem, Orlando and Simon holding a coconut, plantain and nothing, respectively.
We had a lovely morning out on a windswept, drizzly but still sweaty day, travelling in a dug-out canoe with Orlando and his son Clem, to their land near to Pearl Lagoon. Orlando is the community guide in the Misquito village of Awas. The windy weather meant that we could use a black, bin-bag material, sail to bob across the lake. From the shore, it was a good half hour hike to Orlando's patch of land. Here he grows yucca, which is the main carbohydrate in their diet, and accompanies fish stews.Orlando harvesting yucca, a root vegetable, also known to us as cassava It's easy to farm. Once the roots have been harvested, a section of the stem is cut off clean and re-planted straight in the ground. It soon takes root, and in another few months, the yucca is ready, and the process can begin again.

Orlando's little hut for relaxing in and cooking lunch, looking a bit worse for wear following Hurricane Ida last November.

Clem with a wild banana plant. The fruit is inedible but the flowers are very pretty.

Orlando visits the land most days, after fishing. In addition to yucca, coconut and plantain, he also has sugar cane, pineapple, tropical apples, a local fruit (called bread fruit eaten fried with meals. Sadly we didn't get to sample this), bananas and something he called a pear, though we don't think it would have looked like the pears we know. During our trip, he kept our energy levels up with coconut water fresh from the palm, tropical apples and sugar cane to suck on. He was a great guy working hard to bring a little extra money into the community through tourism.