25 YEARS AGO ON AMBERGRIS CAYE   BY ANGEL NUÑEZ

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Scouts

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The Scouts used the same headquarters as the nuns, a large wooden building where our Catholic Church now stands. The San Pedro Roman Catholic Church was a wooden building with a U-shape facing the sea. The left side was the church; the middle the kitchen and dorms; and the right side was called the Scout Room appropriately named because it was their headquarters. It was locked up when they left the San Pedro and we got to use it for about one entire year as our classrooms when Hurricane Hattie destroyed our school in 1961. Underneath the church building it was fenced and there the scouts stored their canoes and paddles etc.

Every morning, responding to a bugle call, the scouts lined up in uniform in front of the police station for a salute to the flag of British Honduras and the Union Jack to the tune of a bugle band. The San Pedro children loved this ceremony and admired the scout's musical talents.

The scouts then attended mass, which was celebrated at the primary school, a building situated between the police station and the sea. The Scouts participated in a variety of sea activities. There were dorey races and swimming races and other spectacular land and sea competitions. One in which we delighted was a battle in which they tried to knock their opponents Out of their canoes using a pole with a piece of rubber covering the ends. They also had very long dories, which we called "Pipantes" and could seat some 10 persons. These provided spectacular team races from the shoreline to the reef and back.

The scouts had made a floating raft called a "Katrinca." It was basically several empty drums inside a wooden Structure. It was anchored offshore and provided a swimming target and a resting point midway towards the reef. Of Course, the scouts communicated using "flag language." We learned from them simple commands by placing the flags in a certain position, which meant a letter of the alphabet. In acuality, communication involved spelling out words and messages.

At mid-day, once again to the tune of a bugle call, the scouts lined up for lunch. One of the older scout leaders was brother Jacoby. He was a scholastic and a well loved leader, kind and generous and an excellent chef. Apparently, he had big feet because when as kids we put on our tennis shoes for some "special occasions" our folks teased us a having "Brother Jacoby's feet."

The "Old Man Grouch" was a popular weekly activity by the scouts. At 7 or 8 p.m., on a dark night, the scouts disguised themselves as red Indians with feathers and loincloth. They lit kerosene torches and paraded into the bush- more or less present day Playador Hotel. They carried a coffin, which contained an evil spirit. There was the evil spirit of Pride and the evil spirit of Dishonesty. There were spirits of Arrogance, Lies and Theft. In the bush they used to light a huge bonfire and dance around the fire prior to burying the coffin with the evil spirits. They spoke in strange languages, danced Indian dances and acted weirdly. We followed at a distance, inquisitive, yet scared as hell.

The scouts made many friendships in San Pedro and their departure also brought moments of sadness. Those few shells that the nuns did not take were given to the scouts as remembrances. And there returned peace and quietness that was so typical of the quaint, sleeping village of San Pedro.

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