Eventually, the day came when I simply had to go to Copper Bank to pay my respects to Mrs. Lowe. So I enlisted the aid of Odinga Lumumba, who had been to the village, as guide, and I asked him to invite Smokey Joe for the ride early Tuesday morning.

Well, Mr. Lumumba brought Smokey Joe at 7 a.m., but Mr. Lumumba also informed that he had other business to attend to that morning. So it was Smokey and I hitting the Northern Highway alone. So much for the best-laid plans.

Coming out of Orange Walk Town, I called Steve Nembhard in San Joaquin. We stopped by Nembhard?s home, and he offered to show us the way. No doubt Estevan also saw an opportunity to talk some current politics, but we?ll let that be.

Copper Bank is nine miles east of a point on the Northern Highway just before you reach Corozal Town. A little more than halfway there, you meet the ferry, and the ride was actually fun, and educational. Nembhard explained that this ferry crosses the New River, which empties into the Caribbean Sea a short distance south of Corozal Town. He said that the barges of sugar from the Tower Hill Factory in Orange Walk Town come up the same river on their way to the sea, from whence they are towed south to Stake Bank.

After you cross the river or the ferry, the road gets rougher. Anne Lowe was hard to find. The great Nembhard had to end up doing what I would have done from the get go if he had not been available ? get a guide.

Anne Lowe?s property is on the seafront. (Copper Bank is a village which does a lot of fishing.) Her property is beautiful. It is somewhat isolated. I don?t think she is completely safe. Mrs. Lowe said she may move to Cancun in the near future.

Belize is an incredible place. Neither Smokey Joe nor I had ever been to this unique and picturesque village. I say Belize is incredible, because the country is so small and yet there are so many, many Belizean places most of us have never been.

Nembhard was pissed that we didn?t stop off with him on our way back, but I thought his performance as a guide was below par. On the other hand, the fault mostly lies with the Ghanaian revolutionary. He stood us up.

The white lady from Copper Bank never stands us up. For this, we give her much love and maximum respect.

Power to the people.