To get to this area, you must first take a plane to Waspam, a town of 5,000 with little more than a dirt runway, a few churches, two discos and three schools. The next village lies about three miles away and to get to it, and to most of the other villages, you must travel by canoe or by foot. In the rainy season, soaked roads and trails become impassable by foot, bike and even four-wheel drive vehicles. All sense of time vanishes the moment you arrive. Everywhere you look, it seems that people are waiting for something to happen.
People sit in hammocks, staring wearily at the dusty dirt road.
The only signs that a moment has passed come when the church or school bell rings or when the roosters begin their chorus just before dawn. It is another symbol that time stands still, that these people who live in one of the poorest areas of one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere still wait for a better life. A Miskitto man sits with his new stash of food. Reaching these isolated indigenous communities has posed huge challenges for relief agencies trying to help them recover from Hurricane Mitch. Sometimes they get stuck and an oarsman has to push against a rock to break free.