El Pequeno Barco

"Oh Lord, protect me for the sea is so wide, and my boat, so small."

a fisherman's prayer

We spotted her at the water's edge in Belize, while on our pilgrimage to ruins of greater notoriety. I'd forgotten all about this little boat until a day later. I flipped through digital images of Mayan temples and pyramids and  masks; there she was, proud in her decay.

I wondered what secrets she kept. Had she been a fisherman's skiff? Perhaps laid to rest by a fisherman's son after the owner's passing? Was she washed ashore by hurricane or typhoon? Or was she merely discarded by a child who outgrew her when deeper waters called?

Whatever her story, some caring soul had dragged her ashore and propped her in this place of honor, to weather with time and termite until land and sea reclaim her. And I, for one, cherish the discovery of such an exquisite treasure.