It has been a few months since I last posted any photos. The start of this beautiful New Year of 2011 seems like an ideal opportunity to remedy that situation.
So many photos and so little space. I started out with over 250, and have narrowed down the selection to 144. For those of you into numerology, I didn’t plan the number, it just worked out that way .. 12 times 12 — the 12th blog entry of my writing marathon, and the photos were uploaded in the 12th month of 2010 … Just fun little tidbits.
As usual, all photos are thumbnail images. If you want to view and/or download a high resolution photo of any image, you can simply click on the thumbnail image and your computer will magically do the rest.
Oct 24 – Mayan Ceremony
On October 24, several of us attended a local Mayan Ceremony. We got to help organize and set up a few of the candles needed for the ceremony. Above center in this photo, my dear friend Sandra helps with this setup.
As I have seen on a few other occasions, the Mayan Shaman here in Guatemala build the ceremonial fire out of fascinating materials. The base of this one is built using some type of home-made briquettes — made out of something quite flamable. The man kneeling on the right is “Tata Pedro” — a Mayan Shaman from across the lake, a man who does quite a few ceremonies with foreigners …
A closer-up face shot of Tata Pedro. “Tata” is a title used here in Guatemala, similar to “Elder” in the Native American traditions, and “Abuelo” in the indigenous Mexican traditions.
Tata Pedro beating a drum — sitting next to Terri. Terri is a beautiful woman who participated in Nadia’s healing course with me. She has lived here in San Marcos for a very long time, and participates extensively with Mayan ceremonies.
Tata Pedro talking to the group that is gathered. The candle fire has just been lit …
Bees, Bees, and More Bees
On November 13, I discovered an amazing natural phenomenon in my bedroom window. A swarm of bees had decided to be my new roommates.
Prior to taking this photo, the bees had completely covered and surrounded this piece of dangling honeycomb — but I just didn’t think to grab my camera before using some smoking incense to cause them to scatter.
In this above photo you can see about half of the bees that were in my window. Many of them did indeed scatter to the skies after I doused them with a large dose of smoke.
The window has two large sliding glass panes. These bees are at the top of the window cavity, exactly in the middle of the two moving window panes.
Claudio, our building owner, came in with a broom and brushed away the honeycomb, causing the bees to fearfully scatter. They were very agitated, nervous, and began to gather in various locations around the window. In this photo, you can see some of them congregating in the upper middle where the honeycomb had been, others in the top right window corner.
And here, a small group of the frightened bees gather in the lower left corner…
And yet another group trying to find peace in the upper left corner.
But most of the frightened bees were buzzing around wildly, trying to figure out what just happened to their home.
Sandra had an idea — lets do Reiki on the bees to calm them down. The two of us sat like this for about ten minutes, sending loving peaceful energy to the frantic bees.
Ten minutes later, this is the result of our energetic efforts. The bees all settled down and gathered together in the upper right corner of the window box.
Next comes Miguel with his bucket of newspaper strips covered by large, fresh, green leaves — time to create a little more smoke.
Sandra watches eagerly from behind as Miguel attempts to get the bees to leave — but most of them stay right where they are …
A few minutes later, Claudio brings this older Mayan gentleman — a local beekeeper — to the rescue. He takes over with the bucket, but does not have much more luck than the rest of us. The bees don’t want to leave their new home.
The beekeeper then begins to gently brush the bees away from the window. He then uses a rag to spread some type of foul-smelling oil wherever the bees try to congregate — urging them to move on.
I am surprised that no one else besides me gets any stings whatsoever. I only received one sting on my left forearm.
Even with all of the beekeeper’s efforts, many of the bees are quite stubborn, attempting to regroup again and again.
This is a look at the beekeeper in my window as seen from below. He thinks he is almost done. Most of the bees have now left the window itself.
It is I who points out that this large group of bees has simply moved a few inches away, behind the shutter where the beekeeper cannot reach. These are stubborn little buzzers.
This is the piece of honeycomb from my window. I found it on the ground below. I was saving it for Keith (he had asked) — but could not resist a week later when a young Mayan girl asked me if she could have it.
Kambalacha
One afternoon on November 21, I hear loud music over in the town multi-sports court. When I went to investigate, I discovered this ongoing performance by a local art school called “Kambalacha”. It was quite fun to watch.
This is a photo of the crowd — a combination of foreigners and local people, gathered to support the youth.
This is a photo of some of the younger youth singing. But I did not include this photo to show the youth — instead, I thought it gives a great view of the outdoor basketball court. The crowd from the previous photo is sitting to the left, just out of the camera angle.
This Sports court is often quite noisy — concerts, school programs, soccer, and even basketball tournaments. Just about ten days ago, there were large (and I mean large) crowds gathered here watching the extremely noisy finals of a local tournament between neighboring villages. The announcer and time-out buzzers etc… were sounding very loudly until nearly 11:00 p.m. — and I live only about 50 yards away LOL. San Marcos is definitely not quiet.
Even right now, at 9:45 a.m. on New Years Day, a loud concert of live latin music is taking place. I can hear it quite loudly …
Some of the youth performing a beautiful dance.
Another portion of the same dance.
A group of the younger children … their costumes are so cute.
These older youth are quite comfortable in their colorful outfits.
A group of local indigenous people watching their friends and family perform. This is how most of the local Mayan women dress around Lake Atitlan.
This elderly Mayan woman was also watching the performance. She is usually down on the main footpath, selling bananas like these in her basket. She has the cutest partially-toothless grin. I frequently purchase bananas from her.
At Nadia’s House
I didn’t take hardly any photos during Nadia’s holistic healing course — but one day I did snap two or three photos.
On the left, in the red blouse, is Terri — one of my classmates. On the right, in light green is Merrill, the local crystal lady. She just happened to stop by for a visit during one of our breaks.
Standing on the right is Mark — Nadia’s other half. He was teaching us Reiki that day, so he was all dressed in white. Seated at the table is my dear friend Sandra.
And this is Nadia …
Hanukkah Dinner
On December 1,the first day of Hanukkah, the same day that dear Sharonski moved in for a few days, she decided to cook a traditional Hebrew meal called “Levivot” — details are in my blog.
This is Sharon, cooking (deep fat frying) the Levivot on our little gas stove.
My neighbor, Holly, also helped to fry up the little Hanukkah treats …
Enjoying the Levivot — Left to right: Tina (neighbor), Holly (neighbor) and me wearing a grey sweater that I inherited from Sandra when she flew back to Australia two days earlier …
Tina and Sharon (pronounced shaw-RONE)
Me and Holly
Sharon’s Birthday Party
The very next day was Sharon’s birthday. Tina, Holly, Sharon, and I — along with Keith — all got together at the local Japanese restaurant.
Magical Keith — studying his menu
Holly and me.
Beautiful little Sharonski with her birthday cake …
And another photo of Holly and me…
Holly, me, and Keith
Sharon, recording memories from her own birthday party …
Sharon and Tina
A really cute shot of Keith sitting with Seiko — the owner of the Japanese restaurant.
A delightfully fun shot — playing around with the “Paca” — used clothes for sale in the Japanese restaurant. These hats were quite fun …
Left to Right: Sharon, Holly, Keith, and yours truly
Fun Trauma-Drama
Prior to Sharon moving in as my roommate, I had told Sandra one day that my worst nightmare was that Sharon might want to move in with me after she (Sandra) returns to Australia. Sharon had told Sandra something quite similar, indicating that if the two of us were ever to live with each other, we would probably kill each other.
As a beautifully synchronous Universe would have it, Sharon did move in for a week, and I discovered a caged three-year-old inner child living inside of me — all in the same week. As fate would have it, meditation revealed that my inner child had a name, and it was Sharon.
What an amazing week of growth and healing — I love Sharon so much.
On December 6, just prior to Sharon leaving San Marcos, we decided to act-out the trauma-drama of us killing each other. Tina was gracious enough to play our camerawoman.
We had so much fun taking these photos …
Sharon, sneaking up behind and choking me with her scarf.
Getting my head “painfully” pinched by a lemon squeezer.
And my hair viciously pulled …
Me getting even …
Taking the knock-down-drag-out fight outside …
Sharon taking great delight in throwing me off the second floor balcony …
After I crawled back up the stairs to rest in the neighbor’s hammock, she tried to strangle me with the hammock …
But I somehow managed to break free and grab a chair … Sharon quickly grabbed her own chair …
Ouch … that frying pan to the head really hurts …
Then the cruel torture begins … Sharon stuffs my mouth full of dry bread …
I have been pushed to my limit, and attempt to push Sharon’s head into the toilet …
But Sharon is stronger and quicker than I … doing a quick reversal and pushing my head into the stinky waters …
Sleeping with my light on, holding a kitchen knife in my hand …
Hey, a girl has got to be prepared to defend herself …
Tina scolds us for fighting and locks us in our apartment. We are scared and trapped behind our screen door … what to do?
Me, holding my three year old inner child in her cage …
A beautiful opportunity for friends to make up …
Dear Sharon still loves me …
And i love her too …
Trip To Xela With Keith
On Tuesday, December 7, Keith asked if I wanted to tag along while he went to Xela to purchase additional cacao beans … I jumped at the opportunity.
By 6:20 a.m., just barely after sunrise, we arrived at our first photo stop — a ridge high above Lake Atitlan. The village in the middle of the photo is San Pablo — the place where the road goes up the side of the hill to where we are now situated. You can see a few switchbacks of the road in the bottom right of the photo. Just above and a little further away from San Pablo, you can see glimpses of a small portion of San Marcos.
The beatiful sun peaking over the mountains on the far side of Lake Atitlan. The orange glow made clear photos a little more difficult, but added its own beautiful touch.
Looking down from the same perch, this time looking toward the west end of the lake (the previous photos were looking east).
Below are the towns of San Juan and San Pedro. San Jan is the tinier one at the far right of the photo. The San Pedro volcano towers above the town of San Pedro right below. The furthest volcano, the one right in the middle, is “Atitlan Volcano” — it is the only volcano in this photo that is not excinct. This volcano has been dormant for over 150 years.
Keith, standing on top the hill, taking in the beautiful sunrise.
About an hour later, we crossed over an 11,000 foot pass — the highest altitude of any place on the InterAmericas highway.
This beautiful lake of clouds dazzled my fancy off to the right. The peak in the middle appears to be a magical and mystical volcano island in the middle of the cloud lake.
The ground below my feet was frosty and icy — it get’s cold up this high, even in Central America.
A slightly closer view of the same cloud lake.
Fifteen minutes later, we stop yet again — this time at an old rock quarry beside the road. These pentagonal columns of volcanic rock are fascinating. Thousands and thousands of separate little columns (lying sideways), each and every one of them having five sides …
By shortly after 8:00 a.m., we were in the Xela area, but we sidetracked again, this time so that Keith could show me this interesting old church — beautifully decorated in a very unique way.
I’ll let you make your own interpretations regarding what you are seeing … I simply found this fascinating.
A couple of the figures with angelic wings flying on the facade of the church.
I didn’t have time for a good camera angle … but I got a real giggle out of seeing this little piggy going to market, with a leash tied around his neck.
Shortly after 10:00 a.m., Keith is busy checking out bags of cacao beans in the large (massive actually) outdoor market at Xela.
Me as a professional model, showing off my cacao beans just like Vanna White might do if she were here …
Shortly after 1:00 p.m., as we finally drove away from the outdoor market, we passed near this Mormon Temple that is still under construction. Given my Mormon roots, I found this fascinating …
Sorry, but I did not take any more photos during the Xela trip … you can read all about it in my “Surrendering to Love” blog …
Sweet Little Sharonski
If you read my “Sharonski” blog entry, you know that I did an amazing amount of inner child work during the week that Sharon lived with me — and Sharon turned out to be the perfect mirror for the little three-year-old girl who was locked away in my solar plexus.
I couldn’t resist adding a few of these photos where Sharon is pretending to be my little three year old, snuggled away in her bed …
How cute she is …
Darling giggles …
The two of us together …
I love this one … I miss you Sharon.
Lunar Ecllipse
In case you didn’t get to see the beautiful lunar eclipse in the morning of December 21, I am throwing in a few of my own photos.
Taken at 1:34 a.m. (2:34 a.m. eastern time), just before the earth’s shadow fully consumed the moon.
Taken five minutes later, as the moon is now fully engulfed in the eclipse.
Tina and Holly, sitting out watching the moon at 1:45 a.m.
Tina and I, a few minutes later. I went to bed shortly after these photos were taken …
DayTrip to a Mayan Ceremonial Cave
Later that same day, on the morning of the Winter Solstice (Dec 21), Keith guided a group of us to go for a visit to a small ceremonial cave high on a hillside overlooking Lake Atitlan, just north of Panajachel.
While waiting for our lancha (boat) at the San Marcos dock, I snapped this photo. The large black things at the right side of the photo are portions of a wall that used to be the lower end of the property of the Posada Schuman — a little hotel where I have stayed a couple of times in May and June. The high lake levels have completely destroyed the wall. The old boat docks are still about 12 feet underwater …
In this photo … beautiful Avril.
We have already journeyed across the lake in our lancha. After arriving in Panajachel, we caught a fifteen minute ride on what the foreigners call a “chicken bus” — an old school bus. While I have never seen chickens in these buses (I have not ridden them all that much), I have indeed seen chickens being transported around the lake in the lanchas.
There must have been around 80 of us crowded into that small nine-bench school bus — a bus that seems to have been designed to hold 36 passengers.
After the bus ride (cost was 25 cents), we were dropped off at the top of this beautiful hill overlooking the lake. The previous photo of Avril was taken in this same spot.
Below is gorgeous view of Panajachel, nestled between the mountains and Lake Atitlan. This is the town that I usually go to when I need to get money from an ATM, or when I need to purchase food basics.
Keith with a woman named Ani. (I hope I spelled that right??) Over Ani’s right shoulder is Avril, taking a photo of her own.
Rebecca, Avril, and Brendon.
To get to the cave, we had to walk down a steep path. This part was paved and not-so-steep. It got much more difficult further down.
In the distance you can see the San Pedro volcano, on the far western end of the lake. San Marcos is nearer to that end of the lake, on the right …
I quickly ran down to the front of our group and captured this hurried photo.
Left (front) to right: Keith, Brendon, Rebecca, Avril, Ani, and Steve
Near the bottom of the paved path, we stopped by a home and hired a couple of Mayan youth to be our guides. Five children ended up tagging along. Keith tells us that the “bandidos” will not rob us if they see us supporting the local children …
This is the front of the cave … it doesn’t look like much, and is only perhaps 50 feet deep. The entire interior of the cave is covered with thick soot. Fires and candles are burning in here on a very regular basis.
When we entered, there was one Mayan man performing some type of ceremony at the far back corner of the cave. Keith warned us to not take photos of anyone else’s ceremonies — so as not to invade their privacy …
I lit these seven candles … two of the Mayan youth helped me get them to stand up in the sooty ash-covered rock …
Keith took this photo for me … a silhouette of me standing near the entrance of the cave, looking out at Panajachel and Lake Atitlan below …
This young Mayan girl (14 years old) took good care of me. She followed me around, sat with me, talked to me, and held my hand during the difficult parts of the climb to and from the cave.
Her name is Sulma.
I love this photo of Keith, pondering while staring off into the distance, looking out the entrance of the cave …
Ani, sitting in a different part of the cave, having her own fun with the Mayan children …
Rebecca and Brendon, doing their own little ceremony …
A beautiful profile of Avril sitting on a rock inside the cave … Panajachel and Lake Atitlan in the background …
Me with my little guides — Sulma and her sister Gladis.
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, I was delighted to receive an invitation to spend time with Isaias and his extended family. Isaias is a wonderful young man, Keith’s helper in the cacao world.
In this photo, many of the children are setting of firecrackers. I almost deleted the photo because of its dark aspect, and because of all of the spots. Then I checked my camera lens and noted that it was not dirty. All of the little spots are orbs that showed up in the photos when I used a flash.
Each of the photos has them in different spots, so I know these are not spots on my lens.
The children love to set off firecrackers around Christmas and New Years.
Several of the children preparing to light more firecrackers. Rather than using matches, they use a stick with glowing ashes to light the fuses.
Again, this photo shows more of the orbs.
A darling little girl with her Christmas Sparklers
Two of the beautiful young women who were there. I believe they are Isaias’s neices. The one in orange is named Angela. I met her a week earlier at Keith’s home — I was doing silly magic tricks with her and her younger brother.
Keith walking with some of the children. They are dragging him down the path to a nearby tienda (small store) where he can buy them some more firecrackers.
Again, I am fascinated by the orbs. Sorry that this is out of focus …
Angela, getting ready to light one of her firecrackers, using the hot glowing ashes on the end of the stick in her left hand.
Yippee … I actually managed to catch a photo of the firecracker exploding … again there are a few more orbs.
A smiling Isaias, with the remains of his delicious tamale still in front of him. He is playing with the remote, adjusting the volume of the movie “The Polar Express”
To The Yoga Farm
Ever since mid summer, I have been hearing people talk about a place across the lake — a place called the yoga farm. Several times I have almost gone out there to check it out — but the trip never happened until the day after Christmas.
Keith was asked to perform a chocolate ceremony at the Yoga Farm, and he invited me to come along to assist. We left at 7:00 a.m., and did not return until well after dark.
After a short boat ride to San Pedro, we then walked to the far side of town where we caught another boat destined for Santiago. This will be my first trip to the south side of Lake Atitlan. Santiago is on the other side of the San Pedro Volcano, in the southwestern corner of the lake.
This is the closest I have ever been to the San Pedro volcano …
The boat we were on was a little larger than the others on which I have ridden in Lake Atitlan.
In this photo, I am looking toward the front of the boat, with the back side of Keith’s head in the seat in front of me.
Looking back at San Pedro as we pull away from shore on the south side of town.
A beautiful view looking across the lake toward San Marcos. The tiny volcano-like hill in the left-center, just above water’s edge, is the place where I used to go hiking and meditating — the same place from which I once took a few ariel shots of San marcos.
To the right of the little hill, up on the mountain side is “barrio 1”. Behind and also left of the hill is “barrio 2”. The word Barrio is kind of like “neighborhood”. Between Barrio 1 and 2, all the way down the the lake shore, is Barrio 3. All three barrios are part of San Marcos. Keith’s home is near the lake, over on the right side of the photo. I currently live in the middle of town, in Barrio 3. You cannot see it in this photo.
I included this photo for no good reason — other than the fact that I loved this beautiful old tree dominating this portion of the shoreline below the San Pedro volcano.
And I could not resist snapping this photo of a beautiful waxing gibbbous moon above the San Pedro volcano.
Another view of the beautiful San Pedro volcano. The moon is just behind the tip of the peak.
Approaching Santiago — my first time ever visiting this beautiful little town.
Our little lancha (boat) is pulling up to the dock.
The cute little harbor in Santiago.
The next leg of our adventure involved another fifteen minute boat ride across a small bay, further behind the San Pedro volcano.
Here, we are pulling up to the dock at the yoga farm. A small dog waits to greet us.
We end up having a beautiful chocolate ceremony in the outdoor palapa (grass-roof circular structure) just up from the dock.
Looking back toward the dock. The beautiful Atitlan volcano towers above.
Keith, prepared for the ceremony to begin, waiting to measure out our doses of raw cacao disolved in hot water …
Five of the beautiful women at the ceremony. I hope I have their names right (I know my spelling is probably wrong) … Left to right are: C.J. (Ananda), Blair, Randi, Kristina, and Krista
C.J. is my friend from San Marcos — the same one that I introduced to Keith, the same one who helped me to discover my three-year-old inner child hidden in my solar plexus — the same beautiful friend who co-owns a retreat center in Mexico.
Looking back at Santiago from the dock of the Yoga Farm, as Keith and I prepare to begin our late-afternoon journey back to San Marcos.
One last look back at the Yoga Farm as we pull away. What a beautiful location. There is no electricity or water here. They have a small solar-powered generator that allows them to recharge cell phones and computers (one at a time) — so the people staying here can do a little outside communication if they have a GSM (cell-phone) modem.
After arriving back in Santiago, we had to wait nearly an hour for our 5:00 p.m. boat — so we explored a little of the town — visiting this old church and strolling through an outdoor market. I loved the blue-corn tortillas that we purchased.
On the ride back to San Pedro, Keith and I sat on top of the boat, with these three beautiful people. San Marcos is straight ahead, just behind the point of land that blocks the view as it descends into the lake on the left.
The man in the blue shirt on the left is Frank — the owner of a hotel/restaurant here in San Marcos. I have had a lot of fun talking computer technical stuff with him. He is in the process of setting up a higher-speed network with wireless — something I hope to take advantage of if he ever gets it up and running. Maybe soon :)
A last view of Santiago as we pull away, shortly after 5:00 p.m.
Beautiful evening scenery as we begin to pass beside the San Pedro volcano.
My Beautiful Apartment
I have never officially posted any photos of my apartment here in San Marcos. I decided it is time to share a few visual images …
This is the building in which I live. The main path to the boat dock runs along the building, taking a 90 degree turn at the right side of the photo. This is the north side of the building. The lake is below to the left. My little two-bedroom apartment is on the second floor. In fact, the wooden shutters at the top right are for the bedroom window where I now sleep.
This is another view of my building, looking from the south toward the west side of the builing. The lake is behind me. The previous photo was taken on the far corner of the building. My old bedroom window, the one with the bees, is at the top left of this photo. My stairway rises to the right, just through the gate by the electrical meters.
This is the stairway leading up to my second floor entrance/balcony/patio. These steps are very narrow. I have to be quite focused and conscious, especially when descending this staircase.
This is a view from my patio. The banana trees in the middle are now my friends. Claudio began building the small home to the left about a month after Sandra and I moved in.
If you see the orange-ish wall in the right center, that is the wall of the paco Real hotel (owned by Frank in a previous photo). This wall is along the narrow path (cobblestone) that leads down to the lake perhaps 150 yards away.
Another view from the balcony, this one showing more of the little home that is under construction. The little home is now two stories tall, still missing a roof. Claudio tells me it will be finished in another month. I am not sure if I believe that is possible … The little home will mostly block my view of the lake.
Sandra playing with my little laptop on our porch.
The living room area. That sofa over there is the box springs of a twin bed — very hard and uncomfortable. The wooden chairs to the right are also extremely uncomfortable. The cushions are not cushions at all. They are matted up lumpy organic material of some type.
But hey, it looks nice.
The big boom box is never used. It belongs to the owner. Sandra and I like to listen to music on our IPODS, using the two computer speakers perched on top of the Jaguar puzzle on the table in the middle of the room.
This is the kitchen area — a table, a fridge, and a table-top four-burner gas stove. Sorry that it is a little messy in this photo LOL.
This is all part of the same large room as the living room area — no walls or dividers — and absolutely no cupboards for storing food and dishes etc…
The wooden door behiind the fridge leads to a small bathroom.
This is the bedroom in which I slept when Sandra was here with me. It is perhaps twelve feet square, with a twin bed, a large hutch for storing clothes, and a tiny end table with lamp.
When Sandra left, I decided to switch to the other bedroom. It is the same size, but has a second twin bed on which I can store things — and the mirrors on the hutch are not as foggy LOL. The best part about this other bedroom is a larger table. The worst is that it is adjacent to a one bedroom apartment next door — and the noise comes right through the walls.
The jaguar puzzle that Sandra and I put together.
During one of my trips to Panajachel in early December, I found a box of Christmas lights for sale — 100 lights for 20 Quetzales (about $2.50 US). I could not resist.
I have been listening to Christmas music while staring at the beautiful lights on my outside window.
During that same shopping trip to Panajachel, I found this luxurious Christmas Tree. It stands about nine inches tall, and sits proudly on my living room table. I have yet to take it down … too much work to remove all of the decorations etc… LOL
They call these little guys “wolf Spiders”. Usually, they hang out on the walls. I am told they are harmless, and help keep other insects away. This little guy wandered by on my floor one day … begging me to take his photo …
The soon-to-be-lost view of the lake from my porch. I cannot really see it this clearly. This photo is zoomed-in using my camera lense. If you look at the left and right edges of the photo, you can see the block roof-peaks of the home being built in the yard below. When the roof is in place, my view will be gone.
An actual-size view from my doorway. You can see the progress on the home being built below, and can see that my view is really distant …
Happy New Year
I want to wish everyone a wonderful and Happy New Year. I cannot believe that this year has zoomed by so quickly … and that I am alreay in my ninth month here in Guatemala. Wow, how time flies …
Copyright © 2011 by Brenda Larsen, All Rights Reserved