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Belize

2011-11-05T23:52:53Z

We arrived in Belize City last evening and were welcomed by swarms of mosquitoes, thus the "Mosquito Coast." This morning, slathered with Deet, we began with a river boat ride guided by a naturalist. I suspect that at one time he operated a chicken bus because he drove the boat like a chicken boat! He did have an amazing ability to spot wildlife along the way and would bring the boat to a halt to explain what it was that we were trying to spot in the tangle of growth along the bank.

Some of the birds we saw included the Mangrove Swallow, the Tropical Kingbird, the Northern Jacana, and the Belted Kingfisher.

Can you find the Yellow Headed Night Heron in the vegetation below?

We also passed a Mennonite Farm. Mennonites make up the third largest ethnic group in Belize.

Here is the Belize National Flower, the Black Orchid.

This is a Snake Cactus.

This is the exotic Provision Plant, used for medicinal purposes.

Our destination was the Lamanai Mayan site. Here we saw a pyramid that had carvings influenced by the Olmecs, an earlier culture. The masks reveal features common to Olmec sculpture - here the carvings have been restored.

Charlotte bagged another pyramid!

I did her the favor of remaining below so that I could photograph her when she reached the top.

We encountered more Black Holler monkeys.

And so the tour comes to an end and we head home tomorrow. It has been a fabulous trip, made even better under the leadership of our terrific trip leader, Walter.

And we could not have had better travel companions to share our discoveries with.

Tikal and Yaxha

2011-11-05T22:25:53Z

From Antigua, we flew to Flores in the north of Guatemala where we encountered jungle terrain. Part of Flores is located on an island that has tropical charm. The buildings are much different from highlands.

We first visited Tikal, the largest of all Mayan sites and one of the strongest ruling centers of the Mayan world. We visited a number of pyramid temples, residential centers, and ball courts. We emerged from the jungle happy, drenched from the humidity, and surrounded by the aroma of Deet.

We climbed Pyramid 4 and looked over the jungle canopy to see the tops of Pyramids 1 - 3.

Our hike through the jungle included glimpses of Spider and Black Howler Monkeys.

The next day we visited Yaxha, a satellite Mayan site, not far from Tikal. Here Charlotte bagged her first Mayan pyramid - her new stainless steel hip functioned perfectly!

Casa Santo Domingo

2011-11-05T03:08:04Z

The ruins of what was once the grandest convent in the Americas has been converted into a hotel/museum and before we left Antigua, we spent a morning exploring it. We entered from the parking lot through a long underground tunnel that had display cases in the wall containing Mayan artifacts. When emerged from the tunnel we found ourselves surrounded by ruins that have been incorporated into a modern hotel, restaurants, shops, museum, chapel, and archaeological site - all seamlessly working together.

This is the chapel that is often used for weddings. The curtain behind the altar is covering an elaborately carved altarpiece.

Hanging from the overhead beams of this covered walkway were delicate clusters of orchids.

Areas of the ruins have been added to or converted into galleries displaying collections of Mayan artifacts, Spanish silver, early Guatemalan religious art, as well as contemporary art. One fascinating exhibit paired artifacts with pieces of contemporary fine art and crafts from around the world. I was delighted to encountered a glass sculpture by Dan Dailey whose studio in New Hampshire I had a chance to visit last year! (Dailey is the artist who created the fabulous chandelier in the Providence Performing Arts Center.)

The theme of the old and new was carried out elsewhere on the grounds. Here is a metal and glass sculpture that caught Charlotte's attention.

We next flew to Flores, Guatemala, to visit Tikal. Stay tuned for the next post.

More while in Antigua

2011-11-04T05:38:56Z

We have also visited a coffee plantation, a macadamia nut farm, and a museum of local musical instruments. The guide from the museum demonstrated instruments dating back to 900AD and followed the evolution of percussion and wind instruments up to the arrival of the Spanish who introduced stringed instruments. She explained the purpose of each instruments as related to local celebrations both religious and secular. She showed us the early examples of the marimba which had gourds for the sound chambers. Then in the evening the group attended a special dinner and music/performance demonstration where many of these instruments were played.

Later on, the group attended a performance of Guatemalan dances and music at a dinner theater.

On Nov. 1, All Saint's Day, there is a special event that takes place in only two villages in Guatemala, one located not far from Antigua. So, the group was able to take advantage of this annual event and traveled to a village where huge kites are flown from their cemetery. This brings hoards of people!

And of course there are vendors along the way. Below you see black tortillas which are made for this special occasion.

And this vendor is selling corn on the cob with special condiments. First it is covered in mayonnaise, then sprinkled with cheese, and finished off with red pepper sauce. It's called "crazy corn."

This is one of the large kites.

These kites are launched from the top of a large mausoleum.

Usually they end up airborne, but sometimes they come crashing down on top of spectators.

Even larger kits, 50 feet across are constructed and raised with a great deal of team effort to be displayed along the wall of the cemetery. They are supported by 50 foot high poles.

The kites are made of paper and paint. The decorative areas are made with bits of colored tissue paper.

In the evening we visited another cemetery where friends and families were visiting the resting places of the departed. The tombs were decorated with lots of real and artificial flowers.

Just outside of the cemetery was a fiesta/carnival. There many food stalls as well as childrens' rides, games of chance, and music.

Day 1 in Antigua

2011-11-03T03:54:30Z

We are staying in a B&B while in Antigua - a B&B with 11 bedrooms. It is a private home where the owners only stay part of the year, so our tour company convinced them to put up tourists when they weren't here. Although quite grand, it feels homey.

From the second floor balcony, we can see one of the three volcanoes that are in the area. Yes, this one is active.

Today we hopped on to a chicken bus and traveled to a village outside of town to experience "a day in the life of" - something the tour company arranges in all of their tours. Our guide encouraged us to interact with people on the bus. (This bus was not as hair raising as our previous chicken bus ride.)

When we arrived in the village we visited a school, and although school was not in session, a class of preschoolers came to meet with us. They sang several songs for us, including their national anthem, and then danced and performed for us. They were delightful! Our tour company supports the school by providing $10 for every traveler on their tours to Guatemala - 150 tours per year.

We then broke up into two groups and separated for lunch with families of two of the kids. My group ate lunch with an extended family of father, mother, aunts, grandmother, grandfather, and kids and cousins. The kitchen was in a lean-to next to the house and we ate outside. Our mean consisted of roasted chicken and steamed veggies with a sauce made out of pumpkin seeds and spices.

Although no one in our group could speak more than a couple of words of Spanish and they knew no English, we did quite well communicating.

Guatemala has a problem with keeping kids in school because the families put them to work in the fields or the markets at a young age. So to encourage school attendance, the government, with aid from Brazil, began a program for preschoolers where they would receive a free lunch. But this meant building more schools and hiring more teachers, and soon the money dried up so out of 80 schools, only a few remain open today.

From Panajachel to Antigua

2011-11-01T16:19:54Z

We left Panajachel by a different route than when we arrived because of a detour around an area of the highway that was covered with mud, dirt, and rocks from mudslides that took place a couple of weeks ago. It was passable yesterday.

Along the way we stopped at a mercado where I saw some interesting things.

Do you think that this is a preserved chicken?

This has to be the least appetizing stew I have ever encountered!

Another stop was at a cemetery where family members were cleaning and repainting the tombs in preparation for All Souls' Day. There was a vendor at the entrance selling Sherman Williams paint in an array of wonderful colors.

For part of the way we transferred to a chicken bus. It passed every vehicle on the highway and took curves at incredible speeds. I held on for dear life so as not to slide to the floor. It was like a an exhilarating carnival ride!

Our final discovery for the day was a visit to a brick factory where a young man molds 700 bricks per day by hand. The bricks are then fired in a kiln for 24 hours.

The pictures are light today due to a miscalculation on my part - it's not your computer.

Santiago Atitlan

2011-10-31T12:37:37Z

Yesterday morning we boated across the beautiful Lake Atitlan for a visit to the village of Santiago Atitlan. This area is known for its colorful and intricately woven textiles and we saw them in stalls and worn by the local women, but not so much worn by men.

I am also encountering lots of masks and have acquired 5 more (so far) for my mini museum.

While in the village, we visited an Ah Pop, a Mayan spiritual guide. He performed a ritual honoring Maximon, a Mayan god who is blended with Catholic meaning. The spiritual guide spoke in a Mayan language and our guide explained that since we were not Mayan, the Ah Pop was forbidden to translate what he said.

First he lit a bunch of candles, then put a cigarette in the mouth of the effigy, then gave him some spirits to keep Maximon happy. Then he chanted and swung a pail with burning incense. To find out more about Maximon, go here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximón

Panajachel

2011-10-29T22:54:51Z

Yesterday we left Guatemala City for Panajachel on the shores of Lake Atitlan. The lake which is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes and is spectacularly beautiful. We are in Mayan territory.

All along the way throughout Guatemala there are posters promoting the two candidates running for the presidency - elections are on Nov. 6th. What is incredible, is the number of posters! They seem to appear on every telephone pole, and some poles even have several posters. The country is plastered with them! Then there are the billboards where the candidates try to out do each other with larger and larger ones!

There is quite a bit of controversy over the two candidates running for the presidency since both have histories of involvement in the civil war in the 80's and 90's and the genocides that took place. We are also learning about how wide spread corruption is here with bribes being a way of life. (It only took us a few minutes to cross the border instead of 4 hours.)

Because 47% of the population is illiterate, the ballots are printed with symbols for the political parties and candidates. You see these symbols everywhere.

Chicken buses are also everywhere. They are souped up and decorated American school buses that speed like lightening. Driving one of these in Guatemala is one of the most dangerous occupations one can have - not from the danger of crashes, but because the drivers must pay fees to organized crime people, and if the fees are not paid on time daily, there are fatal consequences.

When we were leaving Guatemala City, there was backed up traffic for miles. Our guide tweeted and learned that a bus driver and passenger had been shot up ahead. Below is the bus.

Guatemala City

2011-10-28T00:36:31Z

Today was a long day on the road. The highlight of the trip was an ice cream stop where I had the best mango ice cream I have ever had! (SC - eat your heart out!) Tomorrow we leave for Antigua Guatemala where I might not have access to the internet for several days. I'll catch up when I can.

Copan, Honduras

2011-10-27T03:43:16Z

Today was a fully day of adventures. The group of 11 tourists, guide, apprentice guide, and bus driver set out at 8am for the Mayan ruins of Copan, the site of 16 ruling kings. The complex of structures consists of several pyramids with temples on top and burial chambers within. There is also a ball court, an amphitheater, royal living quarters and a huge plaza. I was most fascinated with the elaborate stone carving. We had a local guide who was terrific!

Below is a model of the site.

Within the grounds of the ruins were many scarlet macaws, the national bird of Honduras. Very showy, indeed!

After lunch we visited a village of Mayan people where the kids speak their native language, Spanish, and are learning English. Although they live very simply, they seemed very happy. Charlotte and I were a hit with the kids because we brought stickers that we pasted on their elbows, cheeks, and foreheads!

To get to the village, which is located on a hillside, some in the group rode horses while the rest, including myself, rode in tuk tuks, a three wheel motorized rickshaw.

There is a school in the village, but the three children in white shirts have scholarships to attend a school in the town. They walk two miles each day to get there, leaving home at 5 am while it is still dark.

The countryside is incredibly beautiful. It is lush and green with a backdrop of distance mountains. We had another beautiful day.

Tomorrow we are off to Guatemala.

Day one in Central America

2011-10-26T04:10:18Z

Here I am with my friend, Charlotte, in Central America. We arrived yesterday and were greeted by our guide, Walter, and three minutes after leaving the airport we had our first cultural experience. We stopped to try coconut water fresh from the coconut served by a young lady who had set up a stand along the highway.

Then we had lunch of pupusas at a pupusaria. They were made with rice dough with a filling of beans, pork, and cheese and we ate them with pickled onions. Delicioso!

Although rain was predicted for today, it was warm and sunny. We visited an ancient Mayan site that dates back to 2000BC and was completely covered with volcanic ash in 1000BC. Today they have only excavated a small portion of it, but they do know that it was a typical Mayan village. You can see the multiple layers of volcanic debris in the earth surrounding the excavated structure.

Lunch was served outdoors looking over a beautiful crater lake.

This afternoon we travel west and crossed over into Guatemala where we continued for two hours before entering Honduras. Along the way we saw many mudslides along the embankments next to the highway, but only encountered one place where the mud covered part of the road causing alternating one-way traffic. The country side is lush and very green and the mountain vistas are gorgeous. Tomorrow will be a busy day so stayed tuned.

The warmth of Mexico

2011-03-30T19:46:00Z

The temperatures are rising in San Miguel and I am told that April and May are the warmest months here. Spring is announced here with the blooming of the Jacaranda trees. Masses of blue-lavender blossoms are visible throughout the city and I could not resist taking pictures from my roof deck with its 360 degree views.

But the warmth that I have been experiencing here has not just been the weather. The Mexican people that I have been encountering daily have been gracious, friendly, and welcoming. One heart warming incident took place in Mexico City when I was touring the excavation site of Templo Mayor where I observed a group of Mexican teenage girls taking pictures of each other with cameras and cell phones. They approached me and I was ready to offer to take a group photo of them with their cameras, but , no, they wanted to have their pictures taken with me! So, a bunch of lovely, young Mexican teenagers grouped around an over-weight, middle-aged, gringo for multiple photos. Then I took a picture of them. As they parted, they waved and with big smiles, shouted out in unison and in perfect English, "Welcome to Mexico."

I have also experienced the warmth of meeting new people, establishing connections, and forming friendships here. Although I can not take the warm temperatures back with me to Rhode Island, I can take with me lots of warm memories. And here are just some of the many people I will remember fondly and look forward to seeing next year.

I spent a fun day with four printmakers, L-R: Marrisa, Linda, Silvia, Lou (below L) in Linda's beautiful roof top print studio.

Lou (left) a printmaker from Maine prepared a wonderful lunch for us. On the right is Kathy, a writer and my Spanish study partner from last year. We struggled and laughed a lot to get with the class. I was happy to see her again this year - we had coffee in Starbucks where she was spending lots of mornings working on a new book.

It is always fun to show visitors around San Miguel and I enjoyed hosting Linda and Steven for a week. We spent a couple of lovely evenings dining in rooftop restaurants with exceptional views and settings. And taking ice cream breaks in the afternoons.

Here are Rose and Kathy, my neighbors from Toronto, who rented the apartment below me. We've had many late afternoon chats while they were enjoying their patio and I was above on the small balcony off my kitchen.
They have have been a good resource for restuarant recommendations.

This is Pat from Massachusetts and she has introduced me to her friends from Cape Cod who visit San Miguel regularly. Pat and I spent a nice day together exploring Dolores Hildago and then she joined the group for the three day excursion to Mexico City. She is a good travel buddy.

And then there are Gary and Jo, my studio landlords and friends. The studio will be relocated next year and I look forward to making prints in a new, light filled setting with a view of a cactus garden from the window.

Now I am going to pack for home. I have no immediate plans for future travel, but that won't last for long!

Taking stock

2011-03-25T22:59:00Z

In a few days I will be heading back to Rhode Island. The hours that I have spent in the studio here over the last two months have been productive and I have produced about 15 new prints. The series is based on the theme of uncovering remenants of past civilizations as evidenced by marks and artifacts. The images are all of my own creation - not based on specific archelogical digs or petrogylphs. I will print the final editions when I get back to my own studio. Here are a couple of them.

Swizzle sticks and Aztec ruins

2011-03-25T21:39:00Z

In addition to Xochimilco, I was able to visit a couple of other places during my brief excursion to Mexico City. First, I went to a huge, indoor artisans' market - probably the size of a football field. The merchandize was no different than what I've encountered in shops and markets in San Miguel - the only difference being in the amount of stuff available. I suspect that they sell both retail and wholesale. With so much stuff, I focused my attention on one booth in particular: glass swizzle sticks, thousands of them! I was fascinated by the array of plant and animal motifs available.

Then I visited the excavations of the Aztec temples located right in the heart of the city located a block from the Presidential Palace and next to the main cathedral. Templo Mayer was one of the main temples in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. It is believed that the temples were restricted to the elite of the Aztec population and were the site of human sacrifices. The temples were destroyed by the Spanish and covered up only to be excavated in the 20th century. Work still continues.

For information about the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templo_Mayor

I photographed the poster above to show the location of the dig - smack dab in the middle of the city!

One of the more interesting parts of the site is a building with stone skulls on all four sides.

Next to the site is a museum with beautiful displays of sculpture and objects that have been excavated.

Below are my favorites.

And then I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Museum of Popular Art. It is a modern building with a five story interior atrium that was filled with huge, wonderful kites.

This VW bug was covered with tiny beads! Incredible!

Another exhibit that I enjoyed displayed fanciful creatures made out of metal and paper and paper mache and painted with a bright array of colorful patterns.

Although my stay was short, I really enjoyed discovering new parts of Mexico City.

Island of the Dolls

2011-03-25T14:08:00Z

The story goes that over forty years ago, Julian Santana Barrera, a recluse living on a small island in the Xochimilco district of Mexico City, witnessed the drowning of a little girl. Several days later he retrieved a doll floating in the canal and put it in a tree for the spirit of the little girl. As days passed, he found other dolls and put then in the trees. Then as years passed, he put dolls everywhere on the island, not only in the trees but strung up on ropes, and on the outside and inside of the modest shelters where he lived. Of course, exposed to the elements the dolls began to decompose over time. Living into his nineties, Don Julian died several years ago. His nephew now owns the island and keeps it up for occasional visitors.

Jo Brenzo, a photographer living in San Miguel, and her husband, Gary Berkowitz, a printmaker, began taking groups of photographers to the island more than fourteen years ago. They have since published a book of photographs and commentary based on research and interviews with Don Julian's relatives.

I joined a group of five other photographers along with Jo and Gary on a visit to the island. It was an eerie experience.

Xochimilco

2011-03-24T23:07:00Z

I spent a couple of days in Mexico City where I visited the Floating Gardens at Xochimilco. The area is made up of many canals between islands (no longer floating, but anchored) that served as the agricultural center for the Aztecs empire. When the Spanish arrived, they drained most of the lake that surrounded what is now Mexico City and Xochimilco is what remains of the wetlands.

Today there are two sections - one is touristy and the other is remote and more natural. The islands are still used for farming and for raising nursery stock. To travel the canals, there are colorful, flat-bottom boats (trajineras) that hold about 12 people. Since the only motorized boats are those used by the canal police, navigation by is either by oars or pole. While cruising the touristy area, you may either bring a picnic (which we did) or purchase food from floating kitchens. You can also chose to pay a few pesos to be entertained by floating mariachis.

The orange boat above is where a meal is being prepared and then served to those on the blue boat. Below is a mariachi boat.

There were eight of us on our boat and we were headed for the Island of the Dolls.

This is one of several nurseries that we passed.

To get to the natural area, our boat had to be lifted out of the water and transported along a rail to the other side of the lock.

We then cruised through beautiful waterways that reminded me of paintings by Monet and Corot.

Painting below is by Jean-Baptiste Corot.

Painting below is by Claude Monet.

We encountered men fishing with nets and also children returning from school on a floating school bus.

The area is full of wildlife, especially birds. We stopped at a nature preserve to observe Axolotes, a salamander that is unique to this area that needs to be protected. This rather ugly creature is capable of regenerating severed body parts which makes it a focus of medical research. The populations are consequently decreasing.

After two and half hours on the canals, we arrived at our destination, the Island of the Dolls. This will be the topic of my next blog so stay tuned!

Infestation of bees and butterflies in San Miguel

2011-03-19T01:10:00Z

Local security and police forces were out today as the town was over run by bees and butterflies. Crowd control was managed well as throngs of people showed up to view this annual event to welcome spring. San Miguel's police drum and bugle corp announced the arrival of the hundreds of critters as they descended in an orderly fashion making their way slowly down San Francisco Street to the Jardin.

Spectators lined the streets anxiously awaiting the arrival of swarms of bees and many colonies of different butterflies.

There were also lots of lions and bunnies, some zebras, and even a rhino!

Some of the flocks and herds were in orderly formations while others moved in a free-form manner.

While some free-roamed, other colonies were contained.

While the vast majority of critters arrived on their own, a few enjoyed being transported one way or another.

By the time the swarms arrived at the Jardin, much energy had been spent and the critters were dragging. Some perked up when they saw their parents cheering them on.

Along with insects, animals, and reptiles, there were princesses accompanied by princes.

The arrival of the creatures took more than an hour and they must have come from miles around because there were hundreds of them!

After the arrival, they dispersed and the infestation lasted all day throughout the town.

I am told that the infestation will be short-lived and tomorrow San Miguel will return to its normal density of bugs.

A most unusual house

2011-03-08T03:05:00Z

A week ago my friends, Linda and Steven, and I went on another library sponsored house tour. We explored two houses, but only one of them is worth mentioning. The house is the most unusual house I have ever visited! Located in a tiny village out in the desert, the house was a kaleidoscope of bright colors and bold patterns both inside and out. The homeowner, an artist, decorated the house himself with paint, mosaics, tile, miscellaneous found things, and a great deal of creative imagination. Along with the decor were collections of folk art from around the world as well as his own creations of painted and decorated assemblages. The aesthetic was bright, lively, visually busy, and folky.

First, here are photos of the outside.

And now for the inside.

Why use matching tiles when you can make a patterned quilt of them on the walls of your kitchen?

And this is the creator of this amazing home.

Carnaval

2011-03-07T02:03:00Z

Carnaval is celebrated by kids in San Miguel with egg smashing. The eggs are brightly colored eggshells filled with confetti, powder, and/or glitter. The hole in the egg is closed with glued on tissue paper. Kids, with bags of these eggs, gleefully chase each other around and smash them on each other's heads. Sometimes adults get eggs smashed on their noggins too. This happens all over town, but especially in the Jardin where parents, grandparents, and observers sit on the park benches while kids, from toddlers to teenagers, do the egg smashing.

I have noticed that kids here are very well behaved whether it is having fun smashing eggs or attending other public events. Kids of all ages get along without whining, complaining, pouting, fussing, or acting out. It is also nice to see families of several generations enjoying outings together.

The pavement is littered with colorful bits of eggshell and confetti.

All around the edge of the Jardin are vendors selling bags of eggs, colorful flowers and cute clowns made of crepe paper.

Dance of conquest and faith

2011-03-06T02:49:00Z

On the first Friday of March, hundreds of dancers in costumes inspired by pre-Hispanic attire fill the area around the Jardin. The Jardin is a landscaped square surrounded by cobbled pavement in the center of town over looked by the towering spires of a church called the Parroquia. The celebration honors El Senor de la Conquista (Our Lord of the Conquest) as a symbol of the conversion to Christianity of the indigenous people of Mexico. Dancers attend a Mass in the Parroquia in the morning, then parade through the streets of the city. In the evening hundreds of dancers from surrounding villages dance for 3 hours completely filling the plaza surrounding the Jardin. While they dance, each group is accompanied by drums that can be heard throughout the city. The dancers are of all ages and the costumes are magnificent in color, plumage, and sparkle. I am always in awe of their stamina - they rarely take a break to rest!

One group of dancers wear masks and act out pantomime skits. Here they lead the parade.

To raise money to cover the dancers' expenses, each group has a display of breads for sale - a bake sale!