Friday, August 10, 2007

Special places and occasions








We´ve done a lot more exploring and it was hard to select just 5 photos for today´s blog. Today we walked to 2 cemeteries with our teachers, an older cemetery with lots of above ground structures in startling colors and a newer one with fewer buildings and lots of wood and cement crosses in bright colors. The 1st photo shows my beloved teacher, Pedro, with a memorial to the victims of the military in the 80s. He said it´s wrong to call it a war, because a war is when 2 sides fight each for something. This was the military coming in with helicopters and weapons and murdering people who were not soldiers and who had no way to defend themselves; it was a holocaust.The ¨5th¨ picture didn´t post so I´ll try to add it at the top. Today we walked to 2 cemeteries with our teachers, an older cemetery with lots of above ground structures in startling colors and a newer one with fewer buildings and lots of wood and cement crosses in bright colors. The photo shows my beloved teacher, Pedro, with a memorial to the victims of the military in the 80s. He said it´s wrong to call it a war, because a war is when 2 sides fight each for something. This was the military coming in with helicopters and weapons and murdering people who were not soldiers and who had no way to defend themselves; it was a holocaust.

The 2nd photo is hilarious to me: dogs waiting with hungry looks in front of Carneceria Esperanza (Meat shop of hope).

Next is a sacred Maya site high on a hill above Nebaj, hidden in a corn field.

The 4th picture is of dancers representing the conquistadors; the costumes are fantastic and it´s an honor to be chosen to perform, but the point is more to make fun of the conquistadors than to reenact factual events. I enjoyed the marimba accompaniment, too.

Sylvia and I went on a guided 3-4 hour hike yesterday out through the country to see some of the waterfalls. The good parts were the exercise, the views of country homes and gardens, and the beautiful waterfalls. The downsides were pounding rain and roads lined with garbage. The 5th picture shows a waterfall tumbling into a corn field.

Our time in Nebaj is winding down. It may be a few days before we´re able to post again, but we´ll try when internet access becomes available.

Happy trails!
Stacey and Sylvia

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