04.28.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Guatemala at 4:57 pm by Administrator
In my last hurrah, I jumped off a cliff. Literally.
My last day in San Marcos, I went paragliding. I thought it a fitting end to a wonderful adventure. The whole idea of the trip required thinking that everything would be okay, without knowing the outcome. And so, in the same vein, I jumped, and we flew.
I flew with Christian Behrenz, an experienced pilot and instructor. He made me feel comfortable from the start. I had no fear. We waited for the breeze, then ran to the edge, and as the sail lifted we took off.
As we flew, we encountered a thermal, and increased our altitude above where we had started. Then, as we decented over the lake, I was comfortable enough that we tried some acrobatics. We came close to doing a 360° loop. My stomach was a bit queasy after that, but the flight was almost over.
We landed safely in a green pasture with cows grazing nearby and a flower farm within 50 feet.
It was amazing. What an amazing metaphor for life… to go for it, and expect the best that life has to offer. I will continue to jump…
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04.23.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Guatemala at 10:59 pm by Administrator
Everyday has been a surprise and opportunity to experience more of the wonderful culture here in Guatemala.
One of my El Remate friends, Erwin, knows a Mayan Shaman priest in Nahaulaa. He gave me directions to find Don Manuel Tsok here in the highlands near Lake Atitlan where I am spending my final days in Guatemala. Then it turned out Erwin was able to come to act as my guide. I never would have found Don Manuel in the market without him, let alone have convinced him to perform a special ceremony for me.
And so, we climbed 1500 feet to the top of a mountain, and Don Manuel did a special Mayan ceremony to ask for world peace, peace in Guatemala, peace for all people, and to bless me and Erwin on our life journeys. It was the real thing. In Nahaulaa, a pueblo of 50,000 we, I, was the only tourist.
I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to experience this adventure, and the wonderful people here. This was icing on the cake to send me back home with blessings and intentions that the world is becoming a better place.
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Posted in Central American Adventure, Gardens, Guatemala, Making a Difference at 10:04 pm by Administrator
It´s been a week since I left El Remate. What a special place. The day before I left, the new group of women had a meeting to discuss their future plans. They will be planting gardens independently for more women who want them, and will be meeting every Saturday to walk the gardens to learn and share from each other. In total we planted 25 gardens with more to come. I have to say I feel like it was a success.
They surprised me with a cake – shaped like a crocodile, fireworks, and presents. I was very touched. They have touched my heart. It was quite emotional – both sad and completely joyful. The seeds have started to grow, and from that a wonderful friendship has also sprouted.
Some of my other friends had another party for me that night. They sang special songs, and held a special ceremony to send me on my way. I can hardly believe that I have made so many good friends in such little time. But this is a special place with special people. in fact….
A surprise for me, I wrote in an earlier post about triathlon training, which at the time was just a title because I was swimming, running and biking. Then I met the organizer of the triathlon in El Remate on June 21. A 400m swim in the wonderful lake, a 34K bike to Tikal and then a 7K run in the ruins ending in the central plaza. I started out saying I am considering it, but by the time it was time to leave I was saying ¨Hasta Pronto¨. I am going back to El Remate in June, just in time to eat some of the first vegetables out of the gardens!
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04.12.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Gardens, Guatemala, Making a Difference, Mayan Calendar, Uncategorized at 9:44 pm by Administrator
A quick update. It´s been a busy week. We have built 24 new gardens and planted another 15 existing gardens as well. Will be planting a few more in the next couple days. 30 gardens in 30 days. Not bad! Check out Lina and Clara´s gardens…
Heidy and her neice Milly taught me to make tortillas in her dirt floor, fire burning stove kitchen. We had the traditional eggs, black beans and tortillas for dinner. It will be nice for them to have vegetables to mix in….
I will be leaving here Wednesday to travel for a couple of weeks in other parts of Guatemala before I come home on April 30th. I will be sad to leave all the friends I have made here in El Remate. Especially the garden women.
This week is a big holiday in Latin America – Semana Santa (Easter). Lots of people are here for the weekend enjoying the lake. A good place to be because it is HOT! Over 100 with lots of humidity. I´m off to swim right now.
Mucho amor,
Alicia
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04.06.09
Posted in Central American Adventure, Gardens, Guatemala, Making a Difference at 1:28 am by Administrator
A day of rest. Much needed. I have been building gardens morning and afternoon for 2 weeks. I wore myself out but today I spent the day resting and swimming. It is hot – in the 90s with a fair amount of humidity. Doesn´t sound that hot, but during the day it´s definitely time for siesta.
I am learning so much. Just as the women are. It´s an equal balance of teaching and learning. I´m learning about building square foot gardens, social development, group dynamics, and Guatemaltecos. Everyday I learn something new. It´s an amazing opportunity.
I miss all my friends but have made many new friends here. Here´s a photo of one of the gardens…
Lina´s Garden
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