Snorkeling in Cozumel

September 16

Today was my true epic fail! We took a ferry to Cozumel for the day to do some shopping and go snorkeling. Cozumel is a well know tourist area with tons of resorts and exclusive shops. There are also copious local shops where you can watch artisans working on the crafts they sell. 

Our snorkeling tour was late morning. Our tour group consisted of a group of older Argentines and the two of us. Unfortunately I did not master snorkeling. I couldn't get my mask situated and kept taking in water. So snorkeling for me consisted of holding on the the life ring and looking underwater. Lindsay however, really enjoyed her snorkeling adventure. We both want to do this again. 

We arrive back in Playa del Carmen just in time to see the end of a performance by some costumed Mayan dancers.  And with that we say Adios to Mexico.

Chichen Itza and Ek- Balam

September 15, 2017

Today we toured the Mayan ruins at Chíchen Itza and Ek- Balam and went swimming in Hibuku cenoté. The Mayan civilization was located on the Yucatán Peninsula. About 5 million Mayan descendants still live on the peninsula. Our guide, Pablo, was fantastic. He is a Mayan descendant and was able to give us a lot of the history of the area. The Mayans invented astronomy, and they had their own writing system, numerical system, and of course-- calendar. The Mayan calendar was based on a 52 year cycle. The Mayan writing system is one of the earliest known in human civilization, following Sumerian, Egyptian, Chinese, and Sanskrit. Pablo said that scholars believe that the Mayan language was based in Mandarin. Given that the earliest known civilizations existed in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, that makes sense. 

Chíchen Itza is a religious structure. Its architecture reflects a lot of religious symbolism. In the Mayan religion there were 22 Gods, nine gods of the underworld and thirteen gods of the heavens. The nine platforms of the temple pyramid were related to the nine gods of the underworld. There are fifty two rectangular panels, related to the fifty two years of the Mayan calendar. Each side of the pyramid has 91 steps. 91x4=364 + 1 upper platform makes 365. Makes you think about how much  the Mayans knew about the world we live in, doesn't it? Mayans could time the equinoxes and solstices by the position of the pyramid relative to the sun. That is how they knew the seasons. Twice during the year the sun hits the pyramid so that the shadows form the body of a serpent. The head of the serpent is on the ground. 

The architects who designed the pyramid were not only interested in shadows-- they also played around with echoes. If you clap your hands in a certain way the echo off the stones of the pyramid are that of a bird called a quetzal.  The quetzal, the jaguar, and serpents were important animals to the Maya. Archaeologists have recently discovered that Chíchen Itza is a pyramid inside of a pyramid inside of a pyramid. The original pyramid was built over a cenoté. 

Ek- Balam was an administrative palace that contained over 70 rooms. The Mayan empire was divided into fifty city states. Ek- Balam was the capital Talol, of one of the wealthiest and strongest city states. The city's original name was Casablanca. Ek- Balam was a fortress with a double wall. It was so large that there were secret tunnels that ran between chamber and even some that went outside of the city. 

Hubiku cenoté is one of many on the Yucatán peninsula. Cenotés were very important in that area because of a lack of freshwater lakes and rivers. Cenotés are in underground caverns that are formed by fresh rainwater that seeps through the porous ground. Ancient Mayans saw cenotés as an entrance to the underworld. This is also represented by the fish detail that can be found on the temple at Ek- Balam. 

Dans la playa

Dans la Playa

Today was our day to relax since we know we have busy days full of adventure ahead of us. Found a great little restaurant for breakfast that actually had vegan options!

 

We spent the day on the beach at Mamita's beach club which was very nice. Umbrella rental was inexpensive and the beach side service by our waiter was A+.

The water was crystal clear and who doesn't like sand between their toes? Our midday massage was fantastic but after that you kind of don't want to get back in the water anymore. We chose something familiar for lunch even though-- thanks to the language barrier-- I still managed to order wrong. 

Bienvenidos a Playa del Carmen

(Take 2)
My first attempt at a post disappeared as soon as I tried to add photos so the photos may be added later to avoid that happening again.

We finally made it to Playa del Carmen about three hours later than planned thanks to a near two hour airport delay and a very long line at immigration.

It also didn't help that our driver couldn't find our hotel right away, having never been there before. So rather than heading to the beach as originally planned, we instead spent the evening wandering around the area of town that will be our home for the next four days. The juxtaposition between local Playa del Carmen and tourist Playa del Carmen is hard to miss. It's particularly evident on 5th Avenue where you have high end shops next to tourist attractions and local artisans. We had dinner at a Mayan restaurant and managed to get in a little shopping.

Our hotel is serviceable but the rooms are very basic. The outside area is quite nice though. The hotel is at the center of everything-- both near the beach and near the shops. And it's always easy to find our way back! Until tomorrow-- adios!

Return to Blue Ridge

Last year by happy accident I spent part of my summer at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina. I didn't know what to expect from my time there. At the end of those five days What I ended up with was new friends, a new focus, a renewed sense of self worth, and a new attitude. I had been letting certain stressors affect my mental, physical, and emotional well being, but witnessing the hand of God in nature in a way that I never had before helped me put that in perspective, put certain people behind me, and let go of all those stressors. This year I have arrived already knowing what to expect. I know the students I helped chaperone here will grow over the course of the week. I know they will learn more about themselves and others, and some of them will make life long friends. I know that I will learn new strategies on working with teens and new ways to relate to my students.  But I also know that surprises await. And I can't wait to be surprised. 

The Odyssey Ends

Yesterday at about 11:30 pm EST my time on the mountain ended as we boarded our bus to return to Alabama. It had been an emotional evening with the banner signing and the fire of friendship ceremony. There were lots of hugs and lots of tears. The task now-- not just for me, but for everyone who was there-- is to take the lessons we learned and the new discoveries we made about ourselves and find ways to apply them t our lives away from Blue Ridge. I am reminded of Thoreau, when he said in "Walden" "I went to the woods to live simply sinply." I understand it now. Things are different there. You learn what you truly need, what things are really important and exactly how much is merely consumerism that we can do without. In my case, I went to the woods to rediscover myself and I hope that I have done just that.

Climb Every Mountain

Yesterday, at approximately 5:15 pm EST, exhausted and exhilarated, I completed a six mile, three hour hike/ climb up High Top and High Windy Mountains in Black Mountain,NC. This is a feat I would not have been able to accomplish one year and fifty pounds ago.

Approximately 75 of us started this climb. Two had to come down early due to injuries sustained during the climb. Parts of this climb involved literally pulling ourselves along using whatever roots and branches we could reach. Sometimes the path was steep and muddy. At three separate stages we had to climb areas of sheer rock face-- grasping to find foot and handholds where ever we could. On our climb was a teenager afraid of heights. One of the most remarkable things I saw was how the people-- and a couple of guys in particular-- helped her along the rough every tear and panic attack she had. She made it. This brave young lady, who I called my niece, Cecelia Price, accomplished a task she never envisioned.

At the beginning of the hike I had earphones in, but as we progressed, I realized that I needed to be able to hear the others. All along the way we gave words of encouragement, advice and support. And we made it. Some of us slower than others, but we made it. Some people say the spectacular. views from the top are your reward. I disagree.

Your reward is your sense of accomplishment after you have finished. I may have many spiritual and mental mountains left to climb in my life. I may never climb another physical mountain. But just this once-- I did.  Shout out to Dorian my fellow explorer and Sonny Cho from Prattville for getting Cecelia up that mountain. Shout out to D'Vonne for the words of encouragement and all the "selfies"! And especially to Miss Crystal who,like me, lost a lot of weight in the past year and saw this as a challenge she had to conquer.  We did it Crystal!  I know your trainer was proud.