A Full Half Third Day

 Day three.   This is a day that I think shall always remain strong in my memory.  There are a couple reasons.  One, waking up in Guatemala can not really be registered as normal in my life experience...  yet.  The picture above is yet another unforgettable Guatemalan transport demonstration.  Kid maybe between 10 and 12 driving a four wheeler through town with a girl on the back.  The kid was wearing sun glasses and really I think he was trying hard to look cool.  Which he kind of did.   This we saw while driving to a local Mayan ruin.

 When we arrived at the park where the ruins were I thought this tree shadow was doing a good job of making the solid ground look more unique than usual.

 Here is one of the first ruins we saw upon our arrival.  A foundation of what they think must have been some sort of Mayan house.  These ruins are thought to vary in in age from 3000 BC to the Mayan collapse around the time of the Spanish invasions.  Next we went over to a small shelter with a table in it.  On the table was a diorama of the site we were at.  The guide was starting to show us where we would be going and what we would be seeing at each site.  He spoke in Spanish, so I was only getting part of what he said. Most through our hosts translation and a word or two on my own.
I suddenly noticed the a wobbling of the floor or ground of the building.  I thought the floor might be fake and the building was simply not built well.  Then the wobbling turned into shaking and I looked at the guide who had a fearful smile that had stopped him mid explanation.  Then we all looked at each other as we simultaneously noted the ground all around and under us start to shake.  This was followed by a deep rumble which seemed louder because of the grounds accompanying shake.  We all ran out of the shelter into the rain of falling leaves as the girls from the visiting school group added their dramatic screams. Then for about 10 to 15 seconds we just shook.  Then it slowed down and stopped and I wondered if the ground was still wobbly or if it was simply my weak knees. It was amazing.  At the time my brother and I had no idea how big it was.  We figured this was fairly common and we had just got a taste of a normal Guatemalan geologic event. After all we had already seen half a dozen volcanoes.  It was not till later that we realized how blessed we really were.   Thankfully, Lucrecia contacted our family right away to let them know we were okay.  This was a big blessing to our family.

Adaptability is normal in Guatemala and an earthquake happens and you go on with the tour.  So after that we went on to see some very interesting Mayan ruins.  Here is our guide explaining the carvings on this altar.  Most of the carvings were hard to see in real life, making pictures almost a hopeless cause.  I liked his pointer stick which consisted of a wooden stick with a feather tied to the end.

This is an example of an ancient Mayan drainage system.  This is how it was discovered. Talk about being built to last.  While there we got to see an area where they were uncovering a road.  What was interesting was that you could see that there had been structures built on top of it later.  This was a very clear example of multiple historical changes at one site.

Here is a little example of some of the damage caused by the earthquake.  These are the temporary shelters used by the archaeologists at the site while they are digging.  The shelter we were in when the earthquake started was of solider build.   Also note the leaves that shook off the trees during the earthquake.

This is an example of where the name Takalik Abaj comes from.  In the old Mayan language it translates to "standing stones", which are unique to this site.  This particular one was about 8 or 9 feet tall.  On the sides there were smooth indentations where the priests would sharpen their knives.  It was very interesting to run your hand along the smooth rock and think about all that had come before.

This is one of the many stone monuments at this site.  If you look closely you can see the body of a man with and arm holding a spear.  This was one of the more well defined carving we saw.

This is me and Michael standing on a partially uncovered pyramid. That is probably one of the most exciting things about this site.  They figure only about 40% of it has been uncovered.    While we were there, there were parts we could not go because they were in the midst of unearthing a Mayan king's tomb.  And they also would not allow us to take pictures of those parts.

Another standing stone.  This one is supposed to be a pregnant lady.

Another partially uncovered pyramid or maybe just a hillside terrace.  Either way, it is some very impressive stone work.

We were surrounded by jungle.  This is a path from one site to another.

We got to go a look at a collection of some artifacts they have found at the site.  This is a jade burial mask.  The white is not part of the mask, it simply represents how it would be placed on the face.

This is another stone altar with a standing stone on the dead side of one of the pyramids.  The pyramids had a side that represented life and the other side represented death.  There is a carving on this standing stone.  It is two men with a glythic panel between them.

Here is a big frog face.  Another symbol of death.

And a crocodile.  On the death side.

Again, this is amazing stone work.  This represents a lot of work.

Panorama of the pyramid.

When we got back to our hosts house there were a couple signs that there had been a shake up.  This is one of their big windows which had been broken.

My new Guatemalan canine friend, Quirea.  Hope I spelled that right.  She liked to playfully bite which ever limb was available.

Maria (pictured above) was the magician of the kitchen.  She made some of the tastiest food I have ever had.
That was the first half of the day.  A pretty full half day at that.  Later we discovered that the earthquake we had experienced was a 7.4 magnitude, whose epicenter had been just of the coast from where we were.  An earthquake of that size had not happened in Guatemala since 1976.  It also ended in tragedy for about 70 people who lost their lives in collapsing structures. Again we had a multitude of reasons to feel very blessed for God's protection and grace.  Because when you feel the ground shaking, you realize how out of control you really are.

Dia Dos

 So, you think you have it bad with gas prices?  Before you go and get all shocked, I will point out that this is not in the United States Dollar currency. It is in the quetzal, which is the Guatemalan currency.  It takes about 12 quetzales to make one dollar.

 Oh yeah.  The mountain is smoking.  When you realize this is coming out of the earth...  what a world!!  I wonder if anyone has told the mountain it is harmful to itself and the environment.:)

 In the our hosts yard.  They had palm trees, avocado trees, and mango trees.  This may be a reason for me to not like winter.

 Yes, more transportation pictures.

 How romantic.

 We went to a small recreational park/retreat center thing, where they had some great hiking, with rope bridges.  They are really fun and a little creepy to walk on.  They sway and bounce with every step.  Almost like a boat.  Our guide was carrying the typical Guatemalan protection. I sawed off pistol grip shotgun.  They seem pretty comfortable with it. Before the hike, I noticed him using it as a back scratching device.

 Then down some steps and into a stream tunnel.

 We thankfully did not have to walk in the water.  It was so cool -the tunnel and the water.

 About 75 feet.  And no, the picture does it almost no justice.

 Looking back down the valley.

 Oh yeah.  When we reached the summit of our hike, we rode zip lines (11 of them back and forth) back down to the bottom.

 Booya.  Long and high.  Makes for some fun rides and great views.

 Here we are (left to right) Antonio, Me, Michael, and I don't remember, it was Pedro... or something very Spanish.  He was one of our zip line guides.   Made sure we were all attached correctly.  Kind of important.

 When electricity or gas is not heating your stove, this is.  These are some strong people.  They carry a load like that for miles uphill.

 On our way back from the zip lines (they call them "canopy") we stopped at a rather posh conference resort area.  Our main purpose, to enjoy some of the gardens.  They grow funny shaped plants.

 

Star fruit, It is pretty good.  It is sour and sweet. Not sure if I was supposed to eat it.

Ended the day with some mini golf in the midst of a developing thunderstorm.  They have some great thunder and lightening that get going when their storms let loose.  It was another great day.

An Expected Journey

 Recently my brother Michael and I took an international journey to visit our friend/brother Antonio and his family the beautiful country of Guatemala.  It is thanks to them that we had such an awesome time.  This is the official first day of our one week stay.  After arriving about 10:30 ish pm in Guatemala, Antonio and his mom Lucrecia picked us up and drove us to a friend's (who was absent) apartment to spend the first night.  The next morning I awoke to a beautiful day and some new looking foliage.  I am not sure of all the plant names.  The one above is most likely a type of orchid.

 This flower was about 5 or 6 inches across and grew on a tree.

 First big noticeable cultural differences were experienced on the road.  Transport is something that if it needs to happen will happen.  Sometimes with little regard for the safety of all concerned.  These folks seemed to make the most of it and were at least protecting themselves from the harmful rays of the sun.

 The tuk tuk (pictured above) is the standard inner city taxi.  It has style. Also kind of redefines crossover.  You try fitting it into a category.

 This is a motor bike with three people on it.  We saw one with four.  Again transport will happen.  At this point we were driving from Guatemala City (the capitol) to the Southern beach of Guatemala.

 Perhaps on of the greatest parts of the Guatemalan landscape is its towering volcanoes.

 This is the area we stayed at the beach.  The house is just down there on the right.  It was owned by the same friend whose apartment we had spent the previous night in.  We got to meet her.  Her name was Anna Cicilia and she was a great host.  In relation to the ocean this house was out of sight of it, but you could still hear the magical sound of waves persistently pounding on the sand.

 It was a short walk to the ocean.  We went swimming and boogy boarding for a while.  Then after going back to the house for lunch, we returned to the ocean to watch the sunset.  On the way I had to capture one of the awesome palm trees that actually had coconuts growing in it.

 Not sure again what this tree is called.  But it is cool.  Its branches hang down and then become rooted in the ground.  It is a tree with many trunks.

 This is a panoramic photo I took with my new i touch 5th generation that I got for my birthday.  It was truly a great present that my brothers and a friend got together and gave me.  Thanks a lot guys.  It made taking pictures so much easier for me.  I am pretty much the only person in my family who is not a photographer, in the sense of it being a hobby or job of mine. This panoramic makes me think maybe that could change.

 Beach sunsets.  ahhhhhh.

Waves to end the day.  That night we traveled to the nearest town for church.  It was good.  All of it was in Spanish, so my comprehension was limited.  But I still got that the sermon was on the two greatest commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, and mind.  And love your neighbor as yourself."  It was encouraging to hear in a different language.  That concludes the events of day one.