Maya Wedding

Sheldon & Darlena Wuck

The great thing about weddings down here in Toledo is the inclusiveness. No invitations are sent out, no save the date cards, and best of all no RSVP’s indicating whether you will be in attendance with a guest/date. A bus goes around to the villages of the bride and groom, picks up everyone who wants to come, and takes everyone back home after the ceremony and lunch. An all-inclusive celebration.

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to attend a wedding after witnessing several of these packed wedding buses roll through my village. Darlena, the oldest of my host-sisters that still lived at home was married in the village of San Jose. At age 19, she is a little older than average, but that is because she had a hard time choosing a husband. “Hard to choose, easy to refuse,” is what she used to tell me. As a close family friend and the owner of a brand new camera, I was also designated official wedding photographer, so expect tons of pictures.

The ceremony portion was about 2.5 hours long, almost entirely in Maya Mopan, and was a multi-purpose church service complete with a Baptism at the beginning and the wedding at the end. The church was packed with family and friends of the bride and groom, and once the service ended, a parade followed the couple through the village, not neglecting to grab the church pews on the way out for seating at the reception. Lunch was a massive feast of pork caldo (soup), poch (tamale like corn dumplings), and tortillas. A generator provided the music in this electricity free village and a crowd of about 200 enjoyed the sunny afternoon. The little kids showed off their best dance moves while the adults discretely passed around bottles of home-made alcohol. Around 2pm everyone was tired, full, and ready to return. The bus was packed up, everyone piled in, and the wedding was complete.

Jeff and his Mac next to my Mac, chilling at the PG library

Technology Pros and Woes

Oh poor me, my jungle internet connection is down. Something about the school's modem being only temporary and the internet provider promising a new one. He is putting it on a plane "right now," he swears. I'm guessing in another month or two they might have a connection again, but in the mean time I have to tough it out with my once a week connection. But the bright side is that I just found out that the District Library in Punta Gorda has free wireless. My two most favorite words in the world. So if I seem a little out of touch, it’s because I am.

I also discovered that I can climb up one of the hills surrounding Blue Creek and get two bars of cell phone reception. The trail is a little tricky. Seems the blazers didn’t know about switchbacks and forged straight up the hill at a about a 50 degree grade, leaving the summit only accessible in the dry season. The view from the top, however, is great.

And now April has come and gone. With my most wonderful trip to Guatemala with my parents, I started on a major up. By the time I got back though, the dry season arrived. I had heard rumors about this, but so far daily rain showers had kept the nights cool. Now rain comes only once every week or two and everything is dusty dusty. I know, I complain about the mud, and now I complain about the dust. Do we see a trend here? Dirt, in all forms, is a pain and something I am eager to escape. With that, I need to go buy and mop and continue my epic battle against filth.

View of Blue Creek from Cell Phone Spot

Walking in Cockscomb

A couple of weeks ago I journeyed up to Cockscomb, also known as Belize's
Jaguar Reserve. It was a nice day trip and something that I should have
done long ago. Thousands of acres of well maintained trails, clear rivers,
cascading waterfalls descending into deep pools, and animals, lots of
animals. You would think that living in the jungle and all, that I would
tire of mossy paths surrounded by rain forest canopy. Nope, not at all.

I went up to Cockscomb to meet up with some friends who were doing a 20 mile
hike that day. Since I failed to make it out of bed early enough to
participate, I decided to do some solo hiking and meet up with them for post
hike refreshments at the cabin (a bargain $4 a night for PC volunteers).
The path I chose, per recommendation, was known as Tiger Fern trail, which
offers an excellent vista and ends at two amazing waterfalls and pools. 3
hours out and back with a cool dip in between. The swim at the end was a
retreat and as the sun dipped behind the Maya Mountains, I made my way back
to the trailhead. Steep switchbacks and a sense of urgency at the pending
darkness combined to provide me with a few mud covered slips that
necessitated a quick dip into a stream, clothes and all.

With my bath complete, I hurried on my way, but not before coming face to
face with some of the local wild life. Being of the Pacific Northwest, I
never hike alone without being loud, whistling or singing to make sure that
I don't surprise any bears. Well, as I am not exactly in bear country down
here, I must have been too quiet when I surprised an unsuspecting Warri, or
Peccary, the local wild pigs. He stared me down as I picked up a large
stick and made it known that I was really really scary and should be feared.
I had heard too many stories of people getting cornered or treed by an
unhappy Warri. He ran a little ways into the bush, but kept a close eye on
me as I walked down the trail, waving my stick and singing "Zippity Do Dah."

I made it back to the cabins unharmed, muddy, and proud of my ability to
keep my cool in the face of two large tusks and a menacing glare.