Kelly and Jade (9-years old), from Red Deer, Alberta are just coming to the end of their 3 weeks of working and playing with the kids at the new library. They did art projects, read stories, played games, learned some computer skills and played on the jungle gymn 
Friday, November 24, 2006
Kelly and Jade Work With Kids
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Larissa Glides Through Jungle Canopy
Today, Larissa and I stopped at the Canopy Tour, 17 km outside of the village on the road to Belize. It's a rush. You glide on cables from platform to platform in the jungle treetops ... covering 13 platforms with 9 cables, stretching over 1 km. This facility (which featured in Survivor Guatemala) also has over 2 km. of interpretive jungle trails, as well as a functioning chiclero compound, where the men show how chicle for chewing gum was processed from the jungle.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Pablo Collado in Concert
Larissa and I had the good fortune to see Pablo Collado, flautist/guitarist extraordinaire, in concert at a local hotel the other night. Pablo is one of the headliners for the Activation Maya Ceremonial Celebration in December (see www.ixcanaan.org for more details)
The Procession of the Skulls
On November 1st, we went to San Jose, a small community around the back side of the lake, for the Procession of the Skulls. This ceremony has been performed on this date since the 1400's ... apparently the skulls are those of three very powerful shamans of the Itza tribe, who are honored at this time every year with a mass and a public procession from house to house throughout the village. It is considered very good luck for your household if the skulls visit.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Volunteers Teach Computer Classes
This past week we had the help of two more volunteers, Amelia and Mike McCrae, who helped out with the art classes and taught basic computer skills to a group of 7 young students. 
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Donations of Books
We have been receiving a few donations of books ... and have been holding regular library hours for kids who just want to come and sit and read.
Larissa Visits the Zoo
One of the interesting local daytrips here in our area is a trip to the zoo. It is not huge, but it is very beautiful. It was created as a project to attract tourism to the area, but has not been well marketed. Here, Larissa has her first "close encounter" with a spider monkey as this friendly guy was thrilled to hold onto her finger.
Larissa Visits the Actun Can Caves
Last week we took Larissa to some of our local sites of interest, beginning with the Actun Can Caves that are said to snake through the limestone base of Peten, from here to the caves outside of Poptun. These caves are one of the sites of the Activation Maya ceremonies in December. Below you can see the extent of the caves that are open to the public from the diagram on the sign at the entrance.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
English Classes
Marketta's English classes have also been a HUGE hit ... after 3 days the class had swelled to over 4o students and we split into two classes of 20. New students show up daily, and now that we are into the second week, we can no longer accept new participants.
Puzzles
All the kids LOVE the puzzles ... they are in constant demand. We don't have nearly enough. If anyone has puzzles of any size that they would be willing to donate, please send them on down!!
Classes Grow
By the end of last week, Larissa's art class had grown to over 40 children, and we had to split it into two classes.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Women's Group Caters
The Women's Group of El Remate, all dressed in their green and white uniforms, made and served tamales with tostados and a delicious bean salad for the event. Below are Lilian and Adelaida serving the tamarindo juice. 
Cutting the Ribbon
Sr. Emilio Tager cuts the ribbon to formally open the new library/playground complex.
Inauguration of the Library
The Inauguration Ceremonies began at about 4 p.m. on Saturday, the 30th of September, with a few short speaches. Shown here, from left, Enrique, Emilio Tager, the mayor of our district of Flores, Victor Funis, the Mayor of our village, Edwardo's son (Eduardo), and Eduardo.
Our Librarian Arrives
Valerie Patrick of Vancouver, B. C. has arrived to take over the management of the library and development of programs for the next 3 months.
Our New Volunteer with Book Donation
We were joined recently by Marketa Kop (center) of the Czech Republic, who has been scouring the area far and wide, for donations of books. Here she is shown with the owners of the Libreria Cultura of Flores who have brought several books and magazines to donate to the library.
Larissa's Class
Larissa's art class is growing daily. By Friday, it had grown to 16 children and we had to move the small tables and chairs out onto the corridor
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Landscaping #4
Today, Gonzalos's landcaping crew finished spreading the fine gravel throughout the paths and public areas, and painted the dividing walls.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Landscaping #3
By last night, the bright red sawdust of mahogany that cushions the "floor" of the playground, completely changed the look of the yard.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Volunteering in the Library
My 16 year old niece, Larissa, arrived on Saturday to spend the next two months here, working as a volunteer with local kids through the new library and studying Spanish.
Playing
By Monday afternoon, the neighborhood kids were enjoying the playground around the piles of sawdust that await spreading as a base for the playground area.
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