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Tikal

11/27/2011

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It was still dark as I stood outside the eco-lodge where I was staying in El Remate . I thought about what other creatures might be awake in the jungle as I walked in the darkness down the stone steps to the road where I would meet my minivan at 5;30 AM. I had stayed in El Remate because it was closer to Tikal than Flores.   I wanted to be at the park entrance by 6AM to see the first light at the site.  I was surprised that after we paid our entrance fee at the park gate, we continued driving for another
thirty minutes.   I kept expecting to see the temples and pyramids --Temple IV is the tallest structure in the Mayan world and is only one of the massive structures on this well excavated site.   But there was only thick jungle vegetation, as far as I could see.  Later I learned that Tikal encompasses 222 square miles and is important not only for its magnificent ruins but also for the protection of a vast array of wildlife and fauna.

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Petén and Rio Dulce: Overview

11/25/2011

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For the last two weeks I have been traveling farther from Antigua, to
the Petén and Rio Dulce areas in the north and eastern parts of Guatemala.  It was one of the most incredible trips of my life! 

I was deeply moved in visiting the ancient Mayan sites of Tikal and
Uaxactún.  It was impossible to be
indifferent next to the temples and pyramids, these structures of massive
limestone towering well above the tallest trees in the surrounding jungle,
placed with incredible precision so that every year the path of solstices and
equinoxes is light passing through an opening in the stones. 
Petén is home to one of the world’s largest remaining rainforests and is
  also considered to be the “cradle of Mayan civilization” a region where the
  Mayan calendar was perfected and the incredible site of Tikal constructed, over
  a period of nearly 2000 years.


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The Giant Kite Festival 2011 Sumpango

11/6/2011

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THREE DAY CULTURAL FESTIVAL TO SUMPANGO for THE DAY OF THE DEAD
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After months of research and many visits to Sumpango in order to learn more about the Kachiqel  Mayan tradition of Los Barriletes Gigantes, the Giant Kites, it was truly a pleasure to bring a small international group of travelers to Sumpango for Dia de los Muertos.  We met up with Julio Asturias in Sumpango’s central park.  All around us vendors were selling marigolds which would be used to decorate Sumpango’s cemetery.  As in Oaxaca, the scent of the marigolds is believed to guide the spirits home for their fleeting reunion with the living.


Julio led us to the large hall of the municipal building where some of los barrileteros, the kitemakers, were continuing to work on their mammoth creations. In addition to the months of work which had already gone into the kites, many of the groups worked all night long for this last week before the festival, cutting tissue paper and gluing sections of their kite together.  The kites
would be mounted on bamboo the next day.  Already they were spectacular works of art, made entirely from tissue
paper and glue.  It was fun to meet up again with the members of Corazon Juvenil and this time to be able to publish
photos of their design as well as to see how they had progressed!


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    Louise "Luisa" Wisechild, PhD

    I first visited Guatemala in 1995  as a member of the Vashon Island sister city delgation to Santiago de Atitlan, Guatemala.
    I been living in Guatemala since 2011.   I didn't intend to stay  -- my idea was to develop tours in numerous countries.  But I fell in love with Guatemala --  where every day I learn something new or see something I have not seen before.  Guatemala is a land of diverse natural beauty.  Living in a Kachikel Maya pueblo, which is also a gathering spot for international budget travelers, makes this a rare and fascinating residence.    My  curiosity and my heart  are engaged here every day, in my relationships.   .  I enjoy  speaking spanish with friends, and learning more about the Maya culture, giving tarot readings in Spanish and also singing my growing  repertoire of  Spanish songs. 
    I am a  lifelong independent traveler and group leader.  As a graduate student in interpersonal communication and the creative arts, I  led tours to Oaxaca, Mexico for the Day of the Dead and co-facilitated a tour to the goddess sites of Mexico with Global Awareness through Experience.  I have  been fortunate to visit Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bali, Thailand, Australia, Europe, Canada and  the US.   Bit by bit, I will go global again, but Latin America is so enchanting. . . .

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