Saturday, March 8, 2014

Back with water and electricity...

...the things we take for granted are amazing.

After almost two weeks in the village, we are back in Xela. Yesterday was the Mayan day of rain and incredibly, after months of dryness, it did! A torrential downpour for a few hours last night and then this evening on the road. Up here in the mountains, the clouds are impressive. The odd thing is that in the villages, I could never tell what direction they were coming from since they didn't appear to be moving: quite strange for a weather geek from a flat city by a lake.

Even though I have been visiting the same area for a decade, we visited a new place I had not even heard of that was only a 20-min walk from where we stay. It's a sacred Mayan site that is currently in use...the location commands a 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains. There are some big stones in a slightly wooded area (the entire region is deforested). The layout is like the naves of a church and you can sit in the stones. There are beliefs about what the area was used for, but I don't think it matters. The energy there was so strong and sacred and supportive, that I felt as if I could just stay and be content. This is all the more surprising because of the terror of war that was a constant for 35 years in this region. Additionally, the Maya were not allowed to practice their religion openly until after the peace accords which were less than 20 years ago. Maybe the land is reclaiming the spirit for the people...

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