Cynthia Beck
Antigua, Guatemala is my destination. I will be there for 8 weeks to learn spanish! Ole!Cynthia Beck
Travel Blog Posts
July 6th 2009
Aqua is the volcano that looms over Antigua. It is majestic. The little city under it so reminded me of Tahoe City in the 1960's and 70's. Friendly people. Small, independent business. Delicious food. Visitors welcome and needed. Antigua for me was both new and familiar. I’ve been back in San Mateo for a week now. Returning to my house feels like taking off tight, pointy, high-heeled dress shoes after a long, family wedding. Relief. San Mateo is different than Antigua. The shower has hot water and strong pressure. My bed is soft. I relish sinking into it. All the cars look new, even mine. People wear their seatbelts. Buses spew oxygen and not diesel dirt. Grocery stores are in business districts and homes are in neighborhoods. The dogs are well-fed. In fact, my dog Toby ... read more
Finding My Way
Published: July 5th 2009Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Pacific Coast » Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa
June 29th 2009
In Antigua, the Calles run East-West and the Caminos run North-South. This makes it easy to read the map. Visitors think this means it is easy to find your way around. The only problem is--there are no street signs. In your hotel room you can think, plan and organize your walk around Antigua. But you won’t find your way around by thinking. There are no signs. You have to look up from the map, find the landmarks and use your gut feelings about which way to go. Guatemala taught me the joy of going with my guts. Saturday was our last full day in Santa Lucia. As usual, the mountain sky was a crisp, azure blue in the morning, but turned to an angry grey by afternoon. By 2:00, what was thick as fog covered the ... read more
You're Invited
Published: July 3rd 2009Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Pacific Coast » Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa
June 27th 2009
As the fourth of July is upon us, Americans have 10 reasons to celebrate. The Bill of Rights. Guatemala does not have a Bill of Rights. Speech isn’t free everywhere. I have agonized over the writing of this blog. I long to share with you all the power, courage and beauty of my friend Julio’s work. It is what has impressed me the most about this extraordinary man. But I can’t do it over the internet. So, you are all invited to join me at my home on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 7PM. I’ll provide the margaritas and dinner. Julio will provide an enlightening and compelling presentation and a chance to make the world a better place. If you are on this blog list, Facebook, Toastmasters, or we are connected in some other way, I ... read more
Meet the Family
Published: July 3rd 2009Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Pacific Coast » Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa
June 26th 2009
My father was a bit of a joker. When I started dating way back in 1972, he wanted to be sure the boys treated me right. When that nervous knock came at the door, he would open it wearing a warm smile and say... “Hello, My name is Herb Beck. You must be a smart young man because my daughter is very special. Here, let me show you my gun collection. I’m an expert marksman. Please have her home by 10:30 PM.” I was always escorted home by 10PM. Meeting the family of someone you care about can be nerve wracking. You want them to like you. You want to like them. I was delighted when Julio invited Luke and me to spend two days with his family. It would be great to see his ... read more
The Place Where Clouds Are Born
Published: July 2nd 2009Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Western Highlands » Lago de Atitlán
June 26th 2009
I was lightheaded. I felt giddy, merry, joyous, free. Was it the climb up the side of the mountain? Was it the altitude? Was it the invigorating air that filled my lungs? No matter. Hiking behind Julio and Luke on a mountain trail at 8200 feet, and way above Lake Atitlan, I felt high. My thesaurus has 32 words for beautiful. None of them describe the mountains of Santa Lucia. Upon our arrival Friday morning, Julio hired a truck to take us to a path, about a half mile out of town, that he usually walks to. We would walk back. Very considerate of our sea-level, gringo bodies. Luke loved being able to stand-up in the back of the pick-up truck. The path along the cliff was lush and a bit muddy. “Cuidado Cynthia!” they both ... read more
June 24th 2009
Every five years, the catholic boarding school that I graduated from in 1974, holds a reunion luncheon for my class. I dread it. Am I fatter than in 1974? Am I as thin as Suzy? Do my accomplishments match Anne’s? Will I have the most wrinkles? How will I be judged? Luke visiting me in Antigua had the same feel. Will he like it here? Will he understand? Will my friends here like him? Will we get along? All my petty worries were washed away in the Guatemala thunderstorm that raged when the van picked him up from the airport. He was at least two inches taller than I remember. In the first five minutes I was crying as I laughed at the fun he made of me. My son, like no other, can make me ... read more
Comfort Food
Published: June 21st 2009Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Capital Region » Antigua
June 21st 2009
Yesterday, I had my first bad moment in 7 weeks. A miscommunication about rooming arrangements caused all of us a bit of stress--a feeling I’m no longer familiar with. At home, I would chew. Chew on what everyone said. Chew on who was wrong and why I was right. Chew on chocolate. Grind my teeth at night. Yesterday, I made a different decision. I choose not to ruminate on what went wrong, but instead, to find reasons to feel good, rather than reasons to be right. In Antigua, that was easy. First, I went and sat in the beautiful cathedral Merced. I let the 500 years of prayers that resonate in this place run through me. I asked God, to give me peace and joy. Then I went for a walk to find my friends. First, ... read more
Standing in the Sky
Published: June 21st 2009Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Capital Region » Antigua
June 21st 2009
The blue was expansive. It felt like I was at the beach and I could simply wade into the sky. After trekking 2 miles in the humid jungle and climbing 166 steps, I was a the top of tower four of the lost city of Tikal. The feeling was both fierce and gentle. Even my eyelashes felt alive. Maybe you know the feeling that a physical place can create. A place that expands, relaxes and rejuvenates you. A place that erases trivial worries. A place that causes your soul to ask, “How did it get here?” Some of you feel it in Yosemite. Some of you feel it at Tahoe and in Maui. Some of you feel it looking at the Pacific. I have never felt it as strongly as in the lost city of ... read more
June 13th 2009
When was the last time you attended an life expanding event: the symphony, a play, a wedding, a graduation or some other gathering that really moved your heart? (And no, Bob, Cal Football doesn’t count!) I’m talking about an experience. Something that connected you to the other people around you. Something that had meaning in the grander scheme of things. (No Bob, loathing Stanford does NOT count!) As the ultimate extravert, I love to be with groups of people. It energizes me. Perhaps that’s why I love worship. The energy of others, singing, praying, believing, hoping, exchanging the love of the universe....it’s my favorite thing to do. In Antigua, I have found a whole city of people who share my feelings. Tradition still counts here. The tradition of the beautiful Mayan people combines with Catholic history ... read more
June 11th 2009
Perhaps you have heard the saying “She doesn’t have a shy bone in her body”. That would apply to me. I was born without the shyness gene. Even as a small child, I’d talk to anyone. I remember the remorse on my Mother’s face when, at about 4 years old, I asked the grocery clerk “Mister, why don’t you have any hair?” Mom apologized profusely to the man for my insatiable curiosity. Then she turned to me curtly and said “Let’s go, Chatty Cathy!” I had no idea what I had done to upset her. Still today, I know no strangers. A fact that sometimes annoys my friends. Once, Trish and I went to Starbuck’s. She went to the ladie’s room. I was momentarily lonely so, I struck up a conversation with the woman next to ... read more
Tot: 0.081s; Tpl: 0.003s; cc: 15; qc: 88; dbt: 0.0519s; 1; s:notus w:www (50.28.61.183); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.8mb
