http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Cynthia-Beck/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Cynthia Beck en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:17:31 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:17:31 +0000 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.Irsquove been back in San Mateo for a week now. Returning to my house feels like taking off tight pointy highheeled dress s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Mateo/blog-415640.html In Antigua the Calles run EastWest and the Caminos run NorthSouth. This makes it easy to read the map. Visitors think this means it is easy to find your way around. The only problem isthere are no street signs. In your hotel room you can think plan and organize your walk around Antigua. But you wonrsquot find your way around by thinking. There are no signs. You have to look up from the map http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Santa-Lucia/blog-415449.html 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 isnrsquot 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 Juliorsquos work. It is what has impressed me the most about this extraordinary man. But I canrsquot do http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Santa-Lucia/blog-414665.html 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... ldquoHello 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. Irsquom an expert marksman. Please have her http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Santa-Lucia/blog-414643.html 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 Fri http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lago-de-Atitlan/blog-414274.html 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 Annersquos 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 w http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-413893.html Yesterday I had my first bad moment in 7 weeks. A miscommunication about rooming arrangements caused all of us a bit of stressa feeling Irsquom 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-410879.html 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. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/blog-410842.html 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 heartAnd no Bob Cal Football doesnrsquot countIrsquom 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/blog-407930.html Perhaps you have heard the saying ldquoShe doesnrsquot have a shy bone in her bodyrdquo. That would apply to me. I was born without the shyness gene. Even as a small child Irsquod talk to anyone. I remember the remorse on my Motherrsquos face when at about 4 years old I asked the grocery clerk ldquoMister why donrsquot you have any hairrdquo Mom apologized profusely to the m http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/blog-407691.html Poco y poco my spanish is improving. Now I can use about 25 verbs. But only in the present tense. The first three weeks of study Amabilia taught me regular verbs. Those that are conjugated according to ldquothe rulesrdquo. After 5 weeks of studying Irsquove progressed to ldquostemchangingrdquo verbs. They are irregular. They are not conjugated by ldquoby the rulesrdquo. Remarkab http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-406182.html Luke Skywalker may have defeated the Emperor of Darkness in his part of the universe but in our world evil still exists. Despite its beauty and the warmth of its people Guatemala has been dominated by the forces of evil since the Spanish conquered the Mayan culture in 1524. The ruling Spanish government stripped this agricultural people of the best of its lands dominating them physically and e http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/blog-404049.html As a kid my brother teased me for every little mistake. This is the privilege of an older brother. But I became very selfconscious.Because I am naturally brilliant I started school when I was only four. And like most young geniuses I was physically awkward a ready target for dodge ball bullies. This made me more selfconscious.I learned to take teasing well. My exhusband once picked me up http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Antigua-and-Barbuda/Antigua/blog-402417.html You may be wondering with all this soul searching are you having any fun CynthiaAll right. Irsquoll blow my own cover. I am having a blast. I am lucky to have a full eight weeks this time to study and explore. Other students that live in mi casa have shorter time. I have become fast friends with many of them. There was the beautiful young Debbie from Newport beach whose rubio blonde hair t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Guatemala-Antigua/blog-401714.html The rhythm of my life here is deeply soothing. Like your breath moving in. And your breath moving out.Breakfast class lunch afternoon in Antigua or volunteering studying dinner bed. Everyday. The same gentle routine. Antigua and its strange sights are becoming usual to me. A walk in the open market on Saturday is a symphony of color and unique visual experiencesA man with blouses and skirts http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-401710.html My friend Bob Long worries that I am too gullible too softhearted too superstitious too easily taken. I like to think of myself as having a big heart. Maybe Bob is wrong about me.CoincidencesBut running off to Guatemala sometimes I do question my wisdom. I long to ask the advice of my parents. Too bad they didnrsquot live long enough to hear me say that They have both been gone now man http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-400032.html You know the feeling. You see the warm orangeyellow ball of the sun setting over the Pacific. You feel expansive. You get chills.Or you see your child sing in the school Christmas play for the first time and your heart is so full that your eyes brim with the the excess love. You get chills. You have an ahha moment and understand something that mystified you. You get chills. You see someone and f http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/blog-398994.html Irsquoll tell you a closely held secret. I frighten easily. Now I know that may come as a surprise to some of you because I act so confident. And Irsquom trekking off to Guatemala alone. But those of you who know me well will be saying thatrsquos not a secret CB. Yes sometimes the world scares me. And I worry. I worry Irsquoll get fat. I worry that I need to clean out my garage. I worr http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/blog-398690.html My first week of spanish was really fun. I did better than I expected. I thought this would be a breeze until we started to conjugate verbs. It has been so long since I studied any language I thought conjugation only happen on prison visits.My teacher Amabilla is tiny jolly and patient. She does not correct my every mistake as does my son. She speaks to me in spanish of her life. I understan http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-398154.html I am sitting at a formica desk circa 1960. It is gray and has little pink and white boomerangs all over it. The lamp on my right has a white ceramic base with a piece obviously glued back in. The mandarin orange walls have been that color since the 1500rsquos. They are not inspired by Martha Stewartrsquos trendy decorating schemes. There are nails from now absent pictures sticking out of the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-397172.html