U Bein's bridge lies outside of Mandalay. It is theplace to be at sunset, as hordes of foreigners and locals alike gather to walk its teak planks and marvel at the engineering feat of extending 1300 yards across a shallow lake. I walk with my fellow travelers, then we disperse to different places as the sun sets lower in the haze, turning a soft gold, then orange, then a ball of red. I stay on top of the bridge. A huge flock of 1000 ducks, the duck herders tell us, are directed into their pen for the night on land. They'll collect the eggs in the morning, and sell them at the market. There are ducks, and there are people. People and more people, with cameras, mostly. Some vendors have set up small businesses along the ... read more

From Honduras I zoomed back to my home in Aztec, New Mexico in a matter of hours. I felt ripped away from the comfortable life I had lived for the past few weeks. My routine was predictable: Breakfast at 7:30 with Orphilia, Spanish tutoring from 8:00 to noon at Ixbalanque School right around the corner. My Spanish teacher and I talked about everything, from fruit to our experiences of giving birth to our children, relationships, marriage, dreams (I offered my amateur services as a dream therapist), "unacceptable" (dirty) words, travels, financial difficulties, hopes for the future. All of this in Spanish and sign language. I had the most fun when I described my experience of traveling on a boat 25 years ago from Singapore to Sumatra when the boat sank in the middle of the night. ... read more

Iglesia la Merced in Gracias is its oldest church, dating from 1547, or at least that´s what its loving caretaker told us. It is rarely used now, only for special occasions. But the caretaker, who donates his time out of his love for the church, proudly showed off the gigantic key to the door--he said it was original--the donation box in the church--also original, he said, and the figure of Jesus on the cross. And I do believe that was original also. 300 or 400 or 450 years old, what is the difference, this is an old church. The ceiling arcs above, it smells like bat guano inside. It is a marvelous place to be. We were fortunate to happen by when the caretaker was opening the church to air it out. Otherwise, the only activity ... read more

We´ve all had those moments where everything seems to be right. Where contentment seems pure bliss. I had one of those moments with my family. I was tired from my adventure at the waterfall earlier that day. Orphilia was in the kitchen--the small simple kitchen with three stoves and a gecko making noises from somewhere on the yuk green walls. She was making pupusas on her gas stove. I sat down at the kitchen table in the candle and lantern light, necessary because the electricity was off. I watched as she expertly shaped the flour dough for the pupusas in her hands, carefully inserted the cheese mixture in each, flattened them, then placed them on the iron skillet. How many of them have you made in your lifetime? I ask. Thousands, she says. Elda, her younger ... read more

Stones can speak, yes they can. And they spoke this morning at the ruins near the town of Copan Ruinas. Massive buildings, extraordinary energy and intent. Several hundred years of building, ruling, processions, ball games, ceremonies, maintaining the world iteself. The Mayan descendants still live. The stones hold the real secrets. Maybe the macaws that live there will tell me about it someday, but more likely, if I listen more carefully, I will be able to hear the stones speak more clearly.... read more