Adam's Blog

Mayan Thunder ..... A tale of two realities....

We sat on the ruins of an ancient Mayan city called Lubaantun for the closing of the Cacao Festival 2012. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me... the jungle noises, the slight breeze blowing through those old worn out stone structures, the steady drum beat of the days guest dance troup practicing for their big show later that day and the smell of the incense they were burning took me to a place I have only ever read about. You could almost feel every one of the 3000 + years of history of this magical place. I let my mind wander a bit and tried to invision what it would have been like as a resident of this city way back in time. I had this feeling for a few moments then I was jolted back into this reality by an altogether different sound.... the sound of a cellular phone ringing!!! WHAT THE WHAT!!! I looked around to see who was the perpatrator in squashing my fantasy of being a Mayan king on top of his kingdom, but to no avail...

The day got hotter and hotter and we could see, smell and hear the rain coming from off in the distance. It would not be long before it was upon us. At least it gave a bit of respite from the extreme heat. The day continued with a few dances from some local Mayan dance troups. The big show started around 1 pm with the afore mentioned guest act "Palanque Rojo" re-enacting, in full costume, an ancient story of two waring Mayan cities. WOW!! That was a show. They must have been reading my mind because they looked exactly as I had been pictureing myself earlier as a Mayan king.

We left the site shortly after and headed off to lunch and later to the Mayan village of San Miguel which for some of us, would be our home for the night. Once in San Miguel, one of the most amazing adventures I have had in a long time started. We got settled into our bunkhouse before being split into two smaller groups for a tour around this small but vibrant village. Antonia, our tour guide and host had us into her earthen floored, thatched roofed home for our evening meal. WOW AGAIN! She and her daughter, along with Rachel, sat at the clay/earthen cooking hearth preparing the tortillias for the meal that was bubbling away in a nearby pot on the same hearth. Again, I found myself being whisked away to a place in my mind where I was a young Mayan man sitting in the family home listening to the handed down stories of my elders and waiting for the simple but delicious meal to be served and enjoyed.

Now, as Maritimers, we are renowned for our hospitlity and we are proud of that... but I must say that this hospitality could not hold a candle to how we were treated in this family's home.

Dinner was over and we sat and chatted, compared stories and asked questions about each others cultures, tradidtions and more. Back to the bunkhouse and settled in for a great sleep listening to the sounds of the village....

A great day. A great expereince and an un-forgettable bunch of memories...Two realities met in the middle. We Canadians have a lot and should be thankfull for all we have... but, we could stand to learn a few things from these ancieint people who for thousands of years, have lived off the land and continue to get by with out all of luxuries we think we need to be happy...

Adam Rumsey
NSCC Tourism Faculty
Pictou Campus