Daddy's Christmas Angel

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Around the World in 30 Days - Guatemala

"Far Jungle" by MMSikes
Around the World in 30 Days, Blogging A to Z, for the letter "G", the Passenger to Paradise has chosen Guatemala. Although she's never been there, the Passenger feels closely connected to that destination. For her book, Jungle Beat, she started in Antigua and ended in Antigua, but along the way she also "visited" Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

The Maya Ruins in Mexico have long been close to her heart. A few years ago, when she visited the ruins at Palenque in Southern Mexico, she was certain that as she gazed across the thick green jungles through a window of the Temple of the Inscriptions, she was seeing into Guatemala. Perhaps she was and perhaps she was not, but the memory of her thoughts that day have invaded her psyche and given directions in her art and in her writing she would never have taken without that journey of destiny.

Besides her book, the Passenger has created an exhibition of Maya Ruins paintings that will be on view at Crossroads Art Center in Richmond, VA starting May 18 with an opening reception and book signing. She is fascinated with the Maya and the end of their calendar December 21, 2012.

Is that date the end of time?

Guatemala.

The Maya.

What do you believe?

14 comments:

Libby said...

What a cool A-Z challenge. Good luck with the exhibition!
Fellow A-Zer: http://libbyheily.blogspot.com/

Cindy Dwyer said...

When we visited the Mayan ruins in Mexico, I was so captivated I longed to travel back in time and live there - at least for a little while.

Breathtaking!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Would like to see ruins like that one day. And no, don't think the world is ending later this year.

Chuck said...

I will be close to Guatemala in June when I travel to Belize but I doubt I will visit. I do want to see some ruins while in Belize though.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Hi Libby,

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'm excited about the exhibition and am looking forward to seeing everything up. I'll check out your site.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

It's fascinating to me to realize how advanced the Maya were. We think of ourselves as the advanced society. Are we? Thanks for commenting, Cindy!

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Thanks for commenting, Alex. You would really love the ruins, I think.

Monti

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Chuck, that's so exciting. I've never been to Belize and understand there are some really great ruins there. Parts of my book, Jungle Jeopardy, are based on my research about the Maya ruins in Belize! Thanks for commenting.

Monti

Sharkbytes said...

Never been south of the USA. Lots of interesting things there. I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs this month.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Sharkbytes, thanks for your visit. Good luck on hitting all the A to Z sites!

michelle said...

I've heard about the Mayan ruins... it's amazing because the Mayan people seemed to be quite ahead of their time...
I don't think the world is coming to an end Dec. 2012 - who really knows the exact date?
Enjoy the rest of the A to Z Challenge!

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Thanks, Michelle, for commenting. The Maya were amazing and no one really knows what happened to their society. Unfortunately, the Spanish destroyed their records!

Catch My Words said...

I feel confident that we will all wake up on Dec. 22 and be talking about another false alarm. Thanks for the visit.

Catch My Words
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Joyce, I hope you're right! Thanks for stopping by.