Early Friday morning we began a journey around the peninsula. Our first stop was in Tizimin, the third largest city in Yucatan, at an alternative technical high school that offers courses in community development, raising livestock and management.
After spending some time getting to know each other, the students lead us outside for a silage workshop. We met some of the steers and learned what they eat. Then we got to help prepare silage which involves fermenting hay in an anaerobic environment to preserve it for use in the dry seasons. This process provides an alternative to buying processed feed for livestock.
After helping bag up the silage to begin the fermentation process, we got a tour around the rest of the schools facilities.
We said out goodbyes to the students and professors at CBTA 14 and headed north to El Cuyo to prepare a lunch of fried fish with our host Don Peligro and his family. Some students went to buy the fresh fish while others went to find oil, tortillas, vegetables for salsa and Coca-Cola. Then we took turns learning to prepare the food. We even had the opportunity to pick coconuts and learn to split them open.
Full and tired from a long day with many new experiences, we made our way to a rented house on the beach where we settled in for the night.
The next morning after a quick breakfast of bread and fruit we headed to another coastal town, Ria Lagartos, for a tour through the biosphere reserve.
After our tour of the reserve at Ria Lagartos, we headed south to Ek Balam, an inspiring community that has created multiple cooperatives to generate work within the town. After lunch some of the women taught us how they weave hammocks.
Then it was time to leave Ek Balam pueblo and visit Ek Balam archaeological site. We explored the Mayan ruins and then headed to the cenote X'Canche for a swim. Some of our students had the opportunity to make their first tortillas! Before lunch we had a talk from the leader of the cooperative that runs the cenote and adjacent restaurant.
After lunch and a brief stop in Izamal, the magical yellow city, we made it back to Merida! And in the school we found our host families waiting excitedly for their new sons and daughters!
And off they went to spend time with their families and get a good nights sleep!
We were invited to visit the school, CBTA 14, for an exchange of interests and knowledge. We stared the visit off with a classroom discussion of who we are and what interests we have and then the students did the same and told us about their studies.
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| Explaining COA and Human Ecology |
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| Anna talking about her interests |
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| Lea responding to a question about why she wants to learn about other cultures |
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The steps to making silage go something like this:
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| Grind up the vegetation |
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| Stuff it into plastic bags and inoculate with a spray of yogurt mixed with water |
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| Before the bag is full, insert a hollow tube that will be used to suck out the remaining air |
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| Fill the bag around the tube and attach to a vacuum to create an anaerobic environment. Seal the bag. |
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| Making friends |
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| Visiting the piglets |
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| Getting a taste test at the meat curing kitchen |
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| Curious questions |
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| Saying hello to the rabbits |
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| The group! |
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| Preparing the fish for frying |
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| Making salsa |
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| Harvesting coconuts |
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| Enjoying some fresh coconut water |
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| Learning to use a machete |
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| Taylor helping to fry |
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| Molly learning about the local fishing process in El Cuyo |
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| Our meal before... |
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| And the final product! |
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| Our house for the night |
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| Early Christmas gifts...hammocks! |
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| Our driver and good friend gives us a demonstration on how to tie up the hammocks |
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| Trying it out |
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| Perfect! |
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| Some wanted to sleep on the beach |
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| Happy with her choice! |
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| Free time in the evening for journaling |
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| The view from our front porch |
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| A massage from a horseshoe crab |
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| We learned about many different species of birds and plants |
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| The wind made a lot of foam, or as we like to call it, Yucatecan snow |
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| Our group in front of las coloradas where sea water evaporates in the sun for the salt harvest |
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| And the group after a clay treatment |
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| We took up two boats and our guides were father and son |
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| A boat outfitted for catching octopus |
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| Molly and the crocodile, "Panchito" |
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| Our cabins for the night |
After spending the afternoon in Ek Balam, we headed over to Chichen Itza for the new Light and Sound show. The audience sits in front of the great pyramid and the Mayan creation story is projected onto it. We learned about the Mayan worldview, architecture, connection to the cosmos and more!
The next morning we had breakfast with the community leader of Ek Balam. We had a chance to ask him questions about the difficulties and rewards that come with forming this kind of a cooperative.
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| Don Mario explaining the structure of the cooperative |
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| Enjoying the conversation |
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| Our group with the community leaders |
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| Saying our thank you's and goodbye's |
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| An introduction to Ek Balam underneath a ceiba, a tree considered sacred by the Mayans |
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| Climbing the ruins |
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| An impromptu Mayan class with our friend Don Francisco |
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| Climbing the main pyramid |
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| The staff |
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| Biking to the cenote |
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| Ready to take a dip |
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| Making tortillas! |
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| Listening to Don Benito tell us about the cooperative X'Canche |
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| Thank you! |
And here they are!
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| Megan's family |
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| Grace and her host mother |
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| Molly with her host parents |
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| Lea's whole family came to meet her! |
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| Anna with her mom and sister |
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| Kitt meeting his host mother and aunt |
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| Lauren with her mother and sister |
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| Taylor with her whole family |