January 14-21, 2022 | Friday afternoon at 5:00 through Friday's final dinner

Imagine staying at an eco-friendly lodge in southern Belize under the presence of the beautiful Maya Mountains. Based in the jungle along a beautiful river and surrounded by lush, tropical gardens, we will be amongst the friendly Maya who live in small, traditional villages of 15-30 families in the rain forest. While it may seem as though nothing has changed for hundreds of years, you’ll notice various outside influences at work — solar panels, the blue glow of the occasional TV, computers, cell phones, etc.

And yet, the villagers mostly live in traditional, thatched-roofed, board houses. They use wood fires for their heat, cooking, making tortillas, firing pottery, or for chocolate, roasting cacao beans on comals, round, cast-iron griddles.

In the Maya villages, we'll be invited into people's homes, and with English being the language of Belize, you will have no trouble communicating with these lovely people. You'll also hear Kʼekchiʼ and Mopan, the two main Maya languages of southern Belize.

You may see the Maya paddling the river in their traditional dug-out canoes or their children scampering alongside you as you enter a village. These people will welcome you into their modest homes. We'll be photographing them, of course, but you may also want to try your hand at making tortillas or chocolate, and get a real feel for the culture of the area.

We will be near stunning waterfalls, ancient ruins, organic cacao farms, river scenes, and the flora and fauna of the jungle, all of which you'll enjoy photographing. In the process, we'll encourage you to "seek your own vision, and create great photos" by showing you how elements of composition and the magic of light work in concert to help you move to the next level.

This is a location that you will undoubtedly want to share with your spouse or significant other. They are always welcome at our workshops and instantly become part of our group. For them, there are additional activities such as horseback riding, kayaking, swimming, hiking, and medicinal plant walks. But if they are like those in our previous workshop here, they may prefer to join us on our excursions, as we get to see and do some really interesting things.

On the other hand, they may want to lounge in a hammock (all the cabanas have them) listening to Howler Monkeys, enjoying the colorful birds, or laughing at the iguanas who climb the trees by the river, go out too far on a branch that won't support their weight, and do a belly flop in to the river, only to climb back up the tree and do it all over again.

Because we are headquartered in a small, intimate lodge, we only have room for eight (8) participants (plus spouses and guests), so it is really important to book your garden-side room early, or upgrade to one of the lovely, screened, rosewood cabanas with thatched roof and private bath. While we have the Garden Vista Rooms set aside for our group through October (to be updated), we cannot guarantee availability of the cabanas, so sign up soon.

Again, our rates include all your meals, non-alcoholic beverages, seven excursions, and transportation once you arrive in Punta Gorda. The lodge will even secure airfare between Belize City and Punta Gorda (see Click here for more information button near page top.)

Meanwhile, be sure to carefully read our FAQs, as well as the various links in the box above. They should hopefully answer almost any question you might have.

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Fees:  Couple Standard $TBA | Alumni $TBA | Association $TBA
Single Standard $TBA | Alumni $TBA | Association $TBA

Travel insurance is highly recommended to ensure protection against any unforeseeable events. We are a small company and cannot be held liable for those who choose not to buy trip insurance.  Sharon Erickson, our trusty travel agent, can help you with that. And, no, we do not get any credit for referring you to her, only a thank you!