We started out heading to Lubaatun Archeological Reserve. It was amazing to wander around in a location that has been here for well over a thousand years. The site is vast. We wandered around, listening to Antonio (our guide, and now friend, for those new to this blog) and marveling at the stone work in the ruins, especially one unusual temple with rounded corners.
I went through a narrow passage between two ruins and came upon this long set of tall steps. It was quite impressive.
We headed up in to the hills to a small village to see the old way of making pottery — by hand without wheel or coil — simply taking a hunk of clay and forming it into a pot. Andrea, our hostess, learned this method from her grandmother shortly before she died. Her grandmother also showed her where to gather the clay on the river bank that was good so that the pots would not crack when they were fired.
When we arrived in the village, we were surrounded by children. They are are so curious and energetic. One minute they want to be photographed; the next, they run off giggling or hiding behind the braver ones.
As I came around the corner of a building, I saw three of Andrea’s children standing by the door of their house.
Antonio brought our cooler into Andrea’s kitchen where we ate lunch, the children running in and out. On the floor on one side was her potting board, an orange bucket of water, and a big lump of clay that she broke into two smaller pieces.
She formed one vessel, pushing and shaping the clay to her liking, then did a smaller pot.
I was intrigued by Andrea’s kitchen. While she had a “modern” stove, she did much of her cooking in the traditional way. The basket material you see in the lower left corner is a fan to heat up the fire.
Viani, about three years old, was very wary when we first arrived. As the day progressed, she really opened up, and I was able to make lots of photos of her, including this one of her sitting in the doorway.
Sometime next …
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